Hiring a virtual receptionist comes with a lot of benefits that are good for your legal practice. Using one is incredibly cost effective, even if you’re a solo or virtual lawyer working out of a non-traditional environment. Since you’re hiring a company or an independent contractor as opposed to choosing to hire a traditional employee, you’ll save on overhead, insurance expenses, and fringe benefits. You also get more time to focus on your clients and their legal needs while your callers are well-taken care of.
Yet, how do you know that your callers are getting the best possible care? How do you know that you’re getting the best possible benefit for what you’re paying? We’ve talked before about how to choose the best possible one to meet your needs. We’ve also discussed how you can make sure that your clients are being treated properly.
In this post, we’re going to help you minimize the chance of massive disappointment that could befall you if you’re not careful. Here are four common mistakes lawyers make when they’re looking to find the right virtual receptionist for their office.
Not Truly Prepared to Absorb the Cost of a Virtual Receptionist
Like hiring for any other position, choosing a virtual receptionist obviously comes at a price. You must be prepared to absorb the cost. Sure, you can certainly look for a provider who does the job for what seems to be an extremely inexpensive rate. However, there could be a bigger cost. You could end up with someone who may not be experienced as a virtual receptionist, understand the importance of possibility privileged communication, or understand the unauthorized practice of law. It’s important that you consider options that understand the unique needs that the legal industry presents.
You also need to understand what you’re required to provide and what the virtual receptionist will provide. Will you need to invest in certain software or apps? Do your possible choices provide their own equipment? Also, consider the service or services offered. Will they only receive calls during certain hours? Do they need to return calls? Will they route calls, take messages, or both?
Carefully read any proposal or contract you’re given so that you understand the price and when payment should be rendered by you. If there is something you’re not comfortable with, get clarification or provide a counter proposal.
Not Considering the Location of the Provider
Make sure that you know the location from which your services will be provided. Why is this important? It’s important for a couple of reasons. First, you want to make sure that your receptionist can and will be available during your business hours. Second, you want to make sure that you’re hiring someone who can clearly and easily communicate with your clients and potential clients. After all, this person or company will be the first point of contact for callers. Clients ARM provides US based remote receptionist services for lawyers. We’re located in the State of Washington and we have more than 30 years of experience.
Not Hiring a Virtual Receptionist with Legal Experience
There are virtual receptionists who claim to be specialized in all sorts of professions. While this may be okay for other industries, it is imperative that lawyers look for someone who has legal experience. We explained a couple of those reasons earlier in this post. Adhering to the rules of professional conduct in the jurisdiction or jurisdictions where you’re admitted. The legal profession is one of the most crucial professions in the world. Every jurisdiction creates rules to protect the public. One of those rules is to provide proper supervision. As experienced virtual receptionists, we believe that it is better for lawyers to choose a provider who has legal experience and with a general understanding of the importance of privileged communication, what receptionists may not say because it could be considered legal advice, and who understands the feelings that the callers have because of what they’re going through.
Not Ensuring Proper Availability
When looking to hire a virtual receptionist, one of the biggest mistakes a lawyer can make is not ensuring that the virtual receptionist has proper availability to give your callers the time and attention they deserve. Consider whether you need more than one receptionist if your practice gets high volume of phone calls. Be realistic and upfront about the number of calls and the hours that you need the receptionist available. If there’s a difference in your time zone and the time zone of the virtual receptionist, make sure that the two of you are on the same page. Spell it out as plain as you can in the contract for future reference. You should also include the days of the week you need coverage, whether you need someone to work on what would generally be considered unusual hours or days (such as Saturdays), and whether you need them to work on federal holidays.
Ready to Hire a Virtual Receptionist?
The main benefit of hiring a virtual receptionist to attend to your calls while you focus on substantive legal work. Ready to hire a virtual receptionist that’s experienced and ready to help you make the most of your time? Click here to book a free consultation with Clients ARM today.
