With major climatic shifts having a devastating effect on our planet, we’ve had to carefully reevaluate each aspect of our lives. The push towards establishing greener consumption habits has resulted in us considering even the most basic day-to-day functions, and within this, communication can play a surprisingly significant role in supporting sustainable objectives.
Although virtual personal assistants and telephone answering services might not be an immediately apparent player in the sustainability conversation, they present an exciting alternative to traditional onsite receptionists and brick-and-mortar call centres. In this blog, The Answering Service examines how business owners and professionals can make a positive difference in supporting the global sustainability agenda, and in doing so, futureproof their organisations.
Caring for the Environment
Reducing our carbon footprint has become central to environmental sustainability, and a growing number of businesses have started realising that if they don’t put in place measures that align with these goals, they’re at risk of becoming obsolete.
Telephone answering services and virtual receptionists typically operate remotely as work-from-home agents or from a central facility. On the other hand, traditional in-person receptionists and call centres require permanent office space, with ongoing energy costs for lighting, heating, cooling, and powering equipment. Additionally, office workers have to travel to and from work. Over time, these factors collectively contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
Remote working setups eliminate the need for offices and daily commutes because answering service teams can work from home or a local hub suited to their day-to-day needs. This reduction in vehicle emissions and energy consumption has substantial potential when multiplied across hundreds or even thousands of businesses.
Digitising Resources
The efficient use of resources is key in sustainability. Onsite receptionists require dedicated workstations, telephones and paper-based tools to convey messages, which must be purchased, maintained, and eventually disposed of. All of this amounts to a wasteful cycle of physical replenishment and replacement.
By comparison, call answering services and virtual assistants make extensive use of an array of digital platforms to manage calls and messages, which reduces the reliance on physical supplies like paper, hardware and energy. Digitising processes in this way is financially and operationally beneficial as it allows multiple organisations to share the same infrastructure.
Generating Jobs
Sustainability isn’t limited to the environment – it also extends to social upliftment and well-being. Phone answering services are creating more remote-based employment, allowing agents to work virtually, from virtually anywhere. The move away from traditional office-based roles has also led to a host of other social benefits, such as:
Improved work-life balance: The time saved by not having to get ready for work and commute to and from an office each day is a big plus for remote workers. They’re also able to look after their homes and families more closely, which provides them with a deeper sense of fulfilment.
Providing access to employment: Answering services can open up job opportunities to individuals who have physical, logistical or other material limitations. This empowers those in rural or underserved communities, which is an important facet of sustainability.
Creating a diverse workforce: Selecting job candidates from a wider pool of talent can provide a fresh take on problem-solving and ideation. And by facilitating remote work, answering services contribute to broader economic growth and stability.
Supporting SMEs and Local Business
For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), outsourcing call handling and other admin-type tasks to a telephone answering service can be both cost-effective and sustainable. Instead of maintaining an in-house receptionist, SMEs can access professional call handling services with a financial commitment that is based purely on their needs. This gives smaller organisations the opportunity to participate in sustainable local economies.
Adapting Efficiencies
The scale of work for in-house receptionists and call centre agents can vary, and businesses may not always be able to keep up when demand peaks above capacity. Conversely, during slower periods, resources can be chronically underutilised. To compound this, the overheads that come with having physical offices and full-time staff remain much the same.
Telephone answering services, however, serve multiple clients simultaneously because that is their sole function, so they can quickly deploy teams as they’re needed to respond to fluctuating call volumes. This means resources are used far more efficiently, minimising the drawbacks of having idle staff and infrastructure.
Leveraging Data
Digital communication and data handling are at the heart of modern telephone answering and virtual assistant services, which we at The Answering Service can attest to.
Our calls are electronically recorded and archived, messages are logged, and diaries are managed through integrated digital calendars. From this, we can analyse call data and continuously improve our approach.
Digital storage systems also reduce paper and the physical requirements for filing and record-keeping, lightening a company’s environmental impact.
Be Part of the Solution!
As businesses tackle sustainability head-on, it’s more critical than ever to consider the full extent of our operational choices on our people, the planet, and long-term profitability.
Telephone answering services are playing their part in sustainability, and by adopting these services, businesses can reduce their carbon footprint while supporting remote work through digital transformation.
If you’d like to see how The Answering Service can optimise your business, get in touch on 0333 5555 247 or email us at support@theansweringserviceltd.com.