Modern technology takes away a lot of the needs of an office building. This gives businesses the opportunity to have people work from wherever they are, and whenever they like. Growing businesses and established brands are gravitating towards the flexible workstyle of virtual offices and for good reason. Here are 10 major benefits businesses are reaping by switching to a virtual office:

The Business Address

A business run remotely could get all its effective work done at the comfort of the employee’s personal space. But, it is a probable fact that current and potential clients always feel more comfortable working with a company that has a physical business address regardless of its success. The legitimacy of a physical address also helps when recruiting potential employees.

Hand-pick Your Location

A virtual office provides an added advantage of handpicking a centrally or conveniently located business address. This creates a professional impression on prospects and clients, and looks good on paper too!

Many businesses don’t have the capital to finance a centrally located office and usually settle for something farther away.  With virtual offices, an opportunity to select office space at a prime location comes at a fraction of the price.

Major Parameters To Avoid While Choosing A Virtual Office

Avoid Overhead Costs

Finances to get your business started are only the beginning. The next stage involves keeping your business afloat, if not thriving. Beyond the rental fees, the financial aspects also cover overhead costs like office equipment and maintenance wages. Without the necessity of physical office space, a virtual office would eliminate the need for such operating costs that come with using office space.

Full Time, On-Site Receptionist and Assistant

A virtual office like iKeva also comes with built-in support staff with customized call answering, fax machine support, and more. This ensures a smooth flow of communication in the internal network. It also gives a professional feel for clients and employees, while maintaining corporate identity.

Productivity

With all miscellaneous tasks outsourced and handled by experts, the business now has the ability to completely focus on its goal. Productivity should see a logical increase as the employees have only their performance to concentrate on. This makes it easier to weed out employees who don’t meet stated goals and reward the employees who excel. The happiness index in a company is also known to be an indicator of productivity. With remote working, the workspace can’t possibly get more comfortable.

Save money on technology

A company that employs remote workers has a key advantage of BYOT – that is, Bring Your Own Technology. Employees use the tech they prefer and they’re responsible for upgrading it as and when required. Although there can be some cybersecurity concerns, tech solutions and tools for monitoring and employee training come in handy in such situations.

Office facilities

Working remotely doesn’t mean that access to critical business facilities is lost. Certain facilities like fax machines, concierge services, and conference rooms are offered by virtual offices like iKeva on a pay as you use basis. iKeva also provides access to meeting and conference rooms on demand.

Access to nationwide talent

As your business grows, it is natural for your network of clients to grow as well. For instance, if a company headquartered in Bengaluru gains a new client in Chennai and they need someone once a week, a virtual office in Mumbai does the trick. The nature of a flexible workspace allows the company to simply employ someone to look after the affairs of the client at one of their multiple locations and report back. This saves significantly of the traveling and accommodation fees that come with providing attention to a new client, while giving a professional, nationwide feel to its corporate identity. This also means that a company doesn’t have to hold back on acquiring talent that lives in too far away from the office or even in another state.

No commute time

With distance out of the picture, the two or three hours spent getting ready and traveling to and from the office is also eliminated. Tech giant IBM noted in a survey of employees that after adopting alternative workplace solutions, the productivity and effectiveness of the employees increased significantly.

Flexibility Is Your Greatest Ally

Running errands, lunchtime or simply spending time with the kids as a new parent is more preferable with a flexible workspace. It becomes more about meeting performance goals than maintaining a physical presence at the company.

Sure, some structures require people together in a particular location to get the work done. But for a company where technology truly allows communication to thrive from anywhere, a virtual office can offer some strong enhancements when compared to traditional office environments. This is why iKeva offers a variety of virtual office options for businesses, offering true flexibility in the spirit of the concept.