- Hybrid and home working are now common in Great Britain, but many businesses still rely on one office number.
- Diverting that number to a live answering service means calls are answered even when nobody is in the office.
- Receptionists can transfer calls to mobiles, take messages for the right person or book meetings into calendars.
- Onwards' own receptionists work from home across Scotland, so the service is itself run by a remote team.
When your team works from home, on the road or in the office on different days, the business phone can become nobody's job. Calls ring out on an empty desk, go to a voicemail that nobody checks or land on the mobile of whoever set up the divert.
A call answering service for remote teams gives every caller a live answer in your company name and gets the call or message to the right person, wherever they are working. This article explains the single office number problem, the ways to fix it and what to look for in a service that supports a spread-out team.
How common is remote and hybrid working?
Working away from the office is now a normal part of working life in Britain. The Office for National Statistics found that 28% of working adults in Great Britain hybrid worked between January and March 2025.
A House of Lords Library briefing from May 2026, citing ONS data, reported that 13% of working adults in Great Britain work from home all of the time and a further 26% some of the time. For many businesses, the old model of a front desk with everyone a short walk away no longer matches how the team works. Phone handling has to follow the people.
The problem with a single office number
Most businesses still publish one main number. It is on the website, the email signature, the van and the invoices. When the office was full, that worked. When nobody is in, it causes problems:
- Calls ring out on a desk phone in an empty office.
- Voicemail fills up and is checked late, if at all.
- One person carries the load because the divert points to their mobile.
- Callers get passed around between colleagues who do not know who the call is for.
- Personal numbers spread when staff call clients back from their own mobiles.
None of this means your team is doing a poor job. It means the phone set-up was designed for a building, and your business no longer works from one.
Ways to handle calls when your team is remote
There are a few common approaches, and each has trade-offs.
| Option | How it works | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Leave calls on the office line | Calls ring the desk phone, then go to voicemail | Nobody hears them, and messages wait until someone checks |
| Divert to one mobile | The main number forwards to a manager or owner | One person becomes the switchboard, and calls are missed when they are busy |
| Ring several staff through a cloud phone app | Calls ring a group of colleagues on their laptops or phones | Relies on someone being free, and nobody clearly owns the call |
| Live call answering service | Receptionists answer in your company name, then transfer the call or take a message | A monthly cost, and the service needs a good briefing from you |
How a call answering service for remote teams works
It starts with diverting your existing number. Landlines, mobiles and cloud phone systems usually offer divert or forwarding settings, and you can send every call or only those you do not answer. Our FAQ on how to divert your business calls to an answering service walks through the steps, and our FAQ on keeping your existing business number explains why you rarely need a new one.
From then on, calls are answered live during business hours by a receptionist using your greeting and script. What happens next depends on your instructions:
- Transfer to a mobile. The receptionist puts the call through to a colleague wherever they are working, introducing the caller first. Our FAQ on whether an answering service can transfer calls to you or your team explains how this works.
- Message to the right person. If they are not free, you receive a call summary by email or SMS, and messages can also go to the Onwards Answering Connect app and portal.
- Book a meeting. Receptionists can book appointments into your own calendar or use Onwards' free secure booking platform.
- Calls on your behalf. Receptionists can also make outbound calls for you.
Outside business hours, after-hours voicemail is included, so callers can still leave a message. If staff have been using personal mobiles for work, an optional secure Business Number helps keep work and personal calls separate.
A remote team answering for remote teams
Onwards Answering is not a call centre. Its receptionists are based in Scotland and work from home, supported by team leads and client managers. In other words, the service itself is run by a remote team, so it is built around the same way of working as many of the businesses it answers for.
Your callers do not hear any of that. They hear a receptionist answering in your company name, using greetings and responses tailored to your business, and returning callers can be recognised. During the free trial, the team builds a bank of frequently asked questions about your business, so answers stay consistent whichever receptionist takes the call. Our post on tailoring call handling to your business needs explains how that set-up works.
They are saving businesses so much time. Plus, they are really cost effective and just great people to work with.
Grant, Denovo Legal Case Software Scotland
AI answering or live receptionists?
AI receptionists are a growing alternative, and some remote businesses consider them because they answer automatically. They may suit simple, predictable questions. However, many callers still prefer to speak to a person when an enquiry is urgent, complicated or high value, and some callers dislike automated systems.
A live receptionist can use judgement, ask a follow-up question and decide which colleague needs to hear about the call. Onwards' approach is real people, not bots. Our FAQ on whether answering services still exist and are worth it looks at that choice in more detail.
Getting started with Onwards Answering
If your team works remotely and the phone has become a gap, a virtual receptionist is a simple way to close it. Onwards Answering offers a free 2 week trial, then plans from £72 per month with no per-call charges. You can see the details on our prices and plans page. We answer for businesses wherever their teams are based, and our locations page lists the towns and cities we cover.
Frequently asked questions
How does a call answering service work for a remote team?
You divert your business number to the service. Receptionists answer live during business hours in your company name, then transfer the call to a colleague's mobile, take a message for the right person or book a meeting. You receive a call summary after every call by email or SMS.
Can calls be transferred to staff working from home?
Yes. Receptionists can transfer calls to colleagues wherever they are working, introducing the caller first so your colleague knows who is on the line. Keep your answering service updated on who is available and which number to use, so transfers reach someone who can take the call.
Is an AI receptionist a good alternative for remote teams?
AI receptionists are a growing option and may suit simple, predictable questions. However, many callers still prefer to speak to a person when an enquiry is urgent or complicated, and some dislike automated systems. Onwards Answering uses real people, so calls during business hours are answered by a live receptionist.