Virtual Staff Saves Time, Money for Your Law Firm
We know that missing phone calls costs your business money. Helping a potential client to feel like he's in good hands and has taken a positive step toward solving his legal problems typically ends his search for representation, whereas if he'd been dumped into your voicemail, he might well have gone on to call the next attorney in the yellow pages or resumed his Google search.
Every business is different, and it's up to you to determine the best way to get your calls answered and secure those prospective clients. One important factor in making that determination is the relative cost of each of your various options. Making an accurate assessment of those costs means thinking beyond the obvious.
The real cost of that receptionist in your office is much higher than the number on her paycheck. For example, an in-house employee requires that you pay for:
- Benefits
- Payroll Taxes
- Office Space
- Office Equipment
Those expenses typically add about 30% to the cost of an employee, so if you pay your receptionist $500/week, your actual cost is approximately $650. But don't think that $650 is buying you a 40 hour work week. The Department of Labor estimates that the average employee is productive about 70% of the time, meaning that you're actually getting about 28 good hours for your $650 investment, and the hourly cost of your receptionist is about $23.21.
And that's not even taking into account the time you and your existing staff invest in hiring, training and covering for sick days and vacations.
When you outsource, someone else is responsible not only for benefits, payroll taxes, office space and equipment, but also for:
- Hiring
- Training and Supervision
- Covering Absences and Emergencies
In short, you don't have to think about the administrative details at all. You're outsourcing not only the task of picking up your telephone and taking a message, but also those of preparing payroll, paying taxes, purchasing equipment, placing job ads, interviewing prospective employees, training employees and providing feedback.
Wouldn't that time be better spent serving your clients or generating new business?
