Top 10 Qualities Of A Good Receptionist: The activities of man today has lead them to establishing organizations and infrastructures which needs guidance for the people outside, not like a road map or a Google map, but a person who welcomes and attends to their basic needs before achieving their main aim and goal in the establishment or organization.
Reception as we know it has several meaning:
A. First, a reception is an official or formal organization, in which people of importance are welcomed.
B. Secondly, it can be said to be the form in which a group of people, react to an incidence or an event.
C. Thirdly, it could be referred to as the way things are welcomed by people.
Who Is A Receptionist?
A receptionist is an employee of an establishment to take up an administrative position. The work or office of the receptionist is usually performed at the lobby or at the waiting area of the office.
The work of the receptionist is usually an administrative position, employed to receive any visitors, clients, callers, or patients. A receptionist can work at any establishment or organizations, ranging from hospitals, school administrative buildings, hotels, companies, and so on.
However there are some qualities which a receptionist should posses in other to carry out the work effectively and efficiently for the employers and these qualities are essential for a receptionist.
What Makes A Good Receptionist?
Being a receptionist, it has to deal with the personal qualities of the person who is doing the work. Hiring a receptionist should be a delicate work to do as a lot of personalities exist in the society. An employer should the careful in selecting the receptionist as he or she would always be the face of the company or organization and this would lead to making or marring the interest of the visitors or customers of the establishment. There are so many personality traits which the employer should look out for in selecting a receptionist. These traits are known as the Big 5, they are:
a. Openness to Experience;
b. Extroversion-Introversion;
c. Conscientiousness;
d. Neuroticism;
e. Agreeableness;
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Top 10 Qualities/Characteristics Of A Good Receptionist
1. Dressing professionally: A receptionist’s face is often the first face the customers and clients see immediately they walk into the establishment.
Therefore it is required of the receptionist to put on a good professional outfit in other to not only create a good impression on the owners’ but also on the customers and clients.
2. Being open to new people and ideas: A receptionist meets new people every day, from all works of life. Imagine walking into an establishment and the first face you see is a hostile face; one wouldn’t be propelled to continue with one’s surgeon into the establishment instead, most times, the visitor would turn around or presume that the environment is unfriendly while continuing with their business. This is one of the most important qualities of a good receptionist as it has to deal with the growth of the organization or establishment.
A receptionist should be culturally sensitive.
This quality is required from any receptionist who wishes to advance in his or her career. A culturally sensitive receptionist is one who understands the culture of the people around her or her place of work; understands their mood of address and what not.
An open minded receptionist is one who understands the importance of her job and is ready and willing to attend to the customers politely, either virtually or physically.
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3. Being friendly and polite: This quality is one which comes naturally to some people; they are friendly and polite to others with no effort. However, this quality could be learnt by a person who does not possess such quality.
A receptionist is supposed to possess this quality, for one whom it does not come naturally to, should learn as this is one trait he or she must have. A receptionist should always be able to speak with a smile, be kind and resourceful to the visitors and her employers, be civil in addressing them, making sure that her emotions do not get in the way of her job.
4. Organizational Prowess: An organization or establishment without “Organizational skills” is one which is heading to its disorganization. A receptionist is one who needs to know how to be organized and be able to keep track of files and establishments records in a safe place for future references.
This quality is a vital quality as some people find it extremely difficult to stay organized and put everything in its rightful place, which requires that an organized person should be kept within the business in order to put everything in place and this is where a receptionist comes in.
Customer’s data and the financial record of the establishment and customers are not something to be messed around with. The employer should ensure that the receptionist to be hired has proven to be an organized person.
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5. Being judicious and careful: A receptionist must be one who pays good attention to details. One of the most important works of a good receptionist is to take notes and record information.
These notes when taken by a careless receptionist may lead to loss or disorganization; therefore, an employer should endeavor to hire a careful receptionist.
6. Being sociable: You wouldn’t wish to walk into an establishment and meet an unfriendly face.
Another quality of a receptionist is that, a receptionist should have a welcoming face, must be sociable and not someone who is uncomfortable dealing with a lot of people, and also must be of an extroverted spirit at work.
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7. Should be able to multitask: Multitasking isn’t the greatest skill of focus as there should be division of labor in every establishment. However, a good receptionist should be able to multitask on the job as it is an essential quality for a receptionist.
A receptionist would definitely be required to handle a lot of work at a time as that is just part of the job description. At this point the receptionist is working on a spreadsheet and at the same time attending to a customer or a visitor.
8. Able to control emotions: It is not uncommon for receptionists too find themselves in a tight situation, or feeling concerned by callers and visitors.
And when someone makes a threat or becomes emotionally defensive physically or over a call, it is required of the receptionist to remain calm irrespective of how hurtful or inconsiderate the visitor or caller may behave and this calls for emotional intelligence and being able to control the emotions.
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9. Technological literacy: Technology as we know it rules the day. A receptionist must be proficient in using these basic technologies provided by the employers as it not only hastens the productivity, it also ensures credibility. There are so many forms which can be used by a receptionist which are; the use of a fax machine, copiers, phone system, social media.
The role of a receptionist is always vast, therefore the need to be a quick learner. It shouldn’t take long hours to educate a receptionist on a new invention or equipment, a technologically literate receptionist would pick it up in few hours, and this would help in time management.
10. Consistency and Dependability: This quality is a vital clog in any establishment or company. Consistency and dependency are somewhat similar.
Dependency can come in the form of being trustworthy. A receptionist should be one whom their employers should trust in handling the assigned work properly. He or she should also be consistent in keeping appropriate record of the callers, visitors, massages and other important records.
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A receptionist is an important aspect of any establishment as being mostly the first face it determines the subsequent mood of the visitors as they advance further into building. Therefore, a receptionist should possess these qualities in other to effectively carry out his or her work.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.