The receptionist has one of the most important jobs in an entire company. They are the first port of call for customers and clients who have called the business. This means that the receptionist needs to be knowledgeable, patient and calm under pressure.

When you are a business owner, you might be weighing up whether it is a better idea to hire a full-time receptionist or hand responsibility over to a virtual receptionist who will take all the calls from another office.

There are several reasons why it is a good idea to choose a virtual receptionist rather than taking on a brand new employee. Why is this?

The Virtual Receptionist Is Going To Cost You Less Than A Full-Time Reception Employee

You need to be aware of how much hiring a full-time receptionist is going to cost you. As well as paying them a fixed salary every month, you also need to take into consideration the kind of equipment that you need to buy them, such as a phone, headset and office chair.

You can choose call cover for small businesses which costs less than hiring a full-time employee to deal with calls. You will also not need to worry about buying any equipment for the virtual receptionist that you have hired. The company that they are employed by will make sure that they are state-of-the-art equipment to buy.

The Responsibility For Managing The Virtual Receptionist Falls To Someone Else

When you have a lot of employees to oversee, you don’t want to be constantly checking up on a receptionist who is working at the front desk. This is not a responsibility that you will have to worry about when you outsource the receptionist job to another company.

Whether you hire one or several virtual receptionists, they are not just going to be left to their own devices. Instead, they are going to be supervised on a full-time basis by a manager of their own. The virtual receptionist will report any issues to their own manager rather than you.

The manager will alert you if you need to be made aware of any information in particular. This ensures that you are never left in the dark about the work that is being done for you by the receptionist.

You can hold regular meetings with the manager to discuss progress reports and changes to the script that you have agreed upon. This creates a good working relationship.

You Do Not Need To Pay The Receptionist For Maternity Leave Or Sick Pay

When the virtual receptionist is off sick, you do not need to pay them. This responsibility falls to the company that employs them on a full-time basis. This also applies if a female receptionist is taking time off in order to care for their new baby.

You should consider a virtual receptionist instead of hiring a full-time employee.