What is a back-office?

Last updated: 2023-02-20
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The back office (back end office) is a designation for a business processes which are focused on operation and handling all the tasks necessary to keep a company functioning. In other words back office is covering support processes of a company. Its goals is to support employees and improve the efficiency of the company. 

Traditional arrangement distinct two three areas of business processes, and the back office is one of them.

  • Front office means all processes where customers could interact with sales staff and others
  • Production (or core business) means all process where the product is made 
  • Back office covers all processes that help to keep the first two sections in perfect working order

A back office is likely to include foundation for the performance and effectiveness of the overall company structure, all company departments. Back-office basically consists of these parts:

  • Human resources is responsible for all employees-related processes - the relationship between the company and each employee, hiring process, onboarding and offboarding procedures. 
  • Information technology is responsible for information, data , technologies and telecommunications operates within the company.
  • Compliance, Risks and Governance is responsible for the management and compliance of processes with legal requirements, and stakeholder interests.
  • Facility, asset and equipment management is responsible for company properties and technologies and its maintenance.
  • Financial and accounting is responsible for accurately recording the financial transactions that take place as the ongoing operation of the business. 
What is back-office

Who is responsible for back end office

Who is responsible for the back office varies according to the size of the company

  • in small companies is responsibility on the founder or CEO or general assistant
  • medium companies has a office manager, and the responsibility can be split between HR manager, IT manager and facility manager
  • large companies has a backoffice manager, COO or sometimes the responsibility is under CFO supervision

Examples of back-office jobs

Every company's back office looks different and job can vary depending on the size of the company and the industry. Here are some examples of back-office jobs, with basic information about their primary responsibilities. 

  • Office manager
  • COO Chief operating officer
  • HR professional
  • IT manager
  • Facility 
  • Compliance manager
  • Accountant
  • Security manager
  • Risk manager
  • Assistant