Desk assistant vs front desk lead

The differences between desk assistants and front desk leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a front desk lead has an average salary of $29,851, which is higher than the $27,353 average annual salary of a desk assistant.

The top three skills for a desk assistant include customer service, residential life and phone calls. The most important skills for a front desk lead are reservations, patients, and guest service.

Desk assistant vs front desk lead overview

	Desk Assistant	Front Desk Lead
Yearly salary	$27,353	$29,851
Hourly rate	$13.15	$14.35
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	25,019	74,010
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	37	37
Years of experience	-	-

What does a desk assistant do?

A desk assistant is primarily responsible for providing customer service support through calls or desk appointments, ensuring client satisfaction. Typically, they are responsible for answering inquiries and correspondence, addressing issues and concerns, troubleshooting, and providing corrective measures or advice when necessary. Should the problems be challenging to handle, one can elevate the matter to a supervising manager. Moreover, a desk assistant may have clerical duties such as processing paperwork, maintaining documentation and a database, managing schedules, and updating systems.

What does a front desk lead do?

A front desk lead acts as the face of an organization, being the first point of contact for visitors. To be a front desk lead means you are responsible for administering and managing workers who work in the front office or reception area, as well as welcoming and taking care of visitors. As a front desk lead, you must possess good communication skills, have good composure, be friendly, be computer literate, have problem-solving skills, along with organizational skills to handle guests.

Desk assistant vs front desk lead salary

Desk assistants and front desk leads have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Desk Assistant	Front Desk Lead
Average salary	$27,353	$29,851
Salary range	Between $12,000 And $61,000	Between $19,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New York, NY
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Massachusetts General Hospital	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Retail

Differences between desk assistant and front desk lead education

There are a few differences between a desk assistant and a front desk lead in terms of educational background:

	Desk Assistant	Front Desk Lead
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 73%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Psychology	Business
Most common college	-	-

Desk assistant vs front desk lead demographics

Here are the differences between desk assistants' and front desk leads' demographics:

	Desk Assistant	Front Desk Lead
Average age	37	37
Gender ratio	Male, 35.5% Female, 64.5%	Male, 28.5% Female, 71.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 6.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 11.7% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 22.3% Asian, 9.9% White, 50.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between desk assistant and front desk lead duties and responsibilities

Desk assistant example responsibilities.

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA.
Fulfill front desk duties such as: customer service, operating cash register, scheduling reservations, answering phone calls and housekeeping
Check ids, close the weight room, put weights away, answer phones
Check in/out guests and operate hotel booking software.
Answer calls, complete paperwork, and ensure the hall run smoothly
Check in residents after midnight, and run check out of dorm equipment.

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Front desk lead example responsibilities.

Manage VIP clientele by delivering exceptional customer service while using creative conflict resolution, when necessary.
Manage confidential information and documentation, including financial data, and credit card information and payroll checks.
Conduct in-person and telephone customer service, including guest check-in and booking reservations.
Perform PBX duties in the absence of an operator
Operate hotel PBX switchboard system and handles professional execution of guest calls, messages and amenities.
Collect co-payments when necessary and answer any necessary questions if ask by patients.

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Desk assistant vs front desk lead skills

Common desk assistant skills

Customer Service, 22%
Residential Life, 18%
Phone Calls, 16%
Front Desk Coverage, 8%
Administrative Tasks, 7%
Emergency Situations, 4%

Common front desk lead skills

Reservations, 17%
Patients, 8%
Guest Service, 8%
Phone Calls, 8%
Guest Satisfaction, 5%
Booking, 5%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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