To organize a virtual office, you can use the service of the same name, which is offered by provider companies. In this case, for a certain monthly fee, a ready-made set of business applications and even UK business address rental are provided. The second option is to create a remote office yourself.
For self-implementation of the above principles of work organization in a virtual office, the following will be required.
Real address:
Even for a virtual office, you will need a real room. It is from there that the management of the company and all its employees will take place. In fact, for these purposes, you can use your apartment, but a specially-allocated room for the head office significantly increases the self-organization and trust of customers.
It goes without saying that such a room should be equipped with office equipment:
- computers;
- photocopiers;
- scanners;
- printers;
- phones, etc.
More than this, if you want to create a competitive image for your company, better forget the previous tip. It says that any place address can be your corporate address. We advise you to choose for your virtual office an address in a well-known business district, like somewhere in the UK. How to do this legally? Ask the Hoxton Mix for assistance! This team of the best experts always has the right solution for you.
Website development:
Today, the promotion of the company or its products through the Internet. And, it is the most relevant and effective way. Therefore, when deploying a virtual office, as well as a real one, first of all, it is necessary to create a site. With its help, you can attract many customers and engage partners.
Cloud IP telephony:
IP telephony is an important element of virtual offices. With its help, it organizes stable communication between employees and provides quality communication with clients and partners.
The most popular cloud telephony features for remote operation are the following:
- Conference calls. They allow you to conduct online meetings with any number of employees, wherever they are.
- Virtual numbers. It is an ability to quickly connect the city, federal, short, and good-looking phone numbers.
- Multichannel. It is setting up several telephone connections using one number. As a result, a client will never hear a busy signal, his call will not go unanswered.
- Various options for forwarding and receiving calls to different devices. All of this allows employees to be always in touch (forwarding from a landline number to a cell phone, redirecting a client's call to a specific manager or IVR menu, and competent setting of the call queue).
- Data protection. It allows for keeping all company data safe, as it is stored in cloud data centres and its reception and transmission are carried out with an encrypted VPN channel.
Control systems:
When working in a virtual office, it is necessary to control not only the performance of tasks by employees but also their communications with clients. For these purposes, rely on the help of the Hoxton Mix. They know how to help your managers set tasks, track their progress in real-time, listen to phone calls online or recorded, view the history of an employee's correspondence with a client, or statistics on the activity of each employee.
All this will greatly increase work efficiency, identify unscrupulous employees or help reward the best, and help find weaknesses in the sales chain. Maybe, to achieve this, you will also need a trusted CRM system.
Only legal solutions:
Before launching a virtual office, you make sure that you have all the necessary documents, focusing on:
- business license;
- various certificates of passing inspections;
- tax documentation and more.
Advantages of virtual offices:
Speaking more broadly about the benefits of a virtual office, we can add:
- increasing the productivity of employees by allowing them to work on their own time;
- time and financial costs savviness for employees;
- the possibility of a rational allocation of time between family and work;
- reduction of staff turnover (as a rule, remote workers are less likely to burn out);
- fewer sick days, as working from home reduces the risk of seasonal illnesses;
- a large number of candidates (you can hire an employee from any point in the world).
However, virtual offices also have several drawbacks that may occur in the process of work. So, you should consider them in advance:
- reduction of staff motivation because of the low probability of promotion;
the lack of social interaction;
- decrease in productivity because of poor motivation from managers;
- possible risks of misunderstanding between colleagues as a result of communication through messaging;
- significant dependence on technologies, internet connection, etc;
- the feeling of loneliness and isolation (not every person is psychologically ready for remote work).
Luckily, all these shortcomings can be corrected if they are identified promptly and can be eliminated. And it's worth it, because, with the high competition that is characteristic of modern business, it is important to use the latest methods and technologies.
Conclusion:
The number of people working remotely continues to grow. According to a survey, more than 50% of professionals work outside the office more than 2.5 days a week. And as the number of remote employees grows, so does the demand for virtual office space.
Although the business world changes every day, business needs remain the same. Bills are still sent by mail, and calls to mobile numbers are disproportionately more expensive than calls to landlines.
As you already know, virtual office services provide business owners and employees with a variety of cool opportunities. Virtual offices are real and they even go with real business addresses, like in the UK. And while remote employees are not physically in a virtual office, they can use its address as a company address and for business correspondence. This eliminates the need for them to use their home address for documents such as bills and announcements.
The Hoxton Mix virtual office service also includes mail processing, so letters from clients and financial institutions will be received by the addressees even if they are abroad. As for calling mobile numbers, it is rather expensive. Avoiding high international tariffs will help to use a local phone number in the country you need.
This company also offers a call reception service. Your remote employees will be able to use the help of a personal secretary. Likewise, you will be sure that all calls were accepted even if clients and remote employees are in different time zones.
