Hiring managers are stressing the need to be a self-starting multi-tasker, and are proclaiming the need for that skill in bold print across the web, and in your local newspaper classifieds. Companies and medical / legal practices alike want to get the most out of their hired help. Unfortunately, most of the time the receptionist doesn't live up to their promise of multi-tasking capability. It's not entirely your receptionist's fault. Being the office gatekeeper can be demanding and keep the receptionist so busy that he or she doesn't have time to help with the database updates, the report, or the spreadsheets. They often get burnout from handling all those calls and have little time or energy to do anything else.

There are many advantages to partnering with an answering service, which is obviously more cost-efficient than hiring receptionists, not to mention you won't be burdened with the need to pay payroll taxes and benefits. Additional advantages of an answering service include multiple shifts of live operators who handle your calls, who are fresh and ready to work hard on behalf of your business. They're not doing the exact same function Monday thru Friday eight hours a day, week after week like a receptionist would.

An industry leading national answering service provider, like 1-800 We Answer , should make it a point to hire only articulate answering service operators who have diverse skills and who can also provide quality customer service support, update a database, and document all calls whether it's a sales call or just an inquiry and even create an enquiry log. Some of the best answering service operators work actively in the United States, and US-based answering services and call centers are worth supporting. US-based operators have excellent phone-voices, are more easily understood by callers, and generally are more familiar with American business culture. Equally as important, industry leaders select operators who have diverse skills and often times are bilingual. Spanish-English bilingual skills are increasingly important for US and global business.

When you go the make-sense route of hiring an answering service, you automatically get a staff of skilled multi-taskers at your disposal. Unlike your receptionist, an answering service provides their answering service whenever you need it. Whether that need is on a part-time, overflow, after-hours or full-time basis, 24/7, even 365-days a year, your answering service can come online with a couple of button punches on your office phone. And a reliable industry leader should offer your business or practice fair and flexible pricing, without pressuring you into a long-term contract. An answering service should practice earning your loyalty over time and not tying you to a long-term contract.

Another answering service advantage is that when you partner with them, you are essentially getting three jobs covered. Your company gets a personal assistant, a receptionist, and quality customer service/sales support representative. While you're out doing business or schmoozing prospects, the answering service professional can cover your calls and register people for an event you are having, or schedule appointments so your medical or dental practice can continue to grow and flourish. The point is, you need to see patients, spend face-to-face time with important client and prospects, and be not interrupted by handling incoming calls.

When you're busy, a quality and reliable answering service like 1-800 We Answer http://www.efls.com will manage all your calls, even document and record them. Your messages should be accurately taken and can be relayed to you via phone, mobile, e-mail, fax or PDA.

If you're in the medical field, a staff supervisor should verify each and every call flagged as an emergency or urgent call, before they elect to contact you. A great answering service never skimps on support staff and realizes the importance of your privacy and time away from the office.

We hope that this article will help you make the decision of hiring a full-time receptionist or office assistant, or hiring an answering service. The advantages of hiring an answering service should be clear: you essentially get more than one person helping you to manage and answer your important calls. Live operators have solid communication skills and can multi-task by acting as a customer service representative in addition to being your virtual receptionist. The answering service that you choose should emphasize hiring only professional and pleasant-to-the-ear speaking operators, since they make that a hiring emphasis, realizing the importance of the voice, and how it sets the tone of each call.

So the choice comes down to hiring a receptionist who you hope can multi-task as well as they said they could. Or, you can go with a reliable and professional answering service industry leader like 1-800 We Answer. By doing so you essentially get more than a one person hire, you get a small staff of dedicated professionals who will seamlessly answer all your calls and do more whenever you need them to; at any hour, any day of the week, or on a weekend for no overtime or holiday pay.