Job Analysis Front Desk Receptionist

¶ … candidate, as well as better facilitate that person's performance, and reward the person more effectively when a job is done well. This paper will analyze the position of Front Desk Receptionist. It will describe the job, based on five elements, conduct a job analysis, describe testing that may be appropriate for this position, overview methods of employee performance evaluations, and detail an employee training program for this position, giving an accurate picture of this position and what it entails.

Front Desk Receptionist Job Analysis

Job Description:

The position being analyzed has the title of Front Desk Receptionist. Their tasks involve greeting organization visitors, answering the telephone, taking messages when appropriate, sorting mail, and a variety of other secretarial tasks, such as copying, typing, and faxing, as needed by other organizational members. The machinery involved is standard office equipment, including: computer and peripheral hardware, fax machine and copy machine. This position is directly supervised by the office manager, although tasks may be received from any of the other office staff, and has no subordinate employees.

The working conditions are inside the office, without hazard. As the first organizational person that many visitors see, the Front Desk Receptionist must be adept at social interaction. In addition to greeting visitors, they must also interact with the rest of the staff continuously.

The hours of work are standard office hours, Monday through Friday. For the right candidate, wages typically start several dollars above minimum wage, and can increase with tenure. All employee benefits are applicable to this position, including health, dental and life insurance, 401K, and vacation, sick and holiday pay.

For the right candidate promotion into other areas is possible. The Front Desk Receptionist may be promoted to Office Manager if well suited. They may also be eligible to enter other departments, such as sales or customer service, if they have shown an ability to be effective in these positions.

Job Analysis:

From both observing and participating in the position of Front Desk Receptionist, it becomes clear that this position is critical to an organization's success. The Front Desk Receptionist is often the organizational link to the customer, either in person, as the first person who greets them, or by phone when they call, or even by written communication, as they are often charged with writing correspondence. A positive impression left by the Front Desk Receptionist is a powerful advantage for the organization and should not be taken lightly.

The Front Desk Receptionist's tasks are varied. Due to the nature of their position, they must be able to think quickly on their feet. They must be able to multi-task. And, they must be able to change gears quickly, when a new task takes precedence over something they may be in the middle of, to be effective and efficient.

Testing:

As this position is interactive with the customer, one of the most prevalent testing formats is drug testing. "70% of all drug and alcohol abusers hold full time jobs" ("Pinnacle," n.d.). A variety of breath, urine, and hair samples are available from drug testing facilities, to help prevent the damages done by employing drug abusers, including higher worker's compensation claims, increased theft, increased time off work, and decreased efficiency. These tests can test for substances such as: amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, cannabinoids, methadone, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), and propoxyphene ("Employee," 2003).

Personality testing is also appropriate for this position, given the high levels of social interaction. Personality testing allows the organization to identify the candidate's strengths and weaknesses as well as their personality type ("Plus-32," n.d.). Many tests also provide interview questions that can be used to explore potential problem areas, and the answers can be compared to a baseline for better analysis ("Personality," 2002).

The third type of testing that should be conducted for this position is a skills assessment, most relevant a typing test. Many software programs are available for an organization to test a candidate's typing ability. Many can be customized and provide a variety of measurement units including: words-per-minute, words-per-hour, keystrokes-per-minute, and keystrokes-per-hour, to ensure the candidate is physically able to efficiently handle the duties ("Skills," 2003).

Performance Evaluation:

Paired comparison evaluation may be used in this position, especially if there is another division or location that employs a Front Desk Receptionist. However, as each position is unique, it may not be fair or accurate to compare the two, despite the similar job titles and generic duties.

Behavioral observation is also an effective evaluation tool. Again, though, there are limitations. If an evaluator observes the employee for only a short period of time, the evaluation may be biased to unique circumstances that have taken place during that time. As such, the observation needs to be conducted over a significant period of time to get a fair evaluation.

Lastly, a checklist type evaluation may be the most objective and least subjective. Criteria such as answering the phones in a timely manner, minimal errors in correspondence, arriving to work on time, minimal absence, etc. can be measured to determine the employee's effectiveness in their position. In addition, this checklist gives the employee better knowledge of exactly what is expected of them, if shared prior to the evaluation, and how they can improve afterwards. However, some areas, such as pleasantness with customers and co-workers are subjective and need to be taken into account.