Front desk office assistant vs front desk associate

The differences between front desk office assistants and front desk associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a front desk office assistant has an average salary of $31,361, which is higher than the $27,236 average annual salary of a front desk associate.

The top three skills for a front desk office assistant include front desk, patients and customer service. The most important skills for a front desk associate are phone calls, math, and customer service.

Front desk office assistant vs front desk associate overview

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Front Desk Associate
Yearly salary	$31,361	$27,236
Hourly rate	$15.08	$13.09
Growth rate	-5%	-
Number of jobs	113,589	77,432
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age	47	37
Years of experience	2	-

What does a front desk office assistant do?

Front desk office assistants are the first point of contact for anyone visiting a business or an office. They greet workers and clients and perform routine administrative tasks around the office. These tasks include taking phone calls, scheduling appointments, responding to inquiries and concerns of guests, maintaining and arranging office files, taking and delivering messages, and sending mail. Being polite, jovial, and firm are key characteristics in this role.

What does a front desk associate do?

Front-Desk Associates are the face of a hotel. Their duties are focused on assisting guests and attaining customer satisfaction. Aside from great communication skills, Front-Desk Associates must also have a pleasing personality and great presence of mind as guests will come to them first should there be any issues on the services provided. Moreover, among the duties of Front-Desk Associates include performing room check-ins and check-outs, accepting and arranging reservations, assigning rooms, maintain booking and payments, and communicate with the entire hotel staff to ensure quality service.

Front desk office assistant vs front desk associate salary

Front desk office assistants and front desk associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Front Desk Associate
Average salary	$31,361	$27,236
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $46,000	Between $20,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	-	New York, NY
Highest paying state	-	New York
Best paying company	-	Wyndham Capital Mortgage
Best paying industry	-	Hospitality

Differences between front desk office assistant and front desk associate education

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

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Front Desk Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

Front desk office assistant vs front desk associate demographics

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

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Front Desk Associate
Average age	47	37
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 31.3% Female, 68.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 9.3% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	6%	13%

Differences between front desk office assistant and front desk associate duties and responsibilities

Front desk office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage front-line customer service efforts and deliver maximum revenue generation by scheduling patients and maintaining substantial client database.
Enter patient demographics into EMR.
Track patient files records, and other information including entry of data into EMR.
Follow health center and departmental protocols for communication with patients and providers.
Respond to incoming patient calls, including conducting phone triage to determine necessity of scheduling appointments
Enhance student body knowledge by researching key facts to create educational PowerPoint slides to be publish throughout campus

Front desk associate example responsibilities.

Manage customer service issues with ease and charm and train other co workers in daily operations.
Manage confidential information and documentation, including financial data, and credit card information and payroll checks.
Manage patients records by keeping all medical history, insurance and personal information update and verify abiding by HIPAA protocols.
Process reservations for business groups via opera system.
Process guest reservations, assess needs and ensure appropriate accommodations and assist guests with concierge-relate services.
Contact patients regarding unpaid and underpay accounts, verification of insurance, accounting, customer service, computer and telephone operations.

Front desk office assistant vs front desk associate skills

Common front desk office assistant skills

Front Desk, 20%
Patients, 18%
Customer Service, 9%
Phone Calls, 9%
Data Entry, 8%
Appointment Scheduling, 5%

Common front desk associate skills

Phone Calls, 21%
Math, 13%
Customer Service, 13%
Basic Math, 11%
Strong Customer Service, 10%
Cash Handling, 8%

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Office and Administrative Industry
Front Desk Office Assistant
Front Desk Office Assistant vs Front Desk Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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