If there is one thing we can be sure of as a society, it’s that we all have differing opinions about what a front desk and receptionist’s duties should look like. Every business is looking for something slightly different, and the job market and technology have continuously merged administrative and receptionist jobs until there are dozens of different ideas about receptionist skills and duties.
Whether you’re hiring to fill one or more receptionist jobs or if you’re a job seeker looking to polish your targeted receptionist resume, let’s go over and find out exactly what the expectations are for a receptionist and their job description.
Receptionist Job Descriptions
Front Desk Representative
An entry-level front desk and receptionist duties will likely be more general and focus on soft skills like customer service, attitude, and conflict resolution.
As a Front Desk employee, you must possess great customer service, a high level of professionalism, dependability and have a positive attitude even during the busiest of times. At EōS, we work together as a team, and want those who can contribute and work independently as well. We are looking for someone who is proficient at multitasking and works well in a high stress atmosphere.
Front Desk Receptionist
Front desk receptionist duties at a spa, salon, or other service could be:
Answering phone calls. Setting and checking members and guests in and out for appointments. Greeting members and guests upon arrival. Promoting the Wellness Program. Re-engaging inactive members. Keeping management apprised of member concerns and following manager’s policies, procedures and direction. Accepting constructive criticism in a positive manner and using it as a learning tool. Upholding the Massage Envy brand’s core values of optimism, gratitude, excellence, consistency and empathy. Staying updated on retail products and promotions. Recognizing and supporting team goals and creating and maintaining positive relationships with team members.
Law Office Receptionist
A legal receptionist’s skills and duties will emphasize the importance of discretion, detail-orientation, and phone skills.
Handling incoming phone calls, efficiently managing check-ins and check-outs for appointments with members and guests. Warmly welcoming individuals upon their arrival. Actively promoting the Wellness Program and re-engaging with inactive members. Communicating member concerns to management and adhering to manager’s policies, procedures, and guidance. Embracing constructive criticism as a valuable learning opportunity. Upholding the core values of the Massage Envy brand, including optimism, gratitude, excellence, consistency, and empathy. Keeping abreast of retail products and promotions. Demonstrating support for team goals and fostering positive relationships with fellow team members.
Administrative Assistant / Receptionist
Some receptionist jobs are true hybrids with administrative assistant jobs. In this case, the question “what does a front-end receptionist do?” can typically be answered with “a little bit of everything.” But that doesn’t mean they don’t have ideal candidates in mind. The receptionist skills and duties for these roles require flexibility, the ability to work in a fast-paced environment, and organization.
Seeking a detail-oriented and computer-proficient Administrative Assistant with a strong work ethic. The ideal candidate should be adept at analyzing information and performing data entry tasks. The ability to maintain confidentiality, coupled with essential organizational skills, is crucial. We value teachability, responsibility, dependability, and punctuality. The candidate should demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement in efficiency and possess exceptional verbal communication skills.
Front Desk Receptionist in the Medical Field
The front desk receptionist at a medical or dental office typically has a more specialized skillset. They need to become familiar with software and are responsible for the phone lines, billing, greeting patients, and scheduling.
We are seeking a skilled Medical Office Receptionist to join our team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for efficiently managing front desk operations, including answering phone calls, scheduling appointments, and greeting patients. Strong organizational and communication skills are essential, along with proficiency in maintaining patient records and handling administrative tasks. The candidate should be compassionate, detail-oriented, and capable of maintaining a professional and welcoming atmosphere in the medical office. Previous experience in a healthcare setting and familiarity with medical terminology are advantageous. Join us in providing exceptional service and support to our patients.
In-House vs. Virtual Receptionist Duties and Skills
There are two main solutions for your receptionists. In-house and virtual.
If your receptionist is in-house they’ll typically:
- Answer your phones
- Take down messages
- Data-entry tasks
- Filing paperwork
- Schedule appointments
- Handling printing and faxing of documents
- Send and receive mail/packages
- Run errands out of office
If you have a virtual receptionist:
- Answer your phones and route calls
- Take messages or forward to voicemail
- Filter out spam/telemarketer calls
- Provide excellent customer experiences to callers
- Answer FAQs
- Schedule appointments
- Provide custom caller or lead intake
- Answer 100% of calls, 24/7
Virtual Receptionist vs In-Office Receptionist
Is there truly a case to be made for just having a virtual receptionist?
Of course! But we’re a little bit biased on this one. Here are some of the benefits of keeping your business on track with a virtual receptionist:
A Virtual Receptionist Is Cheaper
On average a full-time receptionist costs $38,865 a year, and typically businesses need at least two for full coverage. Then, you pay for benefits, operating costs, training, PTO, overhead, etc. A virtual receptionist service takes care of all that. With a virtual receptionist service you just pay for the time your receptionists spend on the phone.
See our full in-house versus receptionist service cost breakdown
A Virtual Receptionist Is Happier
You’re responsible for making your employees happy. With a virtual receptionist service, you get happy employees without all the extra work and logistics. At Abby every receptionist team has a direct manager, a receptionist training team, and a whole internal department dedicated to making the receptionists happy so they can make your callers happy.
A Virtual Receptionist Is ‘Plug and Play’
Abby Connect virtual receptionists are ready to go when you are! We provide them with an intensive training program to ensure that they’re on the money when your first call rings in. You don’t have to worry about spending hours upon hours training and retraining your receptionist.
All you have to do is provide us with
A Virtual Receptionist Gives You Better Work-Life Balance
A good answering service is available 24/7 or whenever you need it. A great virtual receptionist gives you the best quality ’round the clock, so you can focus on actually building your business, then go home and actually have a life … all because you know your business phone calls are being properly handled by the professionals.
Plus, with after-hours or 14/7 answering, you can be capturing business even in your sleep.
Using Both In-House and Virtual Receptionists
Front desk and receptionist duties aren’t always the same things! Your front desk team can work alongside a dedicated team of virtual receptionists to guarantee all your customers are getting consistently excellent experiences.
That can mean 24/7 phone coverage, after-hours coverage, or even spot-covering your receptionists. A virtual receptionist team can manage your phones so your receptionists can focus on agreeing clients, administrative duties, and managing the office. There are many cases where having both a front desk team and a virtual receptionist team can be effective for your business.
In-Person Greeting Required
If your receptionists are busy welcoming visitors or checking in clients, the last thing you want is for them to be distracted by a constantly ringing phone. It can easily stress them out, make them lose their focus on what’s right in front of them, and cost you a not-so-nice review online, which is never good for business.
Back-Up/Overflow Calls
Even if your receptionists can handle the workload you’ve got for them, perhaps they all take lunch together. Maybe one’s sick, and the other is in the restroom. It could be that your marketing efforts have been so successful that you have so many callers that there are not enough lines to even accommodate them (no one likes a busy signal!). If that’s the case, you may want to consider bringing on a virtual receptionist to help provide backup when your incoming calls don’t have enough people to answer them.
Miscellaneous Office Duties
Any employee should be able to play a multi-faceted role. If your receptionist is busy handling other tasks you’ve given them, this is when a virtual receptionist would really come in handy to ensure that everyone is greeted in a timely manner and professionally when calling your business phone number.
All in all, a receptionist’s job is never done. They may clock out, but then so can your potential customers. A virtual receptionist will make sure that you don’t lose any more leads.
Here are 4 ways you can use a receptionist service
Deciding if a receptionist service is right for you?
Our interactive checklist will help you evaluate your receptionist service options!
