Sometimes words don’t mean what people think they do. For example people give an overly specific definition to the term “outsourcing” believing it refers only to sending jobs to India or other countries. That is one form of outsourcing and it’s understandable why it’s controversial, but at the same time outsourcing means a lot of other things. One example of rather non-controversial outsourcing is hiring a virtual receptionist or virtual assistant. It’s out sourcing because you’re not having someone internal handle it, nor are you expanding your base of internal employees to accommodate the new duties. However it’s rather non-controversial because it makes so much sense.
Outsourcing is bad to some people when it deprives a community (even an imagined, national one) of employment. It’s good when it allows a business to grow without depriving people of jobs. Some businesses need receptionists a lot. For example a law firm could not survive without people to answer the phone and help direct new clients. Passing that duty off to a paralegal would be a waste of time and money since paralegals get paid more and have more demanding job requirements than a receptionist. Other types of businesses receive considerably fewer general calls, people either don’t get many calls, or they get calls straight to their office not to any sort of answering service. However some businesses receive just a few to the general number, and losing that line of contact could be disastrous, but it still doesn’t make sense to have someone on staff to answer a half dozen phone calls per day. To these businesses a virtual receptionist can be a god send.
What virtual receptionists let you do is outsource that job at a rate that makes it profitable and sensible to do. If the business expands you might need a full time receptionist, but having a virtual receptionist service allows you to keep costs down and not spend money on an infrequently used position, but to instead focus resources on the main sources of income and revenue. In terms of the moral quandaries and ethics of outsourcing this type of outsourcing avoids them. It doesn’t deprive Americans of work (assuming you hire an American company of which there are many) and since you can get a very local firm you’re not even sending work out of your city or state. The only possible loss would be to a theoretical full time receptionist who isn’t being hired. The reason why it’s a net benefit is that carrying too many employees can cut dangerously into profits and hold a company back from expanding to hire employees it actually needs.
Virtual receptionist – You need to do the right thing for your company. That means you need to go with an outside service if it’s cheaper and more efficient. You just want to make sure you’re working with the right company. If you’re in Texas you should call Rite Response, a company with over 20 years of experience. They can be found online at http://riteresponse.com/ or reached via telephone at 866.838.RITE.
