Many offices are becoming quieter as remote working has become the norm. Not only are there fewer personnel on hand, but there are also fewer visitors. As a result, the reception area’s function has shifted dramatically: you don’t need a reception, only a presence. This indicates that the prices are no longer justifiable, especially when you need to cut costs. The following is a step-by-step guide on switching to a virtual receptionist.
7 Steps To Reduce Reception Costs with Virtual Receptionist
Do your clients come to your office regularly? There is a simple solution to this problem. With a virtual reception, you can create a secure, automated reception for your guests without the need for human participation. Visitors sign in & out of the facility. The virtual receptionist takes over all traditional reception chores — greeting visitors, checking in and out guests, notifying the host, and so on – while keeping social distance. It’s quick, contactless, and secure, yet it costs a fraction of what traditional systems do.
Let Everyone Know About the Measures You Are Taking
Demonstrate your feeling of responsibility by ensuring that all of your guests know the precautions taken to avoid a corona. The virtual receptionist may also handle this task, who can explain your preventative measures, do a Last Minute Risk Analysis (LMRA), allow guests to sanitize their hands, and check their temperature if necessary by GDPR. Visitors who have been approved will be given an all-clear badge. This ensures that everyone, including staff, is safe.
Receive Your Employees Safely
Employees, too, can benefit from having a virtual receptionist. They might be subjected to a daily physical examination and be required to wash their hands before entering the office. This is an excellent technique to assure optimal safety while also eliminating the worry of corona in the workplace.
Contactless & Automatic Reception of Deliveries
Accept items from couriers and sign for receipts, track deliveries at reception, notify staff, and so on; in the post-corona era, this manner of working is no longer practical. Select contactless delivery and keep a smart package box at the front desk. This automates up to 30% of the receptionist’s work and eliminates needless physical interaction.
Reduce the Paper
It’s taken a long time, but now is the time to make a concerted effort to eliminate the numerous “unnecessary” paperwork that arrives at reception every day. Invoices, reminders, and other accounting paperwork account for 75% of all paper mail. They may, however, now be delivered, received, and processed digitally. Make agreements with your suppliers (and customers) to work solely with digital invoices and mail from now on. As a bonus, they will always be routed to the appropriate department. Up to 90% of all incoming mail can be digitized in just three months.
Outsource the Answering of Calls
We’ve already gone a long way. Your mail is delivered digitally, the (smart) parcel box handles your parcels, and your virtual receptionist greets your guests. What about the phones, though? This is also a simple problem to fix. As you’ve already observed, most calls are taken immediately on a mobile phone or by the employee’s phone. A call center can handle the remaining inbound calls. Employees will receive an email and will be able to call back whenever it is convenient for them.
Re-Deploy Your Receptionist to More Valuable Tasks
Yes, but now everything is done for you. And it’s because of this that it’s so fascinating. I’m sure my receptionist will be content and secure with this new normal. Is there anything else the receptionist can do? Give your receptionist extra responsibilities and tasks that will benefit your company, such as building and fleet management, office management, and travel management. If all seven stages are followed, significant cost reductions can be gained: see the ROI calculation.
For The Sake of Customers
Perhaps no one agrees more than a company owner with the age-old cliché that the client is king. Customers nowadays demand service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and simple communication. However, busy company owners do not have enough hours in the day to complete their to-do lists. When you’re trying to concentrate on anything essential, the phone ringing is enough to throw you off. But what if it’s a crucial lead that you don’t want to lose by sending them to voicemail?
You need an amazing individual at the front desk to provide exceptional customer service. How? With a virtual receptionist, you provide your customers with a method to contact you at any time of day. Offer them an initial set of instructions on how you want communication handled, and then concentrate your efforts on essential company activities. Your virtual receptionist takes all of your calls, responds to client inquiries, and ensures that no prospects go unnoticed.
- Don’t overlook customer service; even something as simple as an ignored phone call can lead to dissatisfied consumers. There’s a strong possibility you’ve been losing business by directing clients to an automated system. Engage the services of a virtual receptionist to provide excellent customer service at all times. All calls will be answered, all emails will be opened, and your virtual receptionist will handle all questions.
- A multilingual receptionist is extremely beneficial if your company caters to an international clientele. A multilingual virtual receptionist will boost client trust and happiness by speaking a language that your customers understand. You’ll be able to service a worldwide market if you hire a talented virtual receptionist who is fluent in several languages and cultures. To broaden your company’s reach, hire a virtual receptionist. Never lose a sale for a language problem again.
- If a live person’s call isn’t answered promptly, many clients will lose patience. It’s also critical that they go to the correct person or department. Your virtual receptionist will guarantee that calls are quickly answered and forwarded to the appropriate party.
- Get a virtual receptionist to provide consistently excellent customer service. A virtual receptionist has been taught to take calls properly and respond to emails. A virtual assistant (VA), unlike traditional receptionists, is well-trained and has years of expertise. Your VA has most certainly dealt with various consumers and demands in the past. This depth of knowledge enables them to assess each request/question and provide the level of attention and reaction it deserves.
Choose a virtual receptionist familiar enough with your company to anticipate queries and provide answers without requiring you to confer with them each time. Rather than investing in full-time personnel, hire a virtual receptionist for a fraction of the price.
“First impressions count,” as the adage goes. When exiting and new clients call your firm, a receptionist is the first person they speak with. How will your operations continue without a hitch if your receptionists are sick, having a terrible day, or are too late answering a crucial call?
Virtual Live Receptionists are the most cost-effective, convenient, and contemporary method to run your business’s front desk. Consider having someone on call at the virtual front desk 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There will be no missed calls, no excuses for calling in sick, and negative impressions for current or future clients! While customer service might be time-consuming, it is essential. Because you are occupied, you will miss out on phone calls, which will result in a loss of revenue for your company. Quit avoiding dollars to pick up pennies, as we like to say at 24H Virtual.
