J

akarta’s traffic problems appear to be worsening by the month. This has been even more apparent during the recent downpours that uprooted trees and caused flooding in various parts of the city, which inevitably caused traffic snarls.

Jakarta Transportation Office data indicate an increase of 1,117 private vehicles per day in Jakarta, a 9 percent increase annually. Meanwhile, the construction of new streets remains more or less insignificant at 0.01 percent per year. It has been predicted that if there is no restructuring or reorganizing of the transportation system, Jakarta will suffer total gridlock by 2014.

It is, therefore, not surprising to find that the results of one survey shows 38 percent of professional workers in Jakarta would prefer to work at virtual offices or at offices that are close to their homes as they simply cannot stand the daily traffic congestion and the subsequent unproductive hours of being stuck on the road.

“The stressful traffic jams in Jakarta along with long trips to the office and back make it more attractive to work at companies with flexible locations,” explained Regus’ vice president for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, William Willems.

Willems said in a recent media release in Jakarta that the stress caused by time wasted on the road due to traffic jams was the main reason jobseekers opted for virtual offices.

Regus provides offices located in the central business district (CBD) in major cities across the world, including in Jakarta. The company offers not only instant offices but also virtual office services, which are the best solution for office requirements in Jakarta.

When someone wants to start a business they obviously need an office. Traditionally, the kind of office that comes to mind is a building with rooms filled with standard office furniture, such as desks and chairs, as well as communication devices plus a secretary and a receptionist.

However, for those with limited funds or few sales, renting office space in a skyscraper or a small building would certainly be a waste of money. So rather than have the headache of making such a decision, one can go for an instant or a virtual office instead.

Indeed, companies that provide virtual offices and services can be found in major cities like Jakarta where office rent is quite costly. Next to Regus, other well-known companies that provide the services are CEO Suite, Mayapada and Marquee.

Nowadays, quite a few companies offer the services of renting an address at a relatively low price. One can even find such companies offering virtual offices at prestigious locations, such as in the Golden Triangle.

Rates are no longer quoted in US dollars and the various rates can match the available budget. Rental rates range between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1 million per month.

The rental rate includes office address, telephone number, document services (photocopy, binding etc) and a computer.

To operate all these services, a virtual office also comes with a secretary to receive telephone calls and clients and even do the work of a telemarketer for an additional cost.

Apart from the aforementioned facilities, a virtual office usually also has a meeting room on the same premises that can be hired by the hour. So meetings with clients and internal meetings are no longer problematic. The plus point offered by virtual offices is their prestigious address, which enhances the image of a company.

That is exactly what Erina Ahmad, a public relations consultant, has done. Erina has several foreign companies as clients and in her view image is something that should not be compromised. Although she has a large house in an elite residential area in East Jakarta that could be used as an office, still she feels she ought to have an office address in Jakarta’s CBD.

“For me, the office address is a very important matter because Indonesians trust prestigious addresses more,” said Erina.

Her decision to use a virtual office has proven to be wise as she says she can get more clients easier than before.

“Whenever I need to hold a meeting there, all I have to do is contact the secretary to arrange the schedule. Of course, there is an additional cost, but I only have to bring my laptop because the projector and screen are available there,” she explained.

Some time ago, management expert Rhenald Kasali and marketing guru Hermawan Kartajaya also used the services of virtual offices at the Stock Exchange Building, and Darwis Silalahi, a well-known consultant, is still doing business from a small virtual office located in the Sudirman area, South Jakarta.

Indeed, these companies providing instant or virtual offices offer a solution to newly established companies in Indonesia, meaning those that want to start small, companies that require only a small space and foreign companies wishing to open branch offices.

These companies offer not merely office space like that offered by building managements but so much more, namely the entire operation of the office itself. This function is similar to the services offered by business centers at five-star hotels except that their rates are much lower even though the offer the same kind of luxury.