In this modern digital age, is it time to ditch the idea of a traditional office structure?Many new start-ups are adopting the 'lean' method of operation where they only use the bare bones of a company structure to function. This means that less time and money is wasted on facilities that are not essential to their business in this day and age, like a bricks-and-mortar office set-up.Many businesses have been adopting the technology to go paperless for the past few years, and many organisations have taken things a step further by eliminating the daily commute to work in favour of their staff choosing to work remotely from home.So is it now time for everyone to think differently by going virtual and outsourcing as many office tasks as possible? Judging by the growth in the popularity of virtual office services over recent years, the answer in a lot of cases is yes!By freeing up your time and using a high-quality virtual office service provider, such as Your Virtual Office, you can give yourself more time to be productive as you will be free of all of your time-consuming office-based tasks.
The benefits of going virtual
There are several very valuable benefits to be had by choosing a virtual office service. However, if you already have an established office, you may worry that switching to using a virtual office service may disrupt and upset your existing staff.One thing to consider is that by getting rid of your bricks-and-mortar office and allowing your employee's to work from home can save you thousands of pounds in office rental costs as well as the costs associated with power, IT infrastructure and other utilities.In the USA, a study by Stanford University found companies can save as much as $2,000 per employee just by letting them work from home.You could introduce remote working for your existing staff while at the same time outsource your every-day office administration tasks to a Complete Virtual Office Service such as the package offered by Capital Office, London.This means that you will still be able to have your incoming business calls answered professionally in your company name and either has your calls forwarded to you, or messages took when you are busy and passed on to you electronically.
Saving money on a business relocation
One of the main benefits of using virtual office services is that you can free up valuable space in your workplace and put it to better use.For example, if your business is growing rapidly, you may face the expense of having to move your business to larger premises. This can mean incurring expensive moving costs, having a new IT infrastructure installed in your new workplace to meet your needs, extension or replacement of the business fire alarm system, higher business insurance costs etc.Instead of having to move premises rapidly to meet your accommodation needs, you can stay put for longer by getting rid of your office and converting the room for more production workspace.
Putting your plans in place
When you have decided that you want to go virtual with your office, it is time to put together a plan of action.Depending on where you are starting from, there could be big changes that you have to face. For a solo-entrepreneur working from home or from a rented workspace, this will be easy because you don't have an office as such.However, for an already-established business owner with a brick-and-mortar office, there will be a major impact ahead for everyone concerned.Sit down with your staff (if you have any) and work out a transition plan for how your business will get its work tasks done.Moving to a virtual office isn't as easy as ditching the office cubicle. You need to agree on how your existing staff are going to work together and collaborate on projects. This could be by working remotely from home and using a tool such as Trello to communicate and share work with colleagues.
Introduce your virtual office service early
By bringing on board and using your virtual office services as early as possible, you and your staff can get used to how the service works and how it allows you and your staff the free time to concentrate on your transitional plans.This allows your workplace to start from a position of understanding instead of confusion about your plans and having to cope with a lot of changes all at once.
Hire a well-established, trusted virtual office service provider
To make the transition as smooth as possible for your company, choose to work with a well-established and experienced Complete Virtual Office Service provider, such as us.Capital Office, London is always willing to go that extra mile for our clients. based in City Road, London, since 1971 we have been in operation for many years and are an integral part of thousands of UK businesses of all sizes.Our London-based virtual office staff have years of experience in customer service and business support roles and are perfectly placed to ease your business into the digital world.
What services are included?
The main aim of using a complete virtual office is to completely replace your every-day reception and administration duties that would normally need a brick-and-mortar office and a team of staff to complete for you.You don't need to worry because Your Virtual Office can take care of everything for you leaving you free to concentrate on your important work without the telephone distracting you or having to stand and open all of your incoming business mail every day.Complete Virtual Office London Package Overview:
- Choose an 0207 or 0203 Telephone Number
- Divert Calls Your Calls to Us
- Forward / Scan / Collect your mail
- Free EC1 Meeting Room Use
- Global Mail Forwarding Service
- Impressive London Address
- London based PA’s taking your calls
- Out of hours voicemail to email
- Packets & Parcels signed for
- Secure Online Payment
- Under 60 Second Sign up
- Unlimited Calls Included
- Unlimited Letters Included
- Use your Existing Number
Improve your business image
For a sole trader or solo-entrepreneur without an existing office, having your own complete virtual office at your fingertips will give you a professional virtual PA and will really help to boost your company image.It can be difficult for many micro-business owners to be taken seriously by their target audience, especially if you are wanting to break into the B2B market. Most large companies do not like dealing with sole traders, so even though you can do your job with one hand tied behind your back, it can be hard to convince a large company to work with you.However, when you have your own professional PA taking your calls and relaying messages, it gives your business a more professional image and status. This may be all you need to get your foot in the door and into the good books of a B2B partner.Our complete virtual office package combines our highly sought-after central London business mail forwarding address with a professional and experienced virtual PA telephone answering service.
Make your communication key
When you have remote staff working from home and a team of virtual office workers, you should always make sure that communications are kept up between everyone.Communications with your staff and services should be done on a continuous basis, but this is even more important in a virtual world where you no longer share a physical workspace with your employees.By using good collaboration tools such as Trello, shared emails and conducting Skype meetings to keep up your connections, you will help to keep everyone informed and ensure that no-one feels neglected or isolated from the team.
Arrange social meet-ups
Although you are moving to a more digital-driven, virtual workplace, you should still set aside some time for meetings and social events.While many of your staff may be content for you to stay in contact via online chat functions, you may still want to connect with your best people outside of the virtual world to reinforce your company culture and make them feel valued as a person.While it is easier to set up a virtual office from scratch for a solo-entrepreneur, it still can be the right choice for your expanding company. As long as you hire the services of a professional virtual office provider such as Capital Office as Your Virtual Office, London, you will never regret your choice to step into the virtual world.
