While outsourcing has saved billions of dollars for large corporations during the past decade, small businesses have yet to find a way to capitalize on this cost savings strategy.
A new trend has been gaining speed lately called homesourcing, also referred to as homeshoring. The Macmillan English Dictionary defines homesourcing as “the transfer of service industry employment from offices to home-based employees with appropriate telephone and Internet facilities.” Many companies may find this strategy an attractive way to save money. The expenses associated with providing desk space to an employee can add up very quickly and will usually include: office rent, furniture, equipment, supplies, electricity, other utilities, and the list goes on.
So while I agree that homesourcing is very attractive as a cost savings strategy, not all positions in a company should be homesourced. Case in point is a receptionist. The receptionist of your company is the first point of contact for your customers in many cases. She or he gives the first impression of your company to a prospective customer. The voice of a receptionist is like the instrument of a musician. You can be the world’s best guitarist, but if your guitar is missing a string and is out of tune your fans will likely not be impressed. So is the importance of the voice of your receptionist.
Provided that your receptionist has a professional, friendly warm voice naturally, many other outside factors can affect his or her voice. Below are the top 5 factors that will negatively affect a homesourced receptionist voice.
1: Background Noise
Imagine calling a Doctor’s office and hearing a dog barking in the background. We all may love dogs, but this does not give me a feeling that the Doctor’s office will be “hospital” clean when I get there. Imagine calling an attorneys office and hearing a baby screaming in the background. Yes, we all give screaming babies a pass for the most part, but for some reason I cannot imagine an attorney concentrating on my legal case with a screaming baby in the background. And while I agree these are extreme scenarios, it only takes one bad impression to turn off a potential customer of yours.
2: Information Dissemination
Information is key in handling calls as a receptionist. Nothing is more annoying to a caller than being put on hold for 10 minutes while the receptionist on the other end of the line searches for a simple answer. We all know that companies are a living, breathing organism that is constantly changing. Having all of your receptionists together in the same office is the best way to ensure information is disseminated efficiently and quickly.
3: Reliable Internet
Most everything we do is on the internet now. In most offices you have a backup internet connection, or at least an I.T. staff or I.T. vendor that can log in remotely to your network to quickly diagnose any issues you may have. When your staff works from home, at the very least you lose control of the quality and reliability of the internet. Having a receptionist stuck at home with no internet is like not having a receptionist at all.
4: Non-business Quality VOIP
Most homesourced employees are using some form of VOIP phone service. This means their phone is relying on the quality and reliability of the internet. Not only can an outage put them out of business, but most residential internet connections are not sufficient for good quality phone service.
5: No Guarantees
Without a management system to oversee the front lines of your business you open yourself up to the possibility that the receptionist just isn’t doing their job.
The answer to cutting your cost in the area of phone answering/ customer service/ front line receptionist is to use Abby Connect. With Abby Connect you can rest assured the aforementioned 5 will be strong assets of your business:
What You Need To Know
1: Background Noise
Abby Connect receptionists are located in a upscale office building and all use noise cancelling headsets. Your phone line will always be answered with the most professional voice, with a crystal clear line with no external noise.
2: Information Dissemination
At Abby Connect a small team of 5 receptionists is assigned to each account. This means that you have a highly cohesive group of receptionists working together in the same room and can easily transfer information from person to person.
3: Reliable Internet
Abby Connect has not 1, not 2 but 3 internet providers coming into the office. Every router, switch, computer, server, desktop computer, phone handset and phone pbx has at least 1 backup onsite. Disaster recovery plans are routinely practiced and in place for the worst of scenarios.
4: Business Quality Phone Lines
Abby Connect not only has 1 business quality phone carrier, but has a 2nd phone carrier in the event that one line is less than perfect.
5: All Calls Answered
You can always count on your business phone line being answered within 2 – 3 rings. Your team, team leader and management system are all working together to ensure your phone line is consistently answered by a live, friendly, professional receptionist.
Call us today to find out how we can integrate into your current business model, save you money and improve your image. (866) 514-4555
