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Business process outsourcing services handle delivering various work dependent on the client. Anything from administrative duties to general customer services to send to BPO providers for an affordable cost.
However, it is necessary to understand the division between these types of business operations. When sorting out the required list of tasks, they all fall into two categories: back-office and front-office.
This article will explain the terms, the common differences between the two, and why knowing this information will help you choose the right BPO provider.
What is a Back Office?
The back office relates to tasks and operations concealed from the public eye. Most stores and businesses consider the back office as the production area or location meant for employees only.
The back office supplies the main driving force behind the company. Employees in this environment focus on in-depth work to watch processes or produce the required product or service. It is a support system that overlooks most of the daily business operations.
What is the Front Office?
The front office runs through direct contact with the customers and consumers. As the back office works on producing products and services, the front office aims to connect with potential clients and generate business.
Front office tasks fall under the responsibility of the receptionist or customer service. All jobs related to sales, marketing, and post-services have a hand in generating revenue and making customer satisfaction a top priority.
What are the Differences Between the Back and Front Office?
Both back and front office tasks work together to enhance the company’s performance and financial success. Like two cogs in a machine, both operations synchronize to bring out the best in the business.
Aside from their generalized definitions, these two work areas have more differences than the tasks assigned.
Strategy
The back and front office are on opposite spectrums when considering strategic planning. The responsibilities between the two dictate their overall business strategy.
The front office concerns itself with strategies that close new deals and different methods for sales revenue. For some businesses, this can relate to improving customer satisfaction or negotiating acceptable deals or prices on a specific product or service.
The strategic plans for back offices concentrate more on production and compliance management. Some responsibilities align with human resources managing conflict resolutions, while other priorities can focus on company performance and speed.
Core Function
Core functions handle supplying the driving motivation for each operation. Workers become less confused about their first goals once they understand their prioritized duties.
The front office does not leave too much from its general responsibilities, which fall under reaching demand and sales satisfaction. With supportive customer service, a business has a better chance of generating sales and improving the company’s financial status.
The back office has the responsibility of manufacturing goods or services. For instance, warehouse and factory workers focus on quality, distribution costs, and other factors related to product development.
Salary
When discussing salary wages between the front and back-office workers, certain traits can affect a fair and equal distribution.
Front-office employees make higher earnings than back-office workers due to their responsibilities to generate sales. This wage can vary by occupation, such as a receptionist who greets customers or a salesperson making direct negotiations and earns by commissions.
Back-office workers also make earnings dependent on their responsibilities. If the business sells goods, workers who work in labor-related duties might earn a standard wage. Companies that supply a high-level service can compensate back-office workers for their management skills.
Interactions
In different workplaces, you can expect to meet various people, and this is no exception between the front and back-office workers who understand the people they meet daily.
Front office workers face and greet customers the second they enter the door. They interact with clients, sign-in guests, and perform added tasks that require direct communication.
Back-office workers handle more of the background personnel with more authority and skills. Such people include IT technicians supplying maintenance and support or warehouse workers in charge of moving, building, and other forms of labor. CEOs and management-type employees also fit in this category for their elite business.
Focus Area
Each department has a second layer to its duties, known as the focus area.
The focus area for the front office focuses on sales and revenue. This department’s only concern is profit through its products and services. All methods and attitudes work together to improve sales and get more out of the customer’s needs and wants.
The focus area for the back office focuses on cost reductions. The company aims to supply more while spending less on its finances. Corporate meetings brainstorm innovative ideas to reduce labor costs, equipment, and other budget cuts without degrading the quality of the product or service.
Conclusion
One department cannot function without the other. The front and back offices cooperate as one unit and respectfully serve their purposes for the company's benefit.
Concisely, front-office workers bring in the customers while back-office workers deliver the goods. Even though the balance between salaries leans more towards the front office generating sales, technology, and other factors are improving and setting up equal pay.
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