RetailISCO 4226

Receptionist

A receptionist is a person who answers for the reception area of a business: taking telephone calls, greeting visitors, passing on information, answering questions and directing people. The receptionist is the first point of contact for the company's clients.

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Rate 5 of the 12 essential skills of this occupation (European ESCO data). No account needed.

greet guests

maintain logbooks

maintain reception area

disseminate messages to people

use microsoft office

About receptionist

The duties are simple to list and hard to do well at the same time. A telephone rings while a visitor is waiting and a delivery needs signing for, and all three expect to be dealt with now. The receptionist greets guests, communicates with clients, and answers questions that range from where a meeting room is to matters the caller assumes anyone in the building would know.

Information moves through this desk in both directions. The receptionist distributes internal communications, passes on messages, and issues verbal instructions. A message delivered to the wrong person means a delay in dealing with the matter.

The role works within rules rather than improvising. The receptionist follows the company policies and the organisational guidelines, which govern what may be said about who is in the building, what a visitor may be told, and who is let through. Office software is used throughout for the diary, the visitor records and the correspondence.

European Skills Framework

Skills and knowledge areas required for this occupation based on European classification.

Essential (12)

customer servicecustomer serviceProcesses and principles related to the customer, client, service user and to personal services; these may include procedures to evaluate customer's or service user's satisfaction.company policiescompany policiesThe set of rules that govern the activity of a company.communicate with customerscommunicate with customersRespond to and communicate with customers in the most efficient and appropriate manner to enable them to access the desired products or services, or any other help they may require.communicate verbal instructionscommunicate verbal instructionsCommunicate transparent instructions. Ensure that messages are understood and followed correctly.disseminate internal communicationsdisseminate internal communicationsDisseminate internal communications using the different communication channels that a company has at its disposal.greet guestsgreet guestsWelcome guests in a friendly manner in a certain place.maintain logbooksmaintain logbooksMaintain the required logbooks according to practice and in established formats.maintain reception areamaintain reception areaOrganise and maintain the reception area, including hygiene, to keep up appearances for incoming guests and visitors.disseminate messages to peopledisseminate messages to peopleReceive, process, and pass messages to people coming from phone calls, faxes, postal, and emails.adhere to organisational guidelinesadhere to organisational guidelinesAdhere to organisational or department specific standards and guidelines. Understand the motives of the organisation and the common agreements and act accordingly.communicate by telephonecommunicate by telephoneLiaise via telephone by making and answering calls in a timely, professional and polite manner.use microsoft officeuse microsoft officeUse the standard programs contained in Microsoft Office. Create a document and do basic formatting, insert page breaks, create headers or footers, and insert graphics, create automatically generated t...

Optional (22) — show

office administrationoffice administrationThe paperwork processes related to the administrative areas of an office environment. The activities or processes may include financial planning, record keeping and billing and managing the general lo...accounting techniquesaccounting techniquesThe techniques of recording and summarising business and financial transactions and analysing, verifying, and reporting the results.screen clientsscreen clientsCheck the personal information of clients and make sure they are not on any blacklist or registered for any severe offences.handle customer complaintshandle customer complaintsAdminister complaints and negative feedback from customers in order to address concerns and where applicable provide a quick service recovery.process bookingprocess bookingExecute a booking of a place according to client's requirement in advance and issue all appropriate documents.file documentsfile documentsCreate a filing system. Write a document catalogue. Label documents etc.use different communication channelsuse different communication channelsMake use of various types of communication channels such as verbal, handwritten, digital and telephonic communication with the purpose of constructing and sharing ideas or information.handle petty cashhandle petty cashHandle petty cash for minor expenses and transactions required for the daily running of a business.assist at check-inassist at check-inHelp guests and visitors with their check-in and show them their accommodation.develop documentation in accordance with legal requirementsdevelop documentation in accordance with legal requirementsCreate professionally written content describing products, applications, components, functions or services in compliance with legal requirements and internal or external standards.use office systemsuse office systemsMake appropriate and timely use of office systems used in business facilities depending on the aim, whether for the collection of messages, client information storage, or agenda scheduling. It include...handle mailhandle mailHandle mail considering data protection issues, health and safety requirements, and specifications of different kinds of mail.keep personal administrationkeep personal administrationFile and organise personal administration documents comprehensively.check tickets at venue entrycheck tickets at venue entryEnsure that all guests have valid tickets for the specific venue or show and report on irregularities.maintain correspondence recordsmaintain correspondence recordsSort correspondence and attach previous records or files of correspondence with incoming mails.process paymentsprocess paymentsAccept payments such as cash, credit cards and debit cards. Handle reimbursement in case of returns or administer vouchers and marketing instruments such as bonus cards or membership cards. Pay attent...organise facilities for office personnelorganise facilities for office personnelManage the booking schedule for conferences and meetings of internal or external nature. Shop around and book reservations for travelling or hosting for office personnel.respond to customers' inquiriesrespond to customers' inquiriesAnswer customers' questions about itineraries, rates and reservations in person, by mail, by e-mail and on the phone.register visitorsregister visitorsRegister visitors after greeting them. Distribute any required identification badges or safety devices.deliver correspondencedeliver correspondenceDistribute mail correspondence, newspapers, packages and private messages to customers.issue sales invoicesissue sales invoicesPrepare the invoice of goods sold or services provided, containing individual prices, the total charge, and the terms. Complete order processing for orders received via telephone, fax and internet and...process dataprocess dataEnter information into a data storage and data retrieval system via processes such as scanning, manual keying or electronic data transfer in order to process large amounts of data.

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Frequently asked questions

What does a receptionist do?

Receptionists are responsible for the reception area of a business. They answer the phone, greet guests, pass information, respond to inquiries and instruct visitors. They are the first point of contact for clients and customers.

What skills does a receptionist need?

A receptionist needs 12 essential skills, including customer service, company policies, communicate with customers, communicate verbal instructions, disseminate internal communications.

Will AI replace receptionist jobs?

The AI disruption score for receptionist is 73/100 (high risk). Skills most exposed to automation: issue sales invoices, process data, accounting techniques. Most resilient: greet guests, maintain reception area, adhere to organisational guidelines.

AI Replacement Risk

73/ 100

High Risk

Low riskHigh risk

Skills most at risk from AI

issue sales invoices process data accounting techniques

Skills resilient to automation

greet guests maintain reception area adhere to organisational guidelines

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Quick Facts

SectorRetail

ISCO GroupCustomer services clerks

Essential Skills12

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