A virtual office sounds like a weird concept from the future. In truth, a virtual office space is very much a concept of the present, and it holds very real and pragmatic purposes. 

But what is a virtual office and how does it work? These are the primary questions we will answer in this article. So, let’s discover the workings of a virtual office!

Virtual Office Meaning

A virtual office is a suite of services offered to businesses that do not require the daily use of physical office space. It means that a business can have a ‘location’ that customers, clients, and affiliates can connect it to, while maintaining the flexibility of being able to work from wherever. 

Some of the services typically offered by a virtual office include mail handling and bookable meeting rooms. But we will get to these specifics shortly. 

So, what’s the idea behind the development of virtual office spaces? Well, as many business owners and operators know, renting office space can be costly for an enterprise that doesn’t need to spend much time in it. 

In recent years, in particular, more and more businesses have been switching over to more dynamic working arrangements for their employees. For example, it is now common for many workers to spend much of their time on secondment, at the premises of clients, or even at home. Also, many sole traders, entrepreneurs, and startups often don’t want to be locked into office contracts because it’s essential for them to keep their businesses as lean as possible. 

Although many businesses want to keep their operations flexible and economical, it’s still essential that they project a professional image. A business address in the suburbs just doesn’t compare to a CBD postcode, and this is what a virtual office offers. 

How Does a Virtual Office Work?

A virtual office works on a membership basis. At Christie Spaces, your Virtual Office Membership will include the following:

• A professional CBD address
• Full mail and package handling services
• Access to bookable meeting rooms
• Access to the Christie Spaces App
• Super-fast WiFi for use before, after, and during meetings
• Use of presentation monitors during meetings (Zoom enabled)
• Professional concierge services during business hours
• Professional networking and social events
• Dedicated community team 
• Optional phone handling service

When you sign up to a Virtual Office Membership, you will immediately have access to all of these features and services. This means that you can ‘move in’ to your new office straight away, without any fuss. You concentrate on the actual operations of your business, and leave everything else to us. 

One of the major benefits of a Virtual Office Membership is the access it gives you to meeting rooms. The beauty of this is that, when needed, you can actually use the physical location of your office. For instance, you might want to book a meeting room to get your team together for a briefing, or you might want to meet with a client in a professional setting. Just go on the app or get in touch with the team to book a time and venue that suits your purposes. 

Virtual Office Advantages and Disadvantages

It is not really the case that there are pros and cons of virtual office spaces. It’s more a case of different businesses finding solutions that suit their different operational models. 

Of course, for some businesses, maintaining a physical office space remains essential. Arrangements like open offices, private offices, and project spaces may be necessary to bring teams together in one place for the purposes of communication and collaboration.

But then, on the other hand, many businesses simply don’t need a physical office space. For these businesses, there are major advantages of running a virtual office, such as the possibility of:

• Minimising overheads
• Maintaining a professional image for clients and customers
• Streamlining business services like mail handling 
• Retaining some office functions like meeting rooms

It’s really a question of working out what the priorities of your business are and going from there. You can also always get going with a virtual office and transition into a physical one if it becomes apparent that you need it, or if the dynamics of your business change.

Get in touch with us for a chat about what office solutions will work best for you.