Receptionist: What is the cost of hiring?
2025-10-0134580.0059397.35101000.00YEARLY
Receptionist: What is the cost of hiring?
As of April 2022, the average number of jobseekers per receptionist jobs in Australia is 42.
a receptionist: What is the cost of hiring?
As of April 2022, the average number of jobseekers per receptionist jobs in Australia is 42.
Why hire a receptionist?
Very often, a receptionist is the first point of contact that customers have with a business. A receptionist makes the all-important first impression on customers or visitors by creating a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. They also help keep businesses organised and running smoothly, allowing the whole team to be more productive.
Contributions of a great receptionist:
- Greet walk-in customers and visitors and respond to their inquiries
- Answer, screen and forward telephone calls
- Photocopy, file and maintain digital or paper records
- Boost staff morale by reducing the workload for other employees and allowing them to focus on specialised tasks that they enjoy.
Deciding between a full-time vs freelance receptionist
If your business gets a lot of visitors, then you simply must have a permanent receptionist who can be on hand to greet and manage the visitors. Given how important first impressions are, the last thing you want is for your customers to be greeted by an empty desk. So, you might consider hiring a freelance receptionist during particularly busy periods or to fill in when your receptionist is sick. If your business gets little or no visitor traffic, you could still benefit from hiring a freelance receptionist during busy periods or when you want to focus on a particular project. They will make sure you don’t miss any potential leads because you couldn’t answer the phone.
Virtual receptionists – either AI-based software or human receptionists working remotely – are becoming increasingly popular and could be a viable solution to your short-term office support needs. But make sure you carefully consider whether it’s the best option for your business.
What are the different types of receptionist?
There is a variety of related front desk professions, so it’s important to be clear about the roles your receptionist needs to perform to meet your business’s needs.
- Front desk receptionist: As the first and sometimes only point of contact with a business, a front desk receptionist has the important job of greeting and signing visitors in, but is also responsible for receiving and sorting mail, answering calls, scheduling meetings and coordinating office activities.
- Personal assistant (PA): Works closely with senior staff to provide one-to-one support. A PA manages their
employer
’s schedule and takes care of their personal administrative tasks, such as managing their email inbox.
- Office manager: Sometimes called an office administrator, they are responsible for supervising other administrative staff, developing and implementing administrative systems and ensuring that the office runs efficiently.
- Virtual receptionist (VR): Can do almost all of the same tasks as an onsite receptionist, but in a virtual space. A VR could be software based – an automated answering service or chat function on your website – or a professional human receptionist working remotely and interacting with customers on the phone or even as a holographic display on site in your reception.
Where to find a receptionist?
To find the right receptionist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Hire from within: Does someone in your organisation have outstanding customer service and organisational skills? Perhaps they would be an ideal fit for the role.
- Ask for referrals: One of your team members might know someone with receptionist skills who is looking for work.
- Put a help wanted sign in your business’s window: Putting a help wanted sign in your window will let people know you are looking for staff, and could attract people who are already familiar with your business.
Post your job online: Try posting your receptionist job on Indeed to find and attract quality receptionist candidates.
Skills to look for in a great receptionist
A great receptionist candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:
- strong technical receptionist skills
- time management
- customer service experience
- ability to work independently
- strong interpersonal skills
Writing a receptionist job description
A thoughtful description is important for finding qualified receptionist candidates. A receptionist job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.
When writing your job description for a receptionist, consider including some or all of the following keywords to strengthen the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on receptionist jobs, according to Indeed data:
- receptionist
- administration
- medical receptionist
- customer service
- admin
- reception
- office assistant
- school administration
- front desk receptionist
- assistant
Interviewing receptionist candidates
Strong candidates for receptionist positions will be confident answering questions regarding:
- strategies for dealing with difficult customers
- working in a fast-paced environment
- experience using software programs, such as Microsoft Office
- strategies to cope with multitasking
- organisational skills
Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of receptionist interview questions for examples (with sample answers).
*Indeed provides this information as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your recruiting or legal advisor, we are not responsible for the content of your job descriptions, and none of the information provided herein guarantees performance.
