The virtual receptionist service has been around for some time. Over the years, it has gained more traction among businesses of all sizes due to an increased efficiency and lesser costs. This service employs a remote agent to handle the calls for routine purposes and for specialized repetitive tasks related to your business. If you hire a full-time receptionist, this is a cost that can add up your overall overheads. The onsite receptionist will need a high compensation package and this makes live virtual receptionist a better choice for your business.
Here’s how:
Pay Only For the Actual Time Spent:
With an in-house receptionist, you need to make regular payments every month irrespective of the work done by the employee. Whether they handle a lot of calls in a day or sit idle with no calls at all, same payments have to be made. This pay package is determined regardless of the actual amount of work done by an employee. On the other hand, a virtual receptionist has to be paid only for the time they actually spend to handle the calls for your business.
No Need to Pay for the Leave:
When you hire an in-house receptionist, you ought to pay for the holidays and sudden leaves that they take. Apart from the main holidays, these additional non-working days add up the cost of hiring for your business. Sometimes, they may fall sick and stay at home. In these circumstances, you need to call for a replacement and pay extra for the same. This is where a live virtual receptionist proves to be a viable choice. They may also take a few days off in a month but you don’t have to pay for the replacement arranged by your service provider.
No Extras for Overtime Work:
In some cases, you may require the office receptionist to work for a few extra hours. With this arrangement, the cost of overtime gets added up to the monthly salary slip. However, a virtual answering service will work for overtime at no additional costs. You will pay only as per the normal rates.
No Need to Pay for Extra Benefits:
Hiring an in-house staff comes with many additional costs that include the benefits like healthcare insurance for the employees. This can inflate the total compensation package irrespective of the work actually done by the in-house receptionist. In case of a virtual receptionist, you can avail of huge savings in this regard. They are paid as per a fixed rate predetermined by the service provider. There are no requirements to pay for health benefits, overtime, and other job-related incentives.
So, these are the cost savings that you will gain by hiring a virtual receptionist instead of incurring huge expenses on an in-house call handling staff.