A virtual receptionist is a term used in the business world to describe someone who answers phones or performs the duties of an on-site receptionist but is not physically present at the main office. If they work off-site or at a remote location, customer service representatives, answering service agents, and even appointment schedulers could all be classified as virtual receptionists. The receptionist works from home in the vast majority of cases.
Virtual workers are frequently used businesses to improve customer service extending hours of availability and covering all time zones, as well as to reduce overhead and payroll costs. An individual’s job responsibilities in this position usually include taking incoming phone calls. Calls for product ordering or questions about product ordering are common, but retail isn’t the only industry that uses virtual workers. Medical staffing firms, for example, use these receptionists to answer incoming calls after hours and schedule temporary workers to fill in at understaffed hospitals in the area.
Rather than being an employee, a virtual receptionist works as an independent contractor for a company. There are exceptions, and some businesses do employ remote workers on a permanent basis. Each situation has advantages and disadvantages, so those looking for work as a virtual receptionist or a remote worker should weigh them carefully. Typically, the agreement is made as a win-win situation between the employee and the employer. The employee can work from home, and the employer saves money on computer hardware, electricity, and other operating expenses.
Because job titles and descriptions vary so widely, job seekers should exercise caution when looking for these types of jobs. In reality, while there are hundreds of legitimate companies that employ these receptionists, they are not always well-publicized or easy to locate. Avoid companies that advertise job openings but then charge for software or other items that they claim are required to complete the job. A legitimate virtual receptionist job offer will almost always require only a computer with high-speed Internet, a dedicated landline phone, and a noise-canceling headset.
Insurance companies, catalog retailers, and floral retailers, as well as medical answering services and television ad campaigns, are among the industries that hire these receptionists or customer service agents. You may have recently called to order a product or contacted a company’s customer service department, unaware that you were speaking with a virtual receptionist.