The Difference Between Front and Back Office (2024)

FAQs

The Difference Between Front and Back Office? ›

Front and back office are terms used to refer to various business processes within a company where revenue-driving and customer-facing activities are considered front office, and all the backend processes used to deliver quality products or services are considered part of the back (and middle) office.

12 For example, a financial services firm is segmented into three parts: the front office (e.g., sales, marketing, and customer support), the middle office (risk management), and the back office (administrative and support services).

The front office is considered the revenue-generating arm of a business. Thus their employees earn a higher salary than the back-office staff. The front office is responsible for offering customers sales, marketing, and after-sales services.

While the front office of an asset management company is responsible for creating and selling the products available. The middle and back office ensure everything runs smoothly, they are the operational parts of the business.

This department serves as the voice and face of a company, as the front office is where guests see the most. The front desk employees handle transactions between the organization and its guests and are responsible for improving the customer experience.

In comparison, back-office operations are the portion of a company that function to support the front office and ensure everything is running smoothly. Examples of this include HR, accounting, payroll, clearing and settling trades, and regulatory or compliance work.

The front office role is to get in direct contact with customers and is, typically, the first place that customers come to when they arrive at the company. By asking them questions, the front desk will learn more information about the client, thus helping the customers out.

While the front office is responsible for performing sales and client service functions, the middle office is responsible for managing risk and corporate strategy, and the back office provides analysis, technical, and administrative support services.

Back office experience does not put you on an inside track for front office. It's possible to transition between the two worlds, but it's just as possible to career switch into banking from almost any world.

What are front office roles? ›

The front office is primarily responsible for customer service, marketing and sales operations, and they make deals and complete sales and trades. The middle office handles a variety of IT, compliance and risk management tasks.

They are responsible for greeting and welcoming guests, receiving and delivering all incoming and outgoing mail and packages, answering all calls and directing as needed, scheduling meetings, and coordinating office activities.

The job of a front desk executive is intense and demanding. However, it can be very rewarding, especially for an employee who does their job efficiently.

15/5 rule: When a guest is within 15 feet their presence should be acknowledged through some means whether a smile or head nod. Similarly, when a guest is within 5 feet they should be greeted in an appropriate manner whether that be a “hello”, “good morning”, or “good evening.”

How much does a Front Desk Receptionist make in the United States? The average Front Desk Receptionist salary in the United States is $39,725 as of , but the salary range typically falls between $33,596 and $49,967.

They can include functions such as accounting, planning, inventory management, supply-chain management, human resources and logistics. Back offices are often located somewhere other than company headquarters.

A back office is the set of administrative sectors and functions that are behind a company's operations, including legal, financial, HR, accounting, and other areas.

Back Office – administration and internal support

The back office is part of an organisation that manages information and supports internal processes. Simply put, the back office takes care of the organisation within the organisation. In the past, it was colloquially referred to as “administration”.

A Receptionist is a professional who manages the front desk of an organization. They are usually the first point of contact for customers. Receptionists also perform various administrative tasks.

The receptionist knows everyone in the office (unlike most employees) and gets involved in all departments, helping out where necessary. They always know whats going on, which is especially good when new employees or clients enter the business, as they can answer any questions.

How do I prepare for a front office interview? ›

For businesses, the back office is an essential part of keeping things running smoothly. The back office provides support and resources to the client-facing front office. The employees working in the back office provide all of the administrative and logistical support that allows the front office to do their jobs.

The back office is a department in an organization that supports the activities of the front office. Employees in this department carry out administrative and logistics tasks such as maintaining records, managing data, handling settlements and related activities.

Reduced Operating Costs

Reduced corporate overhead costs is one of the major advantages of outsourcing back office. You can save up to 40% of your operating costs by not hiring additional staff and investing in technological and infrastructural improvements.

Key Differences

The front office has sales and marketing departments, whereas the back office has the admin department, finance and accounting department. In other words, they are responsible for managing the overall economic front of the business. read more, HR department, warehousing, etc.

A middle office professional stands a higher chance of moving to the front office if they take a strong interest in the strategies that the front office is running. Understand what the traders are doing and how it helps the business.

Market and credit risk are among the best “middle office” roles, especially since you can potentially move into sales & trading from them. The key difference is that these roles tend to be close to the transactions, which means more interaction with front-office staff and a higher probability of influencing their P&L.

What are front office shifts? ›

Front desk coverage is typically divided into three shifts: the morning shift runs from roughly 7am to 3pm, then the afternoon shift comes in from 3pm to 11pm, and the overnight, or night audit, shift lasts from 11pm to 7pm.

Front Office Executive salary in India ranges between ₹ 0.2 Lakhs to ₹ 4.2 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 2.2 Lakhs. Salary estimates are based on 20.5k latest salaries received from Front Office Executives.

The 24-hour nature of front office operations requires constant staffing. The day in the front office is usually divided into three shifts. The first shift or morning shift typically is from 7 am to 4 pm. The morning shift arrives to relieve the night shift and take over from them for the day's operations.

A professional and attractive appearance will give a positive response from your friends. Although there is a term to judge the book by its cover, unfortunately, many judge physical appearance as an important thing. A professional appearance will give a good impression to the interlocutors.

For hospitality businesses, here's what the 80/20 rule means: 80% of your profits come from your most valuable customers (the top 20% of your customer base). The other 80% of your customers only contribute around 20% of your total profits.

In an effort to create the best educational environment, Porterville High School has adopted the 10–10 Rule to reduce the number of interruptions. Any interruptions to the class are to be during the first 10 minutes of class and the last 10 minutes of class only.

The 10 and 5 rule is a simple guideline that is widely used in the hospitality industry. The rule dictates that when a staff member is 10 feet from a guest, the staff smiles and makes direct eye contact, and when they are within five feet, the staff verbally greets the guest.

Certainly, working at the front desk can be a stressful job as we are dealing with guests who are arriving after a long day of travel disruptions and frustrations and therefore prone to over-reaction to even the smallest challenges.

What state pays receptionist the most? ›

Highest salary that a Hotel Receptionist can earn is ₹4.0 Lakhs per year (₹33.3k per month). How does Hotel Receptionist Salary in India change with experience?

Meet And Greet New And Interesting People

This gives you the opportunity to meet new people and work your networking skills. It may be possible for you to make professional contacts that can assist you in your future career plans and professional development.

Importance of Front Office Department:

The Front Office develops and maintains a comprehensive database of guest information, coordinates guest services, and ensures guest satisfaction. These functions are accomplished by personal in diverse areas of Front Office Department.

Fringe benefits may include paid vacations and holidays, medical and dental insurance and retirement plans. Some hotels also offer their front desk clerks a free shift meal and most provide high discounts on rooms.

Professional manner.

Being professional goes beyond greeting people as they walk through the door. Train your office staff to be courteous, knowledgeable, and helpful upon initial contact with patients. A positive and helpful attitude can go far when dealing with sick or frustrated people.

7 essential front desk officer skills you need

Strong technical receptionist skills. Ability to work independently. A brilliant communicator. Exceptional time management. A genius organiser.

The primary functions of the front office include reservations, checking in and out, the handling of financial transactions (such as settling accounts or providing currency exchange), fielding customer enquiries, arranging guest services, and more.

The front desk personnel should be well turned out; they should have a pleasant personality, greeting guests with a smiling face and showing interest in their concerns. It is important for front desk personnel to be physically fit as they have to be constantly on their feet during their long working hours.

What are the disadvantages of working in front office of the hotel? ›

Standing throughout an 8-hour shift is not peculiar to front desk agents! There are several hotel personnel, bell men and porters, waiters, restaurant hostesses and bar personnel, who all stand throughout their shift. They are all front line personnel.