As the number of remote workers continues to grow, professionals in nearly every industry are looking for more flexible office solutions. For many small businesses, it doesn’t make sense to enter into an expensive lease for office space when there’s the option to work remotely as a team.
A virtual office (VO) offers an efficient and cost-effective solution to businesses that want to access the conveniences of a professional environment without actually having a physical office. These offices ultimately give remote teams the best of both worlds — for an affordable price, businesses can utilize their VO provider’s amenities without being tied to a conventional lease.
Generally speaking, virtual offices extend features such as a physical address, 24/7 phone and receptionist services, and access to meeting/conference rooms. Some virtual offices also provide things like document shredding, shipping, networking events, and event space.
If you are a business owner running a company from home, you might be missing out on some of the advantages of having a physical office. But with VOs, you can still access these benefits and personalize your usage based on your company’s needs.
As you consider whether a VO is right for you, here are the main benefits of virtual offices for businesses.
Advantages of virtual offices for business owners
With the rise of telecommuting, sometimes working from a home office lacks legitimacy, and clients or customers can’t as readily send you mail or visit your place of business. Virtual offices, however, allow business owners to bypass overpriced office leases and still utilize as much — or as little — of the VO’s workspaces, which offer several key advantages:
Saves time
Remember the days when you used to spend an hour commuting? That’s an hour of lost productivity that you could be capitalizing on while working from home. With virtual offices, you’ll save time on commuting (or having to leave the house in general) so you can focus on the work at hand. Your employees, too, will be able to make the most of their workday without worrying about the time they lost to traffic or other hold-ups on their commute.
Saves money on secondary expenses
In addition to the savings from forgoing a costly office lease, you will also be able to save money on secondary business expenses. For example, if you typically offered your employees benefits like parking passes, gas stipends, or public transportation memberships as part of their compensation package, you will no longer have these expenses with a virtual office. Secondary expenses like office attire, equipment, and supplies will also be subtracted from your monthly overhead, leading to additional savings from operating virtually.
Allows you to capitalize on talent
If your business is growing at a rapid pace, virtual offices offer the chance to capitalize on available talent and continue expanding. Sometimes, companies can be stymied by their physical office space; if there aren’t enough desks for your current team, how can you manage to grow your business? Instead of worrying about the amount of available office space you have, virtual offices can connect as many team members as you need entirely online. This will effectively allow more employees to work, as your company won’t be limited by space. Plus, you can seek out talent from all corners of the world.
Boosts employee happiness
There is plenty of evidence that flexible working increases employee satisfaction and overall happiness. Virtual offices are a great way to decrease the amount of stress your team feels on a daily basis, as many of their main stressors — such as commuting to work or being distracted by their coworkers — will vanish. Having the flexibility to work from home will not only lead to a better work-life balance for your team, but it can also impact productivity in a positive way — which is certainly a win-win situation!
Provides support for scaling
Renting a virtual office is basically like having a full-fledged administrative staff to look after your growing business and offer support whenever it’s needed. The most commonly used VO services include phone-answering and reception, mail forwarding, and meeting room scheduling. No matter the size of your business, it can be massively beneficial to have access to these types of services as you scale. Instead of hiring another full-time team member or creating an administrative department, virtual offices take all of the menial office tasks off of your plate, allowing you to focus on what’s important. This way, you can scale to any size without needing to consider your physical space or office resources, as VOs can account for both.
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As you consider whether virtual offices are the right choice for you, it’s important to ask yourself what you need most out of the VO’s services. If you need access to event space or meeting rooms, or you’re spending too much time answering phone enquiries and need support, virtual offices can be a great option for growing businesses.
