Front Office Vs. Back Office: 6 Differences

Front office and back office are terms used to describe various business processes within an organization. The front office is in charge of interacting with customers and the back office is in charge of all production and background processing tasks required to deliver a high-quality product or service, making both pivotal parts of an organization.

Here are 6 differences between the front office and back office:

1. Customer involvement

Perhaps one of the biggest differences between the back office and front office is the degree of customer involvement.

The front office is directly involved and interacts with customers, whereas the back office has no direct involvement with customers.

2. Strategy

There is a difference in the strategies that are adopted by the back office and the strategies adopted by the front office. The front office majorly helps in the development of strategies for the business whereas, the back office is responsible for HR functions and compliance management.

3. Core functions

The major roles and responsibilities of the front office and back office differ. Front Office helps in increasing demands and sales of the company, thereby driving incomes. On the other hand, the back office’s core function is concerned with the manufacturing of products and services.

4. Responsibility

The main function of the front office is to look after sales and marketing and after-sales services. On the other hand, the main responsibility of the back office is to administer the processes on a daily basis to ensure smooth running and functioning of the business.

5. Salary

Front-office personnel earns a greater wage because they are the ones who produce income for the company. On the other hand, the salary of back-office employees is generally lower as compared to the front office. Although some functions are evolving nowadays which can match their salaries to the earnings of front-office employees.