8 Best Places to Find Remote Answering Service Jobs
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Have you ever wanted to find a position that allows you to help small businesses from the comfort of your own home? If you love talking to people, have excellent interpersonal skills, and have an outgoing personality, then working from home for a virtual answering service could be for you.
Many companies would rather have their customers speak to a live person instead of having them leave a message or, worse yet, hang up.
Companies can lose business if a live person doesn’t answer their calls, so many companies hire a virtual answering service to take calls for them.
By hiring a virtual answering service, businesses can save time and money while still providing top-notch customer support.
What Does a Virtual Answering Service Do?
A virtual answering service hires people to handle incoming phone calls on behalf of their clients. The employees, often called virtual receptionists, are responsible for answering calls, taking messages, forwarding calls, and providing basic information to callers.
The specific tasks assigned to virtual answering service employees can vary depending on the needs of their clients. Some clients may require virtual receptionists to schedule appointments, process orders, answer questions, or provide customer service support. Other clients may require more specialized services, like bilingual answering or technical support.
The goal of a virtual answering service is to help business owners manage their incoming phone calls efficiently and professionally, even if they are not available to answer the phone in person.
Education and Skills Needed
The exact requirements can vary depending on the company and the nature of the job, but here are some general education and skills needed:
- High School Diploma: Many virtual answering service jobs require a high school diploma or equivalent.
- Excellent Communication Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills are crucial. The ability to speak clearly and professionally is critical, as virtual answering service agents often interact with clients over the phone and through email.
- Typing and Computer Skills: Strong typing skills are necessary for data entry, and knowledge of computer systems and software is often required.
- Multitasking Ability: Working for a virtual answering service can be fast-paced, and agents need to be able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously, such as answering calls while entering information into a computer system.
- Excellent Customer Service Skills: The ability to provide exceptional customer service is a must, as virtual answering service agents are often the first point of contact for customers.
- Attention to Detail: Agents must be detail-oriented and accurate because they need to enter client information correctly and follow specific protocols.
- Time Management Skills: The ability to manage time effectively is important because virtual answering service agents may be required to adhere to strict schedules and deadlines.
- Flexibility: Flexibility is crucial because virtual answering service agents may need to work flexible hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.
- Bilingual Skills: Speaking more than one language isn’t necessarily a requirement, but it helps.
Who Hires Virtual Answering Services?
Virtual answering services can be helpful to a wide range of small to medium businesses that want to provide professional, efficient, and cost-effective customer service. Some of the different types of businesses that commonly hire virtual answering services include:
- Veterinary Offices
- Legal Firms
- Real Estate Agencies
- Doctors and Dentists Offices
- Service-Based Businesses
How Much Do Virtual Answering Services Pay?
The salary of a virtual receptionist can vary depending on your location, experience, and the company you work for. However, Glassdoor says the average base pay for a virtual receptionist in the United States is around $34,982 per year or about $16.81 per hour.
Equipment Needed
To work from home with a virtual answering service, you will typically need a reliable computer, a high-speed internet connection, a headset with a microphone, and software or apps to handle calls and messages. Also, you will need access to a quiet home office and a webcam for video calls.
The specific requirements may vary depending on the employer or company you work for.
Where to Find Work From Home Answering Service Jobs
These are the best places to find remote jobs as a virtual receptionist. Some of the companies listed here offer both full-time and part-time jobs. Some also offer flexible schedules as well as company benefits like health insurance.
Answer Connect is a U.S.-based virtual receptionist and telephone answering service provider that offers 24/7 live operator services for businesses of all sizes and industries. Their services include call answering, message taking, appointment scheduling, and customized call scripts. Answer Connect was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
They hire remote virtual receptionists for sales and support roles.
Answer First, headquartered in Tampa, Florida, has been in business since 1998. This telephone answering service provider offers 24/7 live operator services for businesses of all sizes and industries.
They hire Customer Service Professionals to handle inbound calls, provide customer support, take messages, schedule appointments, and handle other call-related tasks on behalf of their clients. They don’t require any previous experience, and you are paid for talk time.
Back Office Betties, headquartered in Texas, is a virtual receptionist and customer support service provider that specializes in serving the legal industry.
They hire Virtual Legal Intake Specialists to handle inbound calls, perform legal intake and client screening, schedule appointments, and provide customer service for their law firm clients. They don’t require any previous legal experience, but you must live in AZ, NV, TX, or FL.
Centratel is a U.S.-based telephone answering service provider based in Bend, Oregon. The company has been in business since 1984 and offers 24/7 live operator services for companies and organizations of all sizes and industries. Their services include call forwarding, message taking, appointment scheduling, and customized call scripts.
They hire remote Telephone Service Representatives to answer calls on behalf of clients, take messages, forward calls, provide basic customer service, and follow customized call scripts.
Gabbyville is a Buffalo, New York-based virtual receptionist and telephone answering service provider that offers customized plans for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
They hire remote Virtual Receptionists to answer client calls, take messages, schedule appointments, and provide basic customer service.
They don’t post open positions on their website. If you’re interested in working with them, you’ll need to email them your cover letter and resume to career@gabbyville. They’ll contact you if there’s an open position that you’re a good fit for.
PATLive provides live answering services and call center solutions to businesses.
They hire remote virtual receptionists in a few states to answer inbound phone calls, take messages, and schedule appointments on behalf of their clients.
Ruby Receptionists is a company that provides virtual receptionist services for small businesses in the United States.
They hire Virtual Receptionists who live in Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, and Washington to answer incoming calls.
Receptionists must have at least two years of prior experience as a customer service representative.
Ruby offers a starting wage of $16.75 or more per hour, depending on the state.
Smith.ai is a company that provides virtual receptionist services to businesses.
This company hires Virtual Receptionists to answer calls, respond to chats, and handle other communication tasks for their clients.
Smith has both full-time and part-time positions available, and they offer a starting pay of $15 per hour.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are several companies that offer remote virtual answering service jobs. Each company has different requirements for their employees, so make sure to read the job descriptions carefully before applying.
If you have customer service experience and strong communication skills, then working for a virtual answering service could be a great opportunity for you.
Other Places to Find Remote Virtual Answering Service Jobs
If you are looking for more virtual answering service positions, then freelancing is a great option. You can offer your virtual receptionist services on freelancing websites and choose which jobs you want to accept. You can go here to see a list of freelancing sites.