what is the front office 
the front office represents the customer facing division of a firm customer service sales and industry experts who provide advisory services are considered part of a firm s front office operations the functions of the front office often generate the majority of revenue for a firm understanding the front officefront offices became necessary components of customer service when shopping trolleys were first introduced in 1936 expanding firms and stores availability to consumers the meaning of the term front office evolved from addressing employees who dealt solely with customer satisfaction to applying to the most critical staffers in a company such as management and executives 1front office staffers typically have the most direct contact with clients however the front office is the reception and sales area of the business for many firms front office employees in the financial services industry are typically those experts who generate revenue for the company by providing direct client services such as wealth management the front office personnel of a company may include some of its lowest paid employees such as receptionists depending on the industry front office vs middle office vs back officemany firms are divided into three parts the front office the middle office and the back office the front office is responsible for performing sales and client service functions the middle office is responsible for managing risk and corporate strategy and the back office provides analysis technical and administrative support services 2the middle office and back office employees support the activities of the front office using this conceptual model the middle office personnel are tasked with ensuring that a company remains solvent and complies with regulations and ethical business practices these departments might include corporate strategy compliance and financial control for a financial services firm the back office includes administrative assistants human resources staff and accounting staff the it and technology departments are also critical to the success of the back office operations technology in the form of predictive analytics and algorithms plays a central role in a financial services firm special considerationsthe term front office has a more specific meaning in certain industries such as investment banking and hotels the term specifically refers to the area where customers first arrive at the establishment in the hotel industry this area is also called the reception area a receptionist is typically employed to work in the front office their role is to get in touch with the customers confirm their reservations and answer customer s questions front office usually describes a revenue generating role in investment banking there are two main areas of specialization within the front office investment banking and markets investment bankers advise organizations on mergers and acquisitions m a as well as a wide array of capital raising strategies individuals employed in market type roles within the front office of an investment bank typically perform sales and trading activities or research activities 