What is the back office?
The back office in most organizations performs work that supports front office functions. While back office makeups vary by industry, teams generally consist of administrative and support personnel. Back office stakeholders typically have no direct interactions with customers. Rather, the front office assumes all client-facing tasks and responsibilities.In addition to the front and back offices, some organizations also have a middle office. Consider a bank, for instance. The front office of a bank consists of teams like sales, customer support, and marketing. The middle office in a bank generally manages risk and perhaps IT systems and resources. The back office of the bank performs tasks like record maintenance, compliance, accounting, and clearances.The term back office originated from the traditional layout of offices. Workers in the front of the office assisted customers that walked through the door. Those that had no direct client interactions were placed in the back of the office. While many back office workers no longer work in traditional office settings, the term has stuck and the functions they serve have remained largely the same.
Common examples of back office tasks
Examples of back office tasks are generally those that serve administrative or support functions. We mentioned a few examples above of common back office tasks in a bank. Other common examples across industries include things like data entry and analysis, writing, research, claims processing, accounting, human resources, and IT support.All these back office roles play vital roles in the success of organizations. They improve productivity and reduce costs. They help to secure data and mitigate potential liability by increasing compliance.
What is office automation?
Office automation refers to the method whereby repetitive human tasks are automated using digital technology. By automating these tasks, an organization can streamline its processes, allowing employees to focus on tasks that are more valuable to the organization. Office automation also streamlines communication between team members, further increasing employee productivity.Office automation offers organizations a broad range of benefits. These include things like:
