As a modern small business owner, have you been hesitant to give remote employment a try?
We get it: your business is your life, and handing over the reins to someone you don’t interact with face-to-face can seem like a risk too big to take on something that matters this much.
However, the world of remote work is far wider and more stable than you may think. In 2020, 69% of people in the US worked from home. This number is of course largely due to the need for isolation caused by the COVID 19 pandemic — however, the state of remote work in upcoming years shows no sign of shying away from the pandemic’s remote working norms. By 2025, the Economist Future Workforce Report predicts that 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely. That’s a huge number.
The Versatility of the Remote Employee
With remote employment on the rise, it’s important to understand how versatile remote roles can be.
Although we typically associate remote work with part-time contractors and virtual assistants, the truth is that there are far more remote job roles present within the modern workforce. From marketing managers to front-end developers, many major positions are now heavily composed of remote workers.
Why is this the case, you may ask?
Simply put, remote work offers major benefits for both employers and employees, including cost savings on the commute, commuting time, a healthier, happier work environment, and better integration with the technology you use on a daily basis. Hello, work-life balance! While there are pros and cons to both remote and on-site work, the benefits of working either fully or partially online are becoming increasingly apparent to current job seekers.
How Employers Benefit from Remote Employees
Fortunately, the pros of remote work are not limited to employees — employers also have a lot to gain.
One of the most notable benefits of hiring remote workers is that this practice actually leads to better performance and increased productivity. In fact, according to Gallup Research, the ability for employees to work remotely leads to higher employee engagement, which in turn produces 41% lower absenteeism, 40% fewer quality defects, and 21% higher profitability on average. Remote work also provides a level of flexibility that many potential employees desire and/or need to thrive professionally.
When you open your business up to remote hires you not only drastically widen your talent pool but also become a more desirable place for this wide range of talent to work at. In turn, this is leading you to amazing new team members that you would have otherwise missed out on getting the opportunity to work with.
Outsourcing vs. Remote Employees
Once you’ve experienced the clear benefits of hiring remote workers, why not take it one step further? Consider options that can be outsourced and save you the time and money on hiring in-house employees. One example you could try is outsourcing to a virtual receptionist service.
VoiceNation provides the same amazing remote talent with even less oversight required on your part. Our live virtual receptionists and live chat support team are highly trained professionals who will treat your business with the utmost care.
With our remote receptionist service, your phone lines will be handled by one of our live virtual receptionists, no matter whether it’s 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning. Each virtual receptionist is trained to answer with a custom script designed by you so that every customer is greeted with your own personal touch!
Most importantly, our receptionists are friendly, bright individuals who bring a level of authenticity to your answering that simply cannot be reached with automatic messaging. No matter how many hours you put into writing and rewriting the perfect automated message, live interactions between your customers and our virtual receptionists will always leave a better impression on your business.
Live Chat Customer Service
Not looking for someone to answer the phones? Our live chat feature is similarly run by real people behind the screen. Our live chat specialists are trained specifically to jump into your website’s live chat at a moment’s notice with the same level of friendly guidance and industry knowledge that your customers are used to, so you can take a much-needed break without sacrificing the quality of your daily customer interactions. Offering live support chat for your website means your users get lightning-quick responses from highly-trained customer support professionals 24/7/365.
Whether you’re ready to go all-in on virtual outsourcing or just want to dip your toe in the water, VoiceNation has a variety of flexible plans fit for your specific remote work needs. Contact us today to learn more!