More and more people are opting to work from home (WFH). But what if you don’t want customers or other business contacts to know that you’re working outside the office?
Here, services like RingCentral Office can add a tremendous amount of value. Office allows smaller businesses to look just like big corporations. For example, 32 Solutions, a recruiting company based in Denver, is in fact comprised of three employees in three different states. Thanks to RingCentral’s auto-receptionist, advanced call routing and local phone numbers, none of 32 Solutions’ clients has any idea it is a “virtual” company.
Without coworkers around, it is incredibly easy to become immersed in what you’re doing – to the point that you can forget to take a break or eat lunch. Preserving balance is especially tricky when you love your work, 32 Solutions founder and CEO Lori Joy notes.
“I would much rather negotiate a salary than do laundry,” Lori told me recently.
Time management is another challenge, especially when your coworkers are out of state. Having processes set up – such as daily strategy meetings and priorities that keep everyone on the same page – is essential, Lori says.
Blocking out time each day for client calls is also smart, 32 Solutions has found. This is where RingCentral really helps. Because 32 Solutions deals primarily with smaller companies, having local phone numbers (despite being five states away!) is a huge benefit. Plus, those numbers are now owned by 32 Solutions. So if employees leave the organization, the numbers do not have to.
In addition, employees can use their smartphones to easily handle calls when on vacation or out of the office. With advanced call routing, they can take calls on their personal phones but keep their business and personal life separate. And with the easy-to-use RingCentral interface, everything can be managed in one place.
32 Solutions’ experience shows that, with the right tools and tactics in place, it is possible to make virtual work a success. The perks can absolutely outweigh the downsides (which is why more people are working from home and businesses are eager to implement plans that let employees do so).
So the only question left is, are you plugged in to virtual work?
Originally published Oct 09, 2013, updated Sep 17, 2021
