Business owners often find themselves wondering how much they should pay a receptionist, especially if they are a little low on budget. Thankfully, the answer is quite clear and it differs only marginally from state to state.
As receptionists often take on roles and responsibilities that deviate from traditional job responsibilities of a receptionist, it is important to decide how much you are willing to pay as salary, and if you can continue to sustain this payment for years, as your business grows.
How much do in-house receptionists get paid?
Apart from the salaries that you have to pay them, you will also have to pay an additional 10% as payroll expenses. According to Indeed Salary, average hourly wages of receptionists differ only marginally across cities in the US. However, differences do exist. A receptionist in Miami may make $10.85 per hour, while her counterpart in San Francisco may make $16.24. The differences may seem significant but the cost of living in cities like San Francisco is much higher, justifying the higher average hourly rates. If you hire a full-time receptionist, you will be spending almost $2,800 per month, which works out to $33,600 every year on receptionist salary. If you hire three receptionists, you will easily spend $100,000 a year and that is a prohibitive cost to most consultants and small businesses.
Cost-effective solution for businesses is virtual receptionist
An alternative to hiring in-house receptionists is to hire virtual receptionists. We provide virtual receptionist services to businesses and individuals, who need help making and receiving calls, schedule appointments, enter data, and much more. Virtual receptionists are paid much more than an average receptionist, and this is because they work for several clients. As they are paid much more than elsewhere, they are also happier. This happiness is reflected in their work, and they sound cheerful, friendly and contented, which ensures great customer service.
If you compare Abby Connect’s virtual receptionist prices with that of hiring a full time in-house receptionist, there is simply no comparison. You will be spending only 1/56th of what you will probably spend if you hire a full-time receptionist. At $279 per month with 80-104 hours of phone answering during working hours, there is simply no better way to save money. At $279 per month, you get 5 dedicated full-time virtual receptionists. If you hire 5 full-time in-house receptionists, you would probably spend to the tune of $168,000 a year on receptionist salary.
Sometimes, you need both
If you are a larger company and need the physical presence of receptionists to run various errands, you can still save money by reducing the number of full-time in-house receptionists you plan to hire, and hire virtual receptionists simultaneously. This way, you will have the best of both worlds, and reduce a lot of expenditure too.
As you can see, receptionist salaries can burn a hole in your pocket, and it is not advisable to hire full time in-house receptionists except in special circumstances. By hiring virtual receptionists, you will spend only a fraction of money on receptionist salary. In those special circumstances when you need a receptionist’s physical presence, you can reduce your expenditure by hiring fewer in-house staff.
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