Keeping a business efficient and adaptable is a priority across all industries. One of the most popular ways for businesses to cut costs and increase efficiency is through the use of virtual receptionists.

Cost of On-Site Receptionist

According to Salary.com, the average annual salary for receptionists is roughly $36,983 in the United States. When factoring in the cost of workers’ compensation, payroll taxes, dental, healthcare, and PTO (paid time off) benefits, the total compensation requirements quickly adds up for business owners. For small businesses especially, spending the additional $3,000 or more on payroll alone can be an expense that can limit profit and growth opportunities. How about spending 90% less and receiving 300% more service? Find out how below.

Receptionists are human, so naturally, they will need sick days, vacation days, or they may have a family emergency that will require them to be out of the office. In these cases, other personnel may be required to pick-up their duties while they’re out of the office or those tasks will have to be postponed until later. This could mean your customers cannot reach your business, cannot ask questions about your products or services, and cannot schedule appointments or purchase products from you.

With a live answering service, your phone line can be easily forwarded to WESP Communications to answer calls for your business during unexpected absences. We describe this as “call overflow” and it is just one of the reasons it is beneficial to have an existing plan before these customer emergencies occur. Furthermore, WESP Communications provides pay-by-the-minute monthly plans, that only charge clients for the minutes that virtual receptionists are actively working on your account.

The Need for Dedicated Staff

For some companies that don’t have staff dedicated to managing incoming calls, it can be a burden to their existing workload. For example, if an office manager is in charge of answering phones, as well as managing budgets, ordering supplies, and other important administrative duties, answering phones can quickly take away from their ability to effectively complete other important tasks.

Fortunately, there are many options for businesses of all sizes to support office workers, such as: call rollover to virtual receptionists after a certain number of rings, after-hours or weekend answering only, or overflow answering for the busiest part of the day. Regardless of the need, virtual receptionists offer a tailored solution so that business owners never miss a call. Your customers will appreciate it too. Customers will be able to avoid long wait and hold times and office staff can focus on their primary business operations.

Teamwork Makes The Dreamwork

While there are certainly exceptional on-site receptionists, at the end of the day, they’re only one person. There are times when they will have to be away from their desk to take a break, and inevitably, a phone call will be missed or go to voicemail. We classify this as a missed opportunity, regardless whether the caller makes another attempt to contact your business or not.

With a call center team, virtual receptionists work in a pool of trained agents, so there is continuity of service, and your clients receive the same quality of service at any hour of the day. Virtual receptionists answer your calls during office hours, after-hours, and several receptionists can answer during busy hours. This is the most affordable and efficient way to handle any call volume that your business may encounter.

More Time, Less Money 

Lastly, an in-office receptionist only works a 40-hour work week, and makes an overtime rate when working outside of regular business hours, or over 40 hours weekly. That is only 8 hours a day and only 5 days a week! If owners want their phones answered the other 16 hours a day, plus an additional 48 hours on weekends, then that requires greater staffing needs (Which costs you MUCH MORE MONEY). However, with a virtual receptionist service, calls can be taken 24/7 at a lower rate than the cost of full time staff. Virtual receptionists cover more hours of the day, for less money! Lastly, hiring a call center, like WESP Communciations, to answer your incoming calls instantly makes your business available to customers: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every single day of the year, even holidays!

To see a projection of what this cost savings could look like, see the chart below!

Contact us today for more information on how a virtual receptionist could help your business!