Tag: Virtual Offices

Utilising a serviced office provider may leave you pondering the difference between a call answering service and front-of-house staff. And, though in some ways there is a crossover with the tasks each role handles, they’re two completely different dedicated services used to make administrative tasks easier.

At WorkWell, we have front-of-house staff who are there to greet, accept parcels and mail. Our front-of-house staff are even able to do internal call transfers, enabling your customers to connect with you. This allows the reception to warmly greet your customer before transferring the call to your business, meaning you don’t have to worry about the formalities of introductions for your business. 

What is a receptionist?

A receptionist is the first point of contact customers have, whether that’s walking into an establishment or placing a call. Most businesses will have front-of-house staff to handle the administrative tasks like emailing, taking calls, booking appointments and so forth.

Having a receptionist offers many benefits. Here are just a few:

Make a professional and positive impression by having a front-of-house (reception) member of staff greet customers. The front-of-house staff will act as the face of the business, helping to establish your brand’s reputation.

A consistent point of contact rather than rotating your team positively impacts the brand reputation. This is because your customers are almost always likely to communicate with the front-of-house staff first, so having the same staff not only demonstrates an ability to retain staff, but it also helps the client build trust.

Hiring a receptionist can improve efficiency and organisation across the board. Rather than depending on a team of staff to clearly and consistently track administrative jobs, having dedicated staff can alleviate inconsistencies and free up time for more urgent tasks. Having a set team for the front-of-house can make tracking of administrative details that bit simpler, i.e. bookings. If one person/ or two people are consistently taking information, it will be easier to track and retrieve, rather than being scattered between a larger team.

What is a call answering service?

A call answering service is a dedicated line to a business, particularly handling customer service queries. Call answering may act like a receptionist in the sense that they’re the voice of the business.

Utilising a call service can be particularly useful when the business doesn’t need or have a physical address. Instead, staff handling call answering would utilise things like headsets to take calls for the business remotely.

This service is particularly beneficial as it helps improve customer relationships by providing a point of contact to discuss concerns. This demonstrates your business is able to accommodate the needs of the customer, providing a face of the brand to relay information to the customer, or vice versa.

Opting for a call answering service over front-of-house staff may also reduce budget, as the staff won’t need to be physically hired and trained, freeing up some of the costs that are typically associated with hiring.

What sets these services apart?

Choosing between hiring a receptionist or someone to handle calls will depend on your business’s overall needs. Factors you’ll need to consider when weighing up your options include:

• Your budget to hire and train staff
• The facilities of your work environment, i.e. do you have the space to accommodate, or even a physical location
• How often does your business have customers contacting
• Do you need just call handling, or administrative tasks like mail handling, communications via email, and booking systems?

The role front-of-house staff play differs quite a lot from that of a call-answering service. Receptionists are the physical face of the business, they take all the information needed, as well as other tasks which do not require direct customer contact.

Call answering differs because it’s a dedicated role to just communicate with the customers, which means they’re not going to deal with things like taking any packages or physically greeting customers.

Both services offer unique benefits depending on your business’s specific needs. While front-of-house provides a physical presence to greet visitors, handle mail, and manage admin tasks, call answering services focus solely on remote communication with your customers. At WorkWell, we’re proud to offer a flexible combination of both—complete with internal call transfers, professional voicemail services, and a welcoming front-of-house team. If you’re looking for a professional serviced office that supports your operations and elevates customer experience, get in touch with us today to see how we can help your business thrive.

It’s no secret, the number of people working at home and from remote locations is rapidly escalating.

As the Office for National Statistics (ONS) prove, in the first three months of 2013, approximately 13.9% of the UK workforce worked from home offices, the highest number since records began in 1998.

As our blog about how technology is changing the way we work specifies, technology such as Cloud has made homeworking a reality. Despite the unprecedented growth of home working, an office within a home-based setting has limitations.

A Virtual Office is designed to combat the limitations of a home office. Whilst the advantages of a virtual office are fairly blatant and undisputed – namely giving a business a professional address and subsequently a more specialised image – it is safe to say there are several features of virtual offices that remain significantly less recognised and celebrated.

If you are deliberating joining the thousands of SMEs and professionals in their pursuit to take their company and working ventures to new elevated levels by getting a virtual office, take a look at some features of this increasingly popular working practice, you may not realise you need.

So, what do you need in a Virtual Office?

Unlimited post

A company’s post piling up at home isn’t particularly conducive to professionalism. Nor is failing to be in to collect an important parcel or letter. A Virtual Office immediately eradicates such potential problems.

Virtual Offices, such as WorkWell’s Virtual Office, include unlimited post as part of the package. Ensuring all letters and parcels are picked up and collected in a professional manner will not only mean a crucial company letter isn’t chewed up by the family dog never to be seen again, but will also be collected in a professional manner, heightening the credibility of your company.

Unlimited phone calls

How many times do you get interrupted, your trail of though lost, by the phone ringing? You might not realise it but when you have your own Virtual Office you will have the privilege of having a professional receptionist answer your calls.

Delegating the essential, if not mundane, task of having someone else pick up your phone calls will mean you can enjoy an uninterrupted day’s work and concentrate on elements that will ultimately make your business grow.

The same ‘professional enhancing’ principle of having a receptionist professional deal with your post can be applied to the unlimited phone calls that users of Virtual Offices can take advantage of. With a receptionist answering your calls and either forwarding them to you or to your answering machine will not only mean you can get on with more pressing components of running a business but it will also mean you never miss a call.

Use of a desk

Whilst Virtual Offices are predominantly centred on giving businesses the professionalism of having a glamorous address, as well as phone call and mail forwarding services, it can be equally as beneficial to many SMEs and freelancers to have a desk they can use.

For example, Carrwood Park’s co-working spaces enable workers to reap the benefits of having a professional office desk, namely access to fast Wi-Fi, IT support, and the buzz, banter and networking opportunities life in an office offers.

Such vital modern working elements are essential in driving a business forward and nurturing success.

Use of a meeting room

So business is picking up and whilst it was once sufficient to conduct client meetings in a local Starbuck’s, with your company rapidly progressing, you require a more professional, well-facilitated and easy-to-access meeting room.

Once upon a time you might not have realised you would be needing a meeting room but as your business grows so does the need to hire a professional, well-facilitated meeting room.

Take advantage of Carrwood Park’s meeting rooms, which being just 15 minutes from Leeds City Centre and two minutes from the M1, means your guests can show up and enjoy a professional meeting in the most stylish of environments.

Location, location, location

Estate agents love to say it but the popular phrase ‘location, location, location’ is being adopted by virtual offices.

The location of an office, virtual or not, is important for several reasons. With a desirable and professional-sounding business address, clients, potential clients, outsourced and others are likely to view your business venture with greater credibility.

What’s more, using an office that is located in a stylish building, on the outskirts of a large city or town with convenient access and free parking, will not only be more convenient for you to use but will be easier for clients to visit.

If you have any further questions or would like to arrange a viewing or book a Virtual Office at WorkWell, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.