Summary

  1. The Dedicated Receptionist Recruitment Agency
  2. Example reception job specifications
  3. Short spec for standard receptionist responsibilities
  4. Hospitality Reception – Standard Responsibilities – Reception Services Team
  5. Receptionist job description with switchboard duties
  6. Telephonist job description
  7. Reception room reservations or rooms bookings coordinator job description - job spec

1. The Dedicated Receptionist Recruitment Agency

FRONT is a specialist receptionist recruitment agency in London, recruiting exceptional temporary and permanent receptionists for some of the capital’s leading law firms, financial institutions, professional services firms and international businesses.

With a 4.9★ Google Review rating from more than 300 reviews and a specialist focus on corporate reception since 2006, we understand the difference between someone who can simply cover a reception desk and someone who can genuinely enhance your front-of-house team.

We look for the details that matter: polish, warmth, confidence, judgement, communication, presentation and a genuine “can-do” attitude.

Need a receptionist?
Speak directly to our Recruitment Director about permanent receptionists, temporary receptionists or short-notice reception cover in London.
Contact FRONT

We are closely involved with the wider front-of-house profession through our Front of House Magazine, Front of House Managers Forum, FrontForum and our association with the Corporate Front of House & Facilities Management Association (CFFMA).

This keeps us closely connected with Front of House Managers, Reception Managers, Facilities Managers and the people responsible for delivering outstanding workplace and client experience across London.

It also helps us understand exactly what our clients need — and why we work with candidates who genuinely value the receptionist role and understand the importance of representing a business from the moment a guest walks through the door.

Receptionists from exceptional backgrounds

Our long-standing specialist profile helps us attract receptionists from some of London’s most demanding and prestigious client-facing environments, including:

  • Finance, Banking, Asset Management, Hedge Funds and Private Equity
  • Law Firms, including Magic Circle firms, Solicitors and Chambers
  • Technology and Media companies
  • Accountancy, Management Consultancy and Insurance
  • FTSE 100 and major international corporations
  • Private Members’ Clubs and London’s 5-star hotels
  • Premium Airlines and international cabin crew

Our client list, available on request, includes some of London’s most prestigious and recognisable organisations.

Recruiting for your reception team?
Whether you need one permanent receptionist, temporary holiday cover or additional support for a busy client floor, speak to FRONT.
Contact

The finer details of excellent corporate reception

A great reception team makes everything look effortless.

Behind that calm exterior is constant coordination: welcoming guests and VIPs, answering calls, managing meeting rooms, liaising with catering and facilities teams, responding to emails, handling unexpected requests and keeping everything running smoothly.

Often, all of it is happening at once.

That is why receptionist recruitment cannot simply be about matching a CV to a job description.

We assess candidates for the qualities that are much harder to see on paper: composure, attention to detail, judgement, communication, energy, presentation and the ability to remain warm and professional when the pressure rises.

After specialising in corporate reception recruitment since 2006, we know what to look for.

Tell us what your reception team needs.
We recruit permanent receptionists, temporary receptionists and
short-notice front-of-house cover across London.
Contact our team

More than a receptionist recruitment agency

FRONT has always been closely involved with the wider front-of-house profession.

Through FrontForum, our Front of House Managers Forum, our industry magazine and our involvement with CFFMA, we bring together reception, workplace and facilities professionals from many of London’s leading organisations.

Our guides, forums, salary information and industry articles are also used by receptionists, Reception Managers, Front of House Managers and employers looking to improve their own teams.

Some of our most popular front-of-house resources include:

Front of House staffing in London

For complete front-of-house staffing, both temporary and permanent, FRONT recruits receptionists for law firms, banks, investment firms, professional services businesses and corporate offices across London.

We recruit for roles including Corporate Receptionist, Client Suite Receptionist, Front of House Receptionist, Reception Manager, Front of House Manager and Temporary Receptionist.

Looking for a receptionist in London?
Tell us what you need and we can start searching our network immediately.
Speak to FRONT

Receptionist Job Descriptions

If you are writing a new receptionist specification, take a look at our sample receptionist job descriptions below for ideas covering duties, responsibilities, skills and experience.

2. Example reception job specifications

USEFUL EXAMPLES OF CORPORATE RECEPTIONIST JOB DESCRIPTIONS – WHICH CLIENTS CAN USE AND TAILOR TO THEIR OWN REQUIREMENTS

Corporate Receptionist Job Description – Client Reception and Meeting Room Reservations

This example corporate receptionist job description covers a front-of-house role responsible for meeting and greeting visitors, managing meeting room bookings and supporting the smooth running of a busy client reception area.

The receptionist should consistently maintain a high level of professionalism when dealing with internal staff, clients and visitors.

The reception team is responsible for maintaining and enhancing the professional image and reputation of the organisation in every interaction with clients, visitors and internal customers.

Flexibility is important, with the role focused on delivering consistently high standards of client service and reflecting the organisation’s culture, values and professional standards.

Depending on operational requirements, reception teams may work across several reception desks, client meeting areas and a central conference room booking office.

Example Receptionist Shift Patterns

  1. 07.00 – 15.30
  2. 08.30 – 17.00
  3. 09.00 – 18.30
  4. 12.45 – 21.15

Some corporate receptionist roles may also require occasional evening or weekend cover, including holiday and sickness cover where required.

Key Corporate Receptionist Responsibilities

  • Meet and greet all visitors with a warm, professional and polished welcome.
  • Contact the relevant host and ensure the correct meeting room is ready for each guest.
  • Assist with coats, bags and umbrellas where appropriate and offer refreshments.
  • Carry out regular meeting room checks to ensure rooms are clean, presentable and correctly set up.
  • Check that required audiovisual equipment, presentation materials and refreshments are in place before meetings begin.
  • Coordinate conference room and meeting room bookings using the organisation’s booking system.
  • Prioritise client meetings where necessary and manage room availability efficiently during busy periods.
  • Reconfirm bookings and check all meeting requirements in advance.
  • Follow up provisional reservations and obtain any required catering, billing or equipment details.
  • Maintain accurate records of meeting room bookings and changes.
  • Keep a waiting list or alternative room plan during busy periods where necessary.
  • Liaise closely with Facilities, Catering, IT, Audio Visual, Security, HR and Events teams.
  • Communicate any booking changes promptly and accurately to relevant departments.
  • Book taxis, arrange flowers and assist with printing or other client requests where required.
  • Report maintenance or equipment issues and follow up until they have been resolved.
  • Ensure reception desks, client areas and meeting spaces remain tidy and professionally presented.
  • Provide occasional switchboard or telephone cover where required.
  • Follow the organisation’s fire, health and safety, security and risk-management procedures.

Recruiting for a corporate receptionist?
FRONT recruits permanent and temporary receptionists for law firms, financial institutions, professional services firms and corporate offices across London.
Contact FRONT

Corporate Receptionist Skills and Experience

  • Previous corporate reception, front-of-house or customer service experience.
  • Experience within professional services, financial services, legal, hotel or another high-end client-facing environment is often desirable.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
  • A polished and professional approach when dealing with clients and visitors.
  • Strong organisational and multitasking ability.
  • Confidence using Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel and other office systems.
  • Experience using meeting room or workspace booking software is advantageous.
  • Previous switchboard or telephone experience may be useful depending on the role.
  • The ability to learn new systems quickly.
  • Excellent attention to detail and the ability to remain calm under pressure.
  • A flexible, proactive and genuinely service-focused approach.

3. Short spec for standard receptionist responsibilities

Reporting to – Front of House Manager, Duty Manager, Coordinators

Purpose – To ensure visitors are greeted and escorted to meeting rooms in an efficient and professional manner

Receptionist Responsibilities

  • To greet all visitors reporting to Reception, contacting their hosts upon arrival
  • Dealing with general enquiries from visitors and internal staff
  • To escort guests quickly and courteously to meeting rooms
  • To place guests’ coats and luggage in the cloakroom
  • To take messages to meeting rooms as requested
  • To check meeting rooms are ready for the next meeting
  • To maintain a tidy Reception area
  • To book meeting rooms using booking software
  • To liaise with the Catering, Audio visual and Meeting Room Support Departments for Catering and AV requests
  • Printing of reports from meeting room booking system
  • Check e-mails sent to Reception e-mail address on a regular basis

Receptionist Duties

  • To report any faults in meeting rooms and Reception areas
  • To carry out photocopying and faxing on request
  • May be required to carry out extra duties at evening Functions. E.g. distributing name badges, organisation of question and answer sessions

Answering the telephone

  • Answer the phone promptly and politely within three rings

Additional Requirements

  • Receptionist needed to undertake any other reasonable requests of Management
  • To assist and support other team members, Managers, Co-ordinators and Trainer
  • To read all correspondence and weekly newsletter sent via e-mail in order to maintain good communication within the team
  • To be aware of evacuation exits and emergency procedures

4. Hospitality Reception – Standard Responsibilities – Reception Services Team

This role forms part of the Receptionist Services Team of Ten.

The team are responsible for booking meeting and dining rooms, meeting and greeting clients, arranging car and taxi transportation, ensuring refreshment and IT equipment requests are organised and answering the switchboard.

In addition a key element of their role is to run the main ground floor reception

  • Greeting of external visitors
  • Ensure reception area is well kept and maintained to a high standard
  • Maintain a flexible and professional approach in dealing with all queries
  • Ordering of floral arrangements
  • Taking incoming and transferring telephone calls
  • Taking messages
  • Administering an efficient and effective reservation service with regard to:
    • Meeting room bookings
    • Taxi bookings
    • Car park bookings
    • Liaison with catering staff regarding refreshments required
    • Liaison with ground floor security staff regarding external visitors
    • Organisation of security passes for external visitors

Receptionist Skills Needed

  • Demonstrate absolutely nothing less than excellence in every aspect of customer care
  • Ensures that oneself is always immaculately presented and well groomed
  • Communicates articulately both in a written and oral format
  • Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, clients, customers and the general public

Also

  • A smart Receptionist
  • Communication
  • Customer Focus
  • Planning & Organising
  • Problem Solving & Decision Making
  • Professionalism
  • Relationship Building
  • Self Development
  • Team Membership
  • Team Working

Functional

  • Business Awareness
  • IT
  • Policy and Law
    • Complaints Handling
    • Email and Internet Use
    • Health and safety at Work Act

5. Receptionist job description with switchboard duties

Overview of role:

Receptionist for shift hours: 07:00 to 20:00 with a one-hour lunch break within an eight and a half hour shift. Flexibility is required in respect to core working hours as shifts will generally be rotated on a weekly basis. Overtime may be required from time to time which may be paid or time off in lieu may be given, depending upon the needs of the business.

The Team: This role will work with the current team covering reception in the Office, reporting into the Front of House Manager

Receptionist needed for these duties:

Switchboard

  • Answer all calls, both internal and external (within 3 rings where possible) and direct them to the appropriate person.
  • Update London entries on internal telephone directory on a weekly basis.
  • Regularly check switchboard voicemail for messages and pass to their intended recipient.

Receptionist

  • Meet & greet all visitors to reception and announce their arrival to the appropriate contact.
  • Assist visitors as required (printing, sending faxes etc).
  • Booking taxis for staff and/or visitors. Receptionist needed to record details on the taxi log.
  • Order catering supplies for meeting room service.
  • Order external catering services where required and liaise with caterers re requirements.
  • Issue temporary visitors’ access passes, record details and follow up non-returned passes.
  • Ensure that the print/copy room is kept tidy.

Meeting Rooms

  • Book all meetings in both client and internal meeting rooms using our software management system ensuring details of catering, equipment and visitors are recorded and that confirmations are issued to booker/host.
  • Ensure that all meeting rooms are correctly set up ready for each meeting, that all required equipment is available and functioning, relevant catering provided and that rooms are cleared down from the previous meeting.
  • Ensure all meeting rooms are properly equipped with stationery and up-to-date information such as telephone lists and IT guides and that the rooms are kept tidy and in a suitable condition.
  • Reconfigure meeting rooms as required and restore them to normal condition as necessary
  • Receptionist wanted to cover catering assistant duties as required and any catering service required after 6pm.

6. Telephonist job description

Position: Telephonist

Department: Switchboard

Reports to: Switch-room Manager

GENERAL: The role of the Firm’s Telephonists is to operate the Switchboard, assist callers, deal with queries and to undertake routine administrative tasks as requested by the Switch-room Manager

MAIN TELEPHONIST DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • To operate the Switchboard (or other Switchboard as the Firm shall provide) in conjunction with the directory database, ensuring calls are handled in a timely and professional manner
  • Ensure where possible phones are answered within 3 rings
  • To ensure that the Directory Services is updated regularly in conjunction with the Switch-room Supervisor
  • To ensure the switchboard database (telephone directory) is updated regularly
  • To set up conference calls as required by partners and staff (if requested)
  • Conducting training for new staff on the use of the voicemail and telephone system
  • Occasionally covering for the receptionist – so a high level of presentation for the receptionist needed.

This job description encompasses the main duties of the role and is by no means exhaustive. It is anticipated that duties may vary from time to time according to the needs of the Department.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The role requires an individual with the following personal attributes:

  • articulate and confident with the ability to work unsupervised
  • efficient and well organised
  • flexible approach with the ability to adapt to differing job requirements
  • attention to detail
  • the ability to remain calm under pressure

7. Reception room reservations or rooms bookings coordinator job description - job spec

Bookings Coordinator/Helpdesk Coordinator

Responsibilities: Responsible to ensure that requests for meeting rooms, dining rooms, catering, audio visual and any other requests are dealt with courteously and efficiently. Responsible for the day to day running of the Helpdesk whilst on duty. This includes acknowledging, assigning and resolving all jobs within agreed SLA times.

Responsible To: Events Manager and Booking Centre Supervisor

Operational Duties: (Job/Technical Knowledge/Expertise, Customer Service)

  • Taking phone and e-mail bookings for all meeting and dining rooms within the London Campus
  • Taking phone and e-mail bookings for all catering requirements
  • Keep reception areas informed of any changes to on the day bookings
  • Inform Reception of any new on the day bookings
  • Keep all catering areas informed of any on the day bookings
  • Liaise with Hospitality department for menu requirements
  • Compile weekly sheets summarising all dining room bookings
  • Liaise with main receptions with regard to room bookings and external guests
  • Reporting any faults to Help Desk (maintenance)
  • Ensure you have correct and up to date telephone numbers and locations for all lient contacts.
  • Maintain the booking office in a clean and tidy manner, reporting problems with cleaning to cleaning supervisor.
  • Liaise with Audio Visual team with equipment queries, concerns and requirements.
  • Liaise with cleaning supervisor for any housekeeping requirements or guests concerns

General Skills: (Initiative, Adaptability, Flexibility, Reliability, Implementation, Work Standards, Tenacity and Time Management)

  1. Ensure the above skills are used to provide and efficient quality service to both client and company.
  2. Offer a pro-active style of working to maintain the company reputation
  3. All employees are responsible for protecting their own health and safety and those affected by your work.

Interpersonal Skills: (Verbal communication, Team working, Working standards, Customer care, Flexibility, Personal Hygiene and Listening)

We are one of London’s Specialist Receptionist Recruitment Agencies

Please contact our recruitment team on 0207 242 8888. Contact