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PapaHR · Mike Pritula Academy · Roles

Office Manager: Role Profile, KPIs and Interview Questions

Find an office manager role profile, key performance indicators (KPIs), interview questions and an onboarding plan. Use them to keep the office running smoothly and help your team focus on work.

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Job profiles, hiring, onboarding and reviews are in PapaHR. Free for up to 25 employees.

  1. Take the profile below or build your own with the builder.
  2. In PapaHR the profile turns into a job ad, an onboarding plan and probation goals.
  3. After 90 days, review the person against the same KPIs and competencies.

Job profile

Why the role exists

Give the team a functioning office, essential supplies and timely administrative support.

Result in a year

Routine purchasing, maintenance and meetings follow a schedule; the manager can track requests and spending, and accounting receives complete purchase records.

Place in the structure

  1. Reports toOperations manager or business owner.
  2. Direct reportsNone; coordinates cleaners, couriers and other service providers as agreed.
  3. Works withEmployees — office supply and maintenance requests., Manager — priorities, budget and exceptional spending., Accounting — invoices, receipts and proof of delivery., Human resources specialist — workstations and new starter arrangements., Information technology specialist — connectivity, equipment and system access., Landlord and service providers — cleaning, repairs and maintenance., Visitors and meeting organisers — access, meeting rooms and directions.
Key result areas
  1. Employee requests completed by agreed deadlines — Requests completed on timeSample target: 95% of requests completed by their agreed deadlines.
  2. Essential office supplies available — Essential supply availabilitySample target: all essential supplies available at 100% of scheduled checks.
  3. Purchases stay within approved limits — Purchases within approved budgetSample target: 100% of purchases stay within limits approved before ordering.
  4. Accounting receives complete purchase records on time — Purchases with records submitted on timeSample target: complete records submitted by the deadline for 100% of purchases.
  5. Scheduled maintenance completed and checked — Service provider jobs accepted on timeSample target: 95% of scheduled jobs checked and accepted by the agreed deadline.
  6. Meeting rooms and visitor arrangements ready — Meetings prepared on timeSample target: preparation checklist complete before the start of 100% of requested meetings.
Requirements

Experience: Administrative, purchasing or service provider coordination experience, supported by completed tasks.

Formal: Clear written communication and availability for the agreed office schedule.

Should know

  • How requests, orders, deliveries and goods acceptance fit together.
  • Which purchase records accounting needs.
  • How to calculate stock needs from usage and delivery times.
  • How to compare the full cost of supplier quotes.
  • How to welcome visitors and manage meeting room bookings.
  • How to handle business documents and personal information.

Should be able to

  • Keep complete spreadsheets of requests, spending and stock.
  • Use email, calendars and shared documents.
  • Prioritise simultaneous employee requests.
  • Agree service deadlines and corrective work with providers.
  • Check invoices, delivered quantities and supporting records.
  • Explain a problem, its impact and possible solutions briefly.
Competencies at three levels

Planning and prioritisation

Balances urgent requests, regular purchasing and meeting preparation.

  1. Records tasks and deadlines; checks priorities with the manager.basic
  2. Schedules recurring work and leaves time for urgent requests.solid
  3. Anticipates busy periods and agrees schedule changes before deadlines are missed.strong

Attention to detail

Mistakes in orders, invoices and visitor passes cost the team time and money.

  1. Checks quantities, dates and details using a checklist.basic
  2. Spots differences between orders, deliveries and invoices before payment.solid
  3. Removes causes of recurring errors and adds checks to the workflow.strong

Service communication

Employees and visitors need clear timelines, practical help and calm communication.

  1. Clarifies the request and politely confirms the agreed deadline.basic
  2. Flags delays, offers an available alternative and checks the outcome.solid
  3. Resolves conflicting expectations and reduces repeat enquiries about the same issue.strong

Budget awareness

Keeps the office supplied without unnecessary purchases or hidden costs.

  1. Checks spending limits and gets approval before ordering.basic
  2. Compares costs including delivery, lead times and product quality.solid
  3. Reduces waste and emergency purchases while maintaining working conditions.strong

Service provider coordination

Cleaning and maintenance need clear requirements and checks on completed work.

  1. Briefs the provider and confirms the appointment.basic
  2. Records scope, deadline and acceptance criteria; checks completed work.solid
  3. Secures corrections, arranges backup providers and prevents recurring service failures.strong

Responding to disruptions

Equipment failures and delays require a quick return to workable office conditions.

  1. Reports the issue to the responsible specialist and follows instructions.basic
  2. Assesses impact, arranges a temporary solution and schedules the next update.solid
  3. Investigates recurring issues and coordinates preventive action with those responsible.strong
Builder

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Tick what this person does at your company. On the right is the ready profile: copy it or open it in PapaHR.

Office Manager

Give the team a functioning office, essential supplies and timely administrative support.

Duties
  1. Log employee requests, agree deadlines and share progress updates.
  2. Check stock and reorder supplies before they run out.
  3. Compare suppliers on price, quality and delivery times.
  4. Get purchase approval and record spending in a spreadsheet.
  5. Check deliveries for quantity, completeness and condition.
  6. Collect invoices, receipts and delivery records for accounting.
  7. Arrange office cleaning, maintenance and repairs through service providers.
  8. Check completed work and follow up on defects.
  9. Prepare meeting rooms, visitor passes and reception arrangements when requested.
  10. Receive, log and distribute incoming mail.
  11. Coordinate workstation readiness with colleagues responsible for new starters.
  12. Maintain the office service calendar and flag risks to management.
  13. Book employee travel within approved budgets.
  14. Arrange catering and drinking water deliveries where provided.
  15. Help organise logistics for internal events.
  16. Track the issue of office keys and access passes.
  17. Coordinate an office move against an approved plan.
  18. Maintain furniture records and arrange physical inventory checks.
  19. Arrange printing and delivery of meeting materials.
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Office Manager KPIs

  1. Requests completed on time — Requests completed on time / requests due this month × 100%. Mistake: Moving deadlines after delays or closing requests without resolving them.weight 25% · month
  2. Essential supply availability — Checks without shortages / all scheduled stock checks × 100%. Mistake: Checking only after deliveries, hiding periods without supplies.weight 20% · month
  3. Purchases within approved budget — Purchases within approved limits / all completed purchases × 100%. Mistake: Approving limits after purchasing or leaving delivery costs out.weight 15% · month
  4. Purchases with records submitted on time — Purchases documented on time / purchases with documentation due × 100%. Mistake: Treating records as complete before accounting has checked them.weight 15% · month
  5. Service provider jobs accepted on time — Jobs accepted on time / jobs due this month × 100%. Mistake: Counting a provider visit as completed work without checking quality.weight 15% · month
  6. Meetings prepared on time — Meetings prepared on time / all meetings requesting preparation × 100%. Mistake: Marking preparation complete without checking the room, visitor passes and materials.weight 10% · month
Calculator

Work out the KPI bonus

Enter how much of each target was met, in percent, and the bonus at 100%. You can change the weights.

KPIWeight, %Achieved, %Share
Requests completed on time
Essential supply availability
Purchases within approved budget
Purchases with records submitted on time
Service provider jobs accepted on time
Meetings prepared on time
KPI total
Bonus
Sum of weights

The weights are an example. They should add up to 100%.

Interview questions

Scorecard

Run the interview and get the result

Score each answer from 1 to 5 and the total is worked out by competency. Keep this page open on your phone during the interview.

Planning and prioritisation

Describe a day when a delivery, visitors and an urgent request coincided. How did you prioritise, and what happened?

✓ Listen for: Assessed impact and deadlines, agreed priorities, assigned actions and checked results.

⚑ Red flag: Handled requests in arrival order without warning anyone about delays.

Tell us about a purchase made before supplies ran out. How did you choose the order date and check the outcome?

✓ Listen for: Considered stock, usage, delivery time and reserve; confirmed no interruption.

⚑ Red flag: Relied only on memory or the latest employee request.

Attention to detail

Describe a discrepancy you found in a delivery or invoice. What did you check, who did you tell, and how was it corrected?

✓ Listen for: Compared order and delivery, recorded the discrepancy and secured correction before closing the purchase.

⚑ Red flag: Accepted goods unchecked and left accounting to resolve the discrepancy.

Describe a mistake you made preparing a meeting or documents. What was the impact, and what did you change?

✓ Listen for: Acknowledged personal responsibility, corrected the impact and added a specific check.

⚑ Red flag: Cannot name a mistake or blames colleagues entirely.

Service communication

Tell us about an employee unhappy with a request deadline. What did you clarify, offer and agree?

✓ Listen for: Clarified the need, explained timing, offered an alternative and shared the result.

⚑ Red flag: Promised an impossible deadline to end an uncomfortable conversation.

Describe a visitor arrival that went wrong. What did you do, and what feedback did the organiser give?

✓ Listen for: Helped visitors, contacted the organiser, found a solution and checked their experience.

⚑ Red flag: Left visitors waiting without explanations or follow-up.

Budget awareness

Describe choosing between suppliers with different prices and delivery times. How did you compare them, and what was the result?

✓ Listen for: Considered delivery, quality, urgency and delay consequences; kept the cost comparison.

⚑ Red flag: Chose the lowest price without checking terms or product suitability.

Tell us about an urgent purchase above your limit. How did you get approval and prevent a repeat?

✓ Listen for: Presented options and consequences, secured approval beforehand and changed purchasing plans.

⚑ Red flag: Spent without approval and hid the overspend under other expenses.

Service provider coordination

Describe poor cleaning or repair work you dealt with. How did you record the defects and secure corrections?

✓ Listen for: Referred to agreed requirements, set a correction deadline and checked the work again.

⚑ Red flag: Complained without checking whether defects were fixed.

Tell us about a service provider missing an appointment. How did you protect office operations, and what happened?

✓ Listen for: Assessed consequences, arranged backup or a temporary solution and informed employees.

⚑ Red flag: Waited for the provider while the problem disrupted everyone.

Responding to disruptions

Describe an office equipment failure that disrupted work. What did you do first, who helped, and how did you confirm recovery?

✓ Listen for: Assessed impact, involved a specialist, arranged a temporary solution and confirmed recovery.

⚑ Red flag: Tried repairing unfamiliar equipment without the necessary skills.

Tell us about a recurring office problem. How did you investigate its cause with those responsible, and what changed?

✓ Listen for: Gathered facts, agreed preventive action and checked whether the issue returned.

⚑ Red flag: Repeatedly fixed symptoms without raising the underlying cause.

Score at least one answer and the result shows up here. ·
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Test task

An office manager’s morning: requests, purchasing and a meeting · 2 hours

Practice scenario: the office has 25 employees. It is 09:00 and six visitors are due at 11:00. The meeting room is booked until 10:30 and visitor passes have not been arranged. Drinking water will last until tomorrow. The printer is broken and the organiser needs printed materials for the meeting. The cleaning provider missed the morning meeting room clean. The approved water purchase limit is $100. Supplier A offers goods for $80 plus $30 delivery today; supplier B offers $95 including delivery tomorrow by 10:00. An invoice for the previous delivery lists ten boxes of paper, but only eight arrived. Prepare an action spreadsheet with deadlines, owners and priorities; compare the quotes and identify required approvals. Draft a message to the meeting organiser and a request for a corrected supplier invoice. Identify missing information and propose temporary solutions. No real purchases or supplier contact are required.

How to assess it

  • Priorities reflect the meeting time and disruption to employees.
  • Actions have deadlines, owners and a way to check completion.
  • Costs include delivery; spending above the limit requires approval.
  • Candidate checks water stocks and delivery before they run out.
  • Meeting preparation covers passes, cleaning, printed materials and room checks.
  • Invoice discrepancy is checked before submission for payment.
  • Messages state a specific request, deadline and next step.

Ready job ad

Office Manager at [company], [city]

[Company] needs someone to organise daily office operations for [number of employees] people. You will manage purchasing, coordinate service providers and help colleagues resolve office issues.

What you will do

  • Manage office requests through to completion.
  • Plan purchases of water, stationery and cleaning supplies.
  • Compare quotes, obtain spending approval and check deliveries.
  • Send complete purchase records to accounting.
  • Coordinate cleaning, repairs and scheduled office maintenance.
  • Prepare meeting rooms and welcome visitors.
  • Handle mail and arrange courier shipments.
  • Help prepare workstations for new starters.

What we need

  • Experience in administration or similar organisational work.
  • Confident using spreadsheets, email and calendars.
  • Check order, delivery and document details carefully.
  • Set priorities and flag delays early.
  • Communicate calmly with employees, visitors and service providers.
  • Compare costs and secure approval before ordering.

What we offer

  • Salary: [salary] US dollars, paid [payment frequency].
  • Office location: [city], [address].
  • Working hours: [schedule], break: [break time].
  • Reports to: [manager role]; initial support: [mentor].
  • Employment arrangement: [employment type]; benefits: [benefits].
  • Agreed purchasing limits and a clear request process.

In PapaHR this text becomes a job opening with a careers page and a candidate pipeline.

90-day onboarding plan

Before day one

  1. Share the address, first-day schedule and welcome contact.HR
  2. Assign a mentor and list recurring office tasks.Manager
  3. Set up work email, calendar and required access.IT
  4. Gather provider contacts, contracts and outstanding request details.Mentor

Day one

  1. Show the office, supplies, meeting rooms and document storage.Mentor
  2. Explain priorities, spending limits and purchase approvals.Manager
  3. Explain technical request handovers and disruption procedures.IT
  4. Check access and record questions about current tasks.New hire

First week

  1. Check stock and list essential supplies.New hire
  2. Explain goods acceptance and purchase documentation for accounting.Mentor
  3. Approve request deadlines, maintenance schedules and stock check dates.Manager
  4. Complete a first purchase and prepare a meeting with mentor.New hire

30 days

  1. Manage requests, purchases and the provider calendar independently.New hire
  2. Review initial purchase records with accounting.Mentor
  3. Agree performance targets using the first month’s results.Manager
  4. Discuss workload and working relationships.HR

60 days

  1. Review restocking schedules against actual usage.New hire
  2. Compare recurring purchase quotes including delivery.New hire
  3. Review how completed provider work is checked and accepted.Mentor
  4. Review missed deadlines and agree process changes.Manager

90 days

  1. Report on requests, stock, spending and purchase records.New hire
  2. Assess probation period objectives using records and work results.Manager
  3. Prepare contact lists and handover instructions for absence cover.New hire
  4. Record feedback and the next development plan.HR

Probation period goals

  1. Manage requests without lost tasks or hidden delays.Sample target: by day 90, 95% of the last month’s requests completed on time, using deadlines recorded at intake.
  2. Establish timely replenishment of essential supplies.Sample target: all essential supplies available at 100% of scheduled checks in the final month.
  3. Purchase within approved limits and submit complete records on time.Sample target: 100% of final-month purchases within limits approved beforehand; 100% of documentation submitted on time.
  4. Independently organise scheduled maintenance and meeting preparation.Sample target: in the final month, 95% of provider jobs accepted on time and 100% of requested meetings prepared before the start.

Career path

Office Assistant

Handles individual tasks: receives deliveries, prepares meeting rooms and checks stock.

To move up: Manage regular requests and purchases independently, meeting deadlines and approval requirements.

Office Manager

Owns daily office operations, supplies, purchase records and service provider coordination.

To move up: Prevent disruptions, plan spending and arrange cover during absences.

Senior Office Manager

Coordinates multiple locations or complex projects such as moves, fit-outs and provider changes.

To move up: Learn to plan the overall budget, delegate work and develop assistants.

Head of Administration

Manages the administrative team, office budgets and service quality.

To move up: Progress into operational projects after mastering budgeting and team management.

Questions for a 1:1 meeting

  1. Which office problems distracted employees most this week?
  2. Which supplies might run out before the next delivery?
  3. Which requests are delayed, and what decision do you need from me?
  4. Which service provider needs constant chasing, and what should change?
  5. Where did purchase approval take longer than delivery?
  6. Which purchases still lack records, and who can help?
  7. Which upcoming meeting or new starter needs extra preparation?
  8. Which assignments interrupt your main work, and how should we reprioritise?

Mistakes in hiring and managing

  1. Hiring solely for friendliness and willingness to handle any errand.
    Better: Use a practical task to check priorities, purchase calculations, accuracy and provider communication.
  2. Continually adding the manager’s personal errands without reviewing workload.
    Better: Document role boundaries and agree which office tasks can move.
  3. Expecting uninterrupted supplies without a budget or a purchase approval route.
    Better: Set limits, name the approver and define an urgent purchasing process.
  4. Judging performance solely by low office spending.
    Better: Compare costs with stock availability, service quality and the number of disruptions.
  5. Holding the office manager responsible for every technical failure.
    Better: Assign diagnosis to specialists and request coordination to the office manager; agree response and escalation times.
HR in money

What a bad hire costs: Office Manager

The same calculation as in PapaHR «HR in money»: the cost of hiring plus the salary for the months the new hire worked at half capacity.

One leaver
A year

In the first months a new hire delivers about half the result, so the company pays the other half of the salary for learning. In PapaHR the calculation uses your real leavers.

Questions and answers

What does an office manager do?

An office manager organises supplies, office maintenance, visitor arrangements and administrative requests. They coordinate service providers, oversee purchasing and send records to accounting. The exact scope depends on office size and available support.

How does an office manager differ from an office administrator or executive assistant?

An office manager focuses on office operations and support for the whole team. Office administrators often handle reception and routine administration, while executive assistants support a leader’s priorities and calendar. In small businesses these duties can overlap, so agree the scope before hiring.

Can someone become an office manager without experience?

Yes, when the initial tasks are manageable, a mentor is available and purchasing procedures are clear. Assess spreadsheet skills, attention to detail and prioritisation during selection. Assign complex office moves or independent coordination of several providers after training.

Which performance measures suit an office manager?

Start with request deadlines, essential supply availability and timely purchase records. Add purchasing limits, checks on provider work and meeting readiness. Agree deadlines at intake and mark periods without relevant activity as no data rather than an automatic 100%.

Should an office manager handle recruitment and accounting?

In a small company, they may schedule interviews or collect purchase records. Hiring decisions, financial calculations and bookkeeping need clearly assigned owners with the right skills. Review workload, requirements and pay when expanding the role.

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