Front desk office assistant vs front office assistant

The differences between front desk office assistants and front office assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a front desk office assistant and a front office assistant. Additionally, a front office assistant has an average salary of $32,913, which is higher than the $31,361 average annual salary of a front desk office assistant.

The top three skills for a front desk office assistant include front desk, patients and customer service. The most important skills for a front office assistant are patients, customer service, and excellent interpersonal.

Front desk office assistant vs front office assistant overview

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Front Office Assistant
Yearly salary	$31,361	$32,913
Hourly rate	$15.08	$15.82
Growth rate	-5%	-5%
Number of jobs	113,589	149,847
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 24%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	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 office assistant do?

Front office assistants typically work and perform their duty within the office. They do office support duties like welcome and greet customers, answer phone calls, and schedule and plan appointments. It is their responsibility to sort mails, route calls, and listen to voicemails. They need to organize and give out communications promptly. Also, they do clerical tasks, manage inventory, and maintain their work area. They must be keen to details, can multitask and have excellent communication and customer service skills.

Front desk office assistant vs front office assistant salary

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

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Front Office Assistant
Average salary	$31,361	$32,913
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $46,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	-	Connecticut
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between front desk office assistant and front office assistant education

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

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Front Office Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 37%	Bachelor's Degree, 24%
Most common major	Business	Medical Assisting Services
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Front desk office assistant vs front office assistant demographics

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

	Front Desk Office Assistant	Front Office Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 14.1% Female, 85.9%	Male, 9.7% Female, 90.3%
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, 10.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 7.5% White, 53.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between front desk office assistant and front office assistant 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 office assistant example responsibilities.

Manage correspondence and documentation for OSHA compliance and hold some accounts payable responsibilities by coding invoices for processing and payment.
Ensure compliance with HIPAA and OSHA regulations to improve customer relations and promote favorable patient/physician interactions.
Download all transcription for the physicians and mail out letters and patient consults.
Utilize knowledge of ICD-9 and CPT coding by verifying explanation of benefits render to patient, for insurance purposes.
Collect co-pays, enter update demographics into EHR/EMR, enter ICD-9 and CPT codes as needed into patient records electronically
Verify insurance to include commercial and Medicaid.

Front desk office assistant vs front office assistant 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 office assistant skills

Patients, 21%
Customer Service, 9%
Excellent Interpersonal, 7%
Patient Demographics, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Front Desk, 4%

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Front Desk Office Assistant
Front Desk Office Assistant vs Front Office Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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