What is reception?
Reception is the first point of contact that connects a business with its customers and directs them appropriately. Apart from interacting with customers, receptionists also complete administrative tasks to make sure the day-to-day business operations run smoothly.
A receptionist needs to have excellent interpersonal skills and be comfortable interacting with a lot of different people. Working as a receptionist is a fast-paced job that requires organisation and attention to detail. Juggling front-end receptionist duties with back-end office administration is also a key part of the role.
Although reception is sometimes thought of as a background role, it’s actually one of the most integral functions of any business. Without receptionists, customers wouldn’t be able to book appointments, ask questions, and be directed to the right person to speak with. Essentially, the entire business wouldn’t be able to function at its peak.
Reception duties
- Greeting and liaising with customers at the front desk
- Booking and rescheduling appointments or meetings
Arranging deliveries or transportation
- Answering phone calls
Replying to emails
- Liaising with stakeholders in the business
- Answering customer enquiries
- Maintains security by following procedures and policies
- Business administration
What course should I take to become a receptionist?
Although having a qualification isn’t a requirement to be a receptionist, studying a reception course will increase your employability. It will also teach you reception skills that can be applied to any industry.
If you’re looking for a generic receptionist course, the Reception & Office Support Certificate is the perfect all-rounder qualification. This course will teach you fundamental office and administrative skills and has a strong focus on core receptionist skills such as:
- Communication
- Time management
- Excel
- Microsoft office
- Customer service
- Policies and procedures
- Invoicing
The majority of courses for receptionists will be apply to any industry. However, if you’re interested in working in medical reception, you can study a Certificate III in Business Administration (Medical Administration) with Foundation Education. These courses will teach you specialised industry knowledge and medical terminology you need to know to get a job as a medical receptionist.
If you’re deciding to study for the first time, or you’re working full-time and want to upskill, there are a variety of short courses to choose from. Most of these are online courses, so you can fit studying into your current lifestyle.
What are the job opportunities for receptionists?
There is a range of career pathways that stem from a receptionist course. You may begin your career in an administrative role and then work your way up to office manager. As you gain more experience in the industry, you can climb the ladder by taking on more responsibilities, fuelling your professional development. Below is a list of some of the job outcomes in reception.
How much does a receptionist earn? The receptionist hourly rate is approximately $29.07 which is a median salary of approximately $58,141.
Reception roles:
- Administrative assistant
- Receptionist
- Executive assistant
- Office manager
- Personal assistant
Medical reception roles:
Is reception right for you?
To work as a receptionist — no matter what industry you’re in — you need to be a social person who is comfortable interacting with different stakeholders in the business. You need to have a balance between being friendly and accommodating customers and clients, but also keeping a strict running of daily operations. As the receptionist, it’s your responsibility to make sure all appointments and customer enquiries are attended to in a timely manner.
Some may think this is a simple job, but in busy periods it can get stressful. Usually, you’re juggling different tasks and enquiries at once, and this is where you have to multitask. So keeping cool under pressure is an essential skill set for the job.
If this sounds like you, start browsing reception courses today!
