Efficient place with image and reputation

Efficient place with image and reputation

I. Christianto Contributor Jakarta

Every day Hardi Hadianto works from his rented house in the Setia Budi area in Central Jakarta, Deni Darmawan sells and promotes satellite transponders for an American satellite company from his home in Tangerang, and Shinta Sofyan works in Jakarta as a managing director of a Singapore-based software company.

They all use virtual offices to create a corporate image in the marketplace.

All of them boast a prestigious address in high-rise office buildings in the capital's prime business district. All three have their telephone calls received by a virtual office. None of them actually occupy office space at the building. But from there the similarity ends.

Hardi runs his one-man-show advertising firm and has watched it grow steadily. He has successfully eliminated the image of the small, self-run company associated with no receptionist or secretary, meeting room or secondhand answering machine.

Instead, he has the use of a conference room to meet his clients, a receptionist who takes calls for him and an accountant and a modern telephone system.

The telephone system is computerized, with a wealth of information, including a variety of telephone contact numbers and Hardi company's services.

A receptionist takes Hardi's calls, answering the phone by first identifying the company. In most cases, the calls are diverted to his house or mobile phone without any indication that he is not physically present at the office.

"This is very helpful in improving and maintaining the image of my business. I now get compliments from my clients about the new office," said Hardi, "I'm delighted with the new image".

Hardi says he created the new image of his firm in a short period and plans to take advantage of other services offered by the virtual office provider.

"In addition to using the meeting rooms and presentation facilities, I'll soon take advantage of other services and facilities, including the Local Area Network (LAN) and the professional IT technicians to prepare and run my homepage, high- speed Internet access, videoconferencing, bookkeeping and accounting and recruitment," he said.

Deni, a regional director of a telecommunications company based in the U.S., has virtual office space for his business to put across the same image as that of the American parent company.

"I usually meet with prospective or existing clients at their offices. I rarely receive customers at my office, but when I have to, my company needs to portray a very good image. Under such circumstances, I can use the meeting rooms," he said.

He says the virtual office provides very good service in taking calls and receiving facsimiles as well as mail.

"I can still answer calls on my mobile phones. But now when I'm unavailable my calls are answered by someone who knows how to deal with any circumstance," he said.

Shinta, an American IT graduate, recently returned to Jakarta after working for a couple of months for a software company in Singapore.

"I can't live in Singapore for personal reasons. But my employer wouldn't accept my resignation. So now I am working for the same company but in Jakarta. As the company doesn't have any representative office in the city, it allows me to use a virtual office, which, to some extent, puts across a good image for the company," she said.

Thanks to sophisticated technology and a growing number of virtual office operators, the physical presence of a representative office is not necessary, she added.

Hardi, Deni and Shinta are examples of professional workers and companies utilizing virtual offices to present a good business image or a well-maintained postal address and telephone numbers without the expense of a traditional office.

The number of people using virtual offices in Indonesia has grown considerably in recent years, especially since the economic crisis first struck Indonesia in 1997. Due to the crisis, many companies have been forced to move to areas outside of the central business district to save on rental. Other companies went bankrupt. But many need to create a good corporate image or maintain contact with their customers, clients, business partners and need a permanent address in a prime location.

By using virtual office providers, they can create an image of an office without the expense of permanent office space. Virtual office clients may be far removed from the business center, but they receive all of the benefits necessary to create a professional business image.

There are a variety of virtual office clients, such as those in need of office space, those working from remote locations, entrepreneurs and corporate representatives of overseas enterprises, newly established local businesses or international companies that want local representation.

Virtual office providers often attract home-based workers. Key components of the concept include the ability to deliver a prestigious image, administrative and technical support services as well as permanent or part-time office or conference room space for small companies and remote representatives of larger companies.

Virtual office operators also provide a variety of services, including executive suites for professional workers in need of office space or business image without the high expense of permanent, rented office space.

Maya Kandou, general manager of CEO SUITE, says that since its establishment in 1997, the company has significantly expanded. "We are offering virtual offices and full-time office services. Now we have two locations in Jakarta, at the GKBI building and Jakarta Stock Exchange building," she said.

Occupancy rates reach 70 percent at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building and 100 percent at the GKBI building, she added. Each location has some 1,600 square meters.

Rosaline Mayapada of the Executive Center says there are some 60 clients for virtual offices at her company.

"We serve more local companies, which account for about 70 percent of the total clients for virtual offices. This may be due to our rates, which are in rupiah," she said, adding that her company offers three attractive packages to lure prospective clients.