Front Desk Associate Job Description

The front desk associate responsibilities comprise greeting the incoming guests, directing them towards the concerned department or personnel, assisting the guests with their inquiries, concerns, etc. Therefore, this associate is the first person that the clients or the guests will be interacting with and thus the person needs to be capable of representing the organization well. The person who is able to meet and surpass the customer expectations and has strong communication skills will be in the best position to handle this role.

Key Responsibilities Of Front Desk Associate

The front desk associate is a position that is commonly found in the hotels, insurance or legal companies, medical field, hotel and a wide variety of other industries. The individual is basically assigned the task of handling and managing the front office operations.

In some organizations, he/she may be responsible for permitting specific visitors inside the organization as per the instructions given to him/her. He/she is also responsible for routing all the phone calls and directing them to the concerned personnel and may handle the issues faced by the clients or the customers. He/she may be involved in checking all the mails and may handle some part of administrative duties as well.

The following points will throw more light and describe the key responsibilities handled by the front desk associate in the hotel industry in detail:

• To provide prompt services that are of highest quality and listen carefully to the requests and inquiries made by the guests and provide them with the required information
• To handle the complaints of the guests or any issues they may be having and try to solve it immediately
• To collect the payment and to ensure that it is correct, check whether all the guest charges have been posted and that the computed bills are accurate
• To possess good knowledge of the location of various rooms, their rates and amenities, and the strategies that need to be followed while selling them
• To attend the special requests made by the potential clients and reserve or block the room as per their instructions
• To ensure that all the check in procedures, safety measures are being followed and to adhere by all the related work rules

In addition to the above responsibilities,

• The front desk associate helps in generating the sales by promoting special services offered, thus generating more revenue for the organization.
• He/she ensures the work area is safe, clean and well organized. He/she keeps a check on the inventory and may perform other administrative duties as well.
• If the reception staff is not available or is busy, he/she may need to take over their duty.
• Sometimes, this professional may be involved in arranging the recruitment process or may schedule the appointments of the organization's clients and remind them about the same.
• He/she may sometimes use computers for entering some important data and may handle the filing and inventory system.
• At times, he/she may be required to keep a record of all the business transactions and may need to perform some accounting functions as well.

Essential Skills

To be successful as a front desk associate, it is crucial that an individual has excellent communication skills with good telephone etiquette. He/she must be detail oriented with good organization skills. He/she should be able to handle stressful situations and deal effectively with difficult visitors by interacting with them in a polite way. He/she should be comfortable working in a fast paced work environment and must be able to juggle different duties at a time. He/she should be flexible with good analytical skills and should be able to demonstrate a friendly and confident demeanor.

Educational Requirements

No formal education as such is required to make an entry in this field. However, the individuals who have completed a high school diploma or possess an associate degree from an accredited college or university will definitely be preferred by some employers.

Work Schedule

The duty hours of this professional normally last for about eight to nine hours. But he/she may need to work overtime depending on the situation. Therefore, he/she needs to present himself/herself on duty whenever there is a demand.

Salary Details

The minimum average starting salary offered to this individual is close to $18,000, while the maximum can go up to $25,000. It may, however, differ depending on the type of industry he/she is employed in, its size as well as location. Equally important are some other factors like the skills, experience, and educational background of that person.

Career Prospects

The job opportunities for this position will definitely continue to increase in the coming years as well and according to U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics, it is expected to grow by about twelve to thirteen percent. Those with relevant experience and skills can move up to the higher managerial positions and establish themselves in that particular industry.

Thus, effective implementation of the front desk associate responsibilities will ensure you a bright career ahead and help you in developing your professional growth and enhancing your personality.

See Also

Front Desk Associate Resume