Techblog
Collaboration for SMEs: Is the physical office still relevant?
The virtual office can be a big boon to your business. Find out what benefits you can gain by working without a fixed physical location.
By the myBusiness techblog team
The Cambridge University Press[1] defines a virtual office as a place where "the activities of a business is carried out by people who communicate by telephone, email, and the internet, etc., rather than working together in a building." Embracing this concept means that employees can work out of their homes, connected to each other via technology, without the need to ever meet face-to-face.
Virtual offices are more ideal for employees who are disciplined, as employee behaviour would be largely unsupervised. However, if there are benefits to having employees under supervision, why go virtual? The reason is simple - budgeting. Rent can be expensive in Singapore and generous cost-savings can be reaped. This is especially so for start-ups or growing businesses, where huge upfront capital might be an issue. Here are some other reasons that to support this cause.
1. Lower overhead costs
Acquiring physical office space, and paying for utility and furniture costs can add up to 30%[2] of a company's expenses. By adopting a virtual office space, employees can work from home, take calls or schedule appointments without the need to spend time travelling to-and-fro a fixed office. Essentially, the company can function while keeping its overhead costs to a bare minimum.
2. Maintain a professional image
Building trust with customers and stakeholders is key to any aspiring business. With a professional work email, and phone number, people can easily reach out to your business for queries, concerns and future business deals. Virtual office solutions such as Singtel's ONEOffice offering gives you this advantage of being and looking professional.
3. Recruit at more competitive rates
Recruitment is no longer limited to your own country. You can hire experts from across the seas to meet your company's needs. Labour costs in other countries may be more competitive than in your own country. This helps you get the same amount of work done at a cheaper rate.
4. Higher productivity
Without the need to travel to work, employees can work according to their natural rhythms and better balance work, family and life, increasing work productivity. With no set business hours, customers can approach you while you are on the go. And you can promptly respond as you please virtually.
Business collaboration, whether in a business-to-business, business-to-customer or business-to-government model, is important. With collaborations reaching every corner of the globe, you can easier reach stakeholders anytime, anywhere while saving on cost, exchange knowledge, and make timely decisions with just a simple click of a mouse.