Front office vs back office - where should you work?

No matter the size of a company, its departments are all divided into front office respectively back office. Some even have an intermediary structure referred to as middle office.

london, United Kingdom (prHWY.com) March 27, 2013 - No matter the size of a company, its departments are all divided into front office respectively back office. Some even have an intermediary structure referred to as middle office. For anyone who did not have the chance to experience them up to this moment, deciding in which one is more convenient to work is rather difficult. So let's take a peek at these two main options and you shall be able to come up with your own, better informed conclusions in the end.

As expected, the front office includes those departments that are in direct contact with the customers of the business. Considering that these activities - that involve discussing things with clients - are the ones that actually bring revenues, we can also state that the front side is the one that generates the revenues. From trading and sales to private equity, with wealth management, investment banking and customer support in between, they all have client facing responsibilities.

The back office on the other hand is made of accounting, legal, IT, operations, compliance, marketing and several other departments. They support all the necessary operations of those in the front line and mostly work with computers and archives, making plans, analyzes, assessments and payments.

With other words, the first category is about all the unpredictable things. Working with people is always a challenge as you can never know what to expect from one of your clients. Within minutes, one can become aggressive, change his mind, threaten to leave your business, asks to report you and so on. The second category is a lot more neat and smooth - working with number and words cannot bring you too much of a shock or stress.

And still, we cannot overlook a significant issue: the higher the pressure of the job, the higher the financial reward. Yes, people with logistics can have higher salaries simply because they come up with essential strategic plans. However, the people from the public departments are actually the ones that increase revenues depending on their performances. Knowing how to treat your customers during face-to-face interactions determines their degree of satisfaction, therefore the desire of continuing to make businesses with you. In consequence, the bonuses are higher for those from the front.

While you might aspire to affirm yourself, after a few days of facing people of all kinds, you might want to grab your things and run in the back as fast as possible. Listening to what other employees have to say about their working experience is not going to help you very much. It has always been this competition in between the sides. Before you fall for the syndrome grass is greener on the other side of the fence, jump the fence and see for yourself how it is.

Maybe you are afraid to work with people but once you experience it you will discover that you are actually very good with handling delicate situations. Maybe you are a great coordinator and you could fit inside the middle office. Either way, you will be thoroughly examined by a team from the HR department that will decide where you can perform at your very best.
No matter what you think at the time, you cannot tell for a fact if it is better to work in the back office http://www.wbresearch.com/enterprisecollateral/Collateral-Attendance.aspx or in the front office http://www.wbresearch.com/enterprisecollateral/Collateral-Attendance.aspx, until you share both experiences. Playing both sides will also help you better trace your professional aspirations.

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