Zoom is not the answer for everything. 

The video conferencing tool has done a lot of the heavy lifting during Covid, but eventually you’ll need a space to meet colleagues or clients in-person. You may be at that point now, or simply need to get out of your home for a boost of productivity.

If you sign-up now for a Virtual Office plan that includes access to meeting rooms and guest offices, you won’t have to scramble at the last minute to find a meeting space when the need arises. 

Finding a Virtual Office Provider

Here are eight things to look for in a Virtual Office provider:

  1. Find a space close to home, or that’s convenient and easy to get to. If it’s not close or convenient, you won’t use it.
  2. Take virtual tours. For those wanting to minimize exposure as much as possible, look for a workspace provider that offers virtual video tours. These tours, which can be live, recorded, phone walkthroughs or professionally produced videos, showcase the space and services offered, including meeting rooms.
  3. Meet your tech needs. Make sure the space and meeting room have all the technology you will need to conduct a productive in-person meeting. 
  4. Find a brand and culture fit. Make sure the aesthetics, design and vibe of the space suit your work and preferences. You don’t want to compete with loud music if you’re having a quiet one-on-one meeting, and you don’t want a stuffy office if you’re working to impress potential collaborators.
  5. Ensure bookings are easy. The provider you choose should offer online meeting room bookings so you can easily schedule, change or cancel meeting space in real-time.
  6. Transparent Health and Safety policy. An upfront, transparent safety policy signals that the space operators are taking necessary Covid-conscious precautions to keep you and your guests safe. You shouldn’t have to wonder what to expect when you walk into a workspace.
  7. Positive customer feedback: Customer reviews for virtual offices, meeting rooms and the workspace, in general, can provide valuable insights into the workspace experience.
  8. Is there enough space? Some spaces are great if you are looking for a spot to drop-in and work independently in open work areas. But if meeting space is important to you, make sure your provider has a lot of meeting rooms to choose from. A provider who has a strong emphasis on Virtual Office plans and conference rooms will likely have several meeting room options of different sizes and amenities. They may also have Zoom Room Video Conferencing, media rooms, remote learning and teaching rooms and more.

Choosing a Virtual Office Plan

Here are six things to consider when choosing a virtual office plan:

  1. Price. Do your research and make apple-to-apple comparisons with what services are offered at each price point.
  2. Flexible credits. If your primary concern is access to meeting space and guest offices, get a plan that includes a certain amount of credits or hours that you can use as-needed each month. Make sure those included credits can be accessed in either a meeting room or guest office. 
  3. Find the right plan for you. Virtual Office plans are frequently bundled with other services, such as a professional business address, mail handling services and live phone answering. These services are a great compliment to a complete officing solution. But if all you need is meeting space, ask about meeting room packages specifically. For example, all Pacific Workplaces locations offer a stand-alone 20-credit bundle Virtual Office plan which simply allows users access to meeting rooms and guest offices each month. 
  4. Month-to-month plans. Make sure you’re not getting unnecessarily locked into a long term plan. Keep things flexible so if your needs change you can easily downgrade or upgrade or add-on additional services.
  5. Hourly options. If your meeting room needs don’t justify getting a monthly plan, find a provider that offers hourly, pay-as-you-go options. 
  6. Get into the system. Once you find a space you like, book it online. This should create a profile in your provider’s system so that if you need to reserve another meeting space in the future, you can do so quickly and efficiently.  

As we work to balance working from home, physically-distanced meetings, remote work, team conferencing and heads-down time, virtual office space and meeting rooms can help you maintain your workflow and your sanity.

Learn more about our Virtual Office Plans and Meeting Room services so you can get back to doing your best work in a safe environment.