In this day and age, it’s not always feasible to maintain a consistent work schedule. Regular 9-5 work hours have become less and less common as an increasing number of employees are working remotely. Virtual office spaces offer an unparalleled level of convenience for companies who frequently send their employees on short- or long-term business trips thanks in large part to elaborate technological advancements that have been made in recent years. Advanced telecommunication technology combined with strong Wi-Fi connections and online business platforms make it extremely simple to uphold quality and accurate communication with your employees and coworkers.

Of course, that’s not to say that a virtual office is the right solution for every company. If you’re considering renting a virtual office space, read through the following advantages and disadvantages to determine whether this type of operation is a good fit for your company.

Renting a Virtual Office Space

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Renting Virtual Office Spaces

The entire concept of virtual office rentals is still foreign within a great deal of professional communities, which is why they are commonly misunderstood. It’s no surprise that some companies feel that there are disadvantages to virtual offices, especially if they don’t suit their business model. However, Innovative Professional Offices offers extensive personalized solutions that rectify these issues and enhance your working experience. Here’s how:

Communication

Lack of communication can be a major fear for companies that are in the process of transitioning from a physical office space to a virtual rental. After all, regular in-person communication can capture certain nuances such as tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language that phone conversations or emails can’t. But on the flip side, with telecommunications, e-mail, and live chatting services constantly improving the way people can communicate with one another, there’s nothing holding you back from being sharing important business-related information to your employees—wherever they may be. If you have plans to eventually branch out your business to different locations nationally or internationally, then you’ll need to invest in solid communication platforms.

Space

If your business relies heavily on manufacturing and shipping various products, not having sufficient space to store your inventory can be problematic. However, nowadays, a lot of major retailers have taken to outsourcing factories throughout the world to manufacture, store, and ship their products directly to their customers. You can even work with major online buy-and-sell companies to store these products for you and use their shipping facilities whenever customers purchase your products online.

Motivation

Another common misconception is that employees that work remotely can sometimes start to feel lonely or unmotivated when it comes to completing professional tasks, causing overall productivity to wane. This isn’t necessarily true since offering desirable incentives and competitive benefits can boost employee morale, which will in turn also increase their productivity as well as the overall quality of the work they submit on a regular basis. Full health and dental benefits in addition to offering rewards and acknowledgement for your top performers or every time your team meets and exceeds companywide goals is an excellent way to keep them wholeheartedly engaged and connected to one another no matter the distance between them.

Work Ethic

Many businesses might feel that by allowing employees to work from remote locations, it can make it harder for supervisors to accurately keep track of projects their team is working on. But actually, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Nowadays, there are countless professional online platforms such as Basecamp that allow employees to maintain a constant line of communication open. You can easily share files of various formats, create separate profiles for each of your clients, and even start new threads regarding different topics of interest or importance for your employees. Google Drives, on the other hand, lets you share important files and allow various employees to edit each file. Managing your professional projects from afar has never been easier than it is now.

Involvement

Another disadvantage that’s usually used against the idea of virtual offices is that some employees might be left out of the loop and miss out on certain opportunities or information that’s released. While this is a genuine concern for your workers, there’s a way around it. Bring back the idea of a traditional office memo and modify it. Use online communication platforms or even companywide e-mails to inform all personnel about any upcoming promotions, sales, work anniversaries, special events, acknowledgements, and any other announcements that need to be made.

When Should You Consider Renting a Virtual Office?

Virtual offices are an ideal low-cost solution for small- to medium-sized businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs who are just starting to build up their enterprises. Generally, these are businesses that don’t have enough manpower to justify entering into a short or long-term physical office agreement. That’s not to say that you can’t use the office space for the occasional meeting or work session; it just means you might not need it all the time.

With a virtual office rental, you have the freedom to come and go as you please and you can choose when you want to work on or off-site. The benefits of renting a virtual office space are that you can work remotely while still having access to a fully trained administrative staff, Wi-Fi, tech support, and mail delivery services. On top of that, you can still use the professional mailing address for your business and all phone calls and messages will automatically be forwarded to your work phone number. All phone calls will be answered professionally and courteously using your business name so that your clients will know that they’ve reached the right place.

How to Choose the Right Virtual Office for You

At Innovative Professional Offices, our top priority is to make sure that all of your business’s needs are met. We take the time to understand how your business operates and what types of services would benefit you the most. With a wide range of flexible virtual office rental packages to choose from and no long-term lease commitment to worry about, we know that we have what it takes to be your virtual office rental service of choice.

Still not sure if a virtual office is the right solutions for your business? At IPO we offer an array of business solutions and office space rentals to suit every company’s budget and needs. To learn more about our services and how we can help you enhance your business, please contact us today!

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