Hiring office managers

Companies look to their office managers to coordinate a lot of moving parts. This might mean cross-referencing schedules, sending out calendar invites, reserving space, facilitating technology setups, organizing food and other deliveries, and even coordinating travel. A candidate’s ability to coordinate a meeting could demonstrate whether or not they possess the organizational skills required to manage an office.

An office manager is typically responsible for coordinating schedules, juggling email threads, arranging vendor payments and deliveries, etc. In order to fulfill these tasks, it helps if they’re familiar with the software your company uses, such as Google Drive or Microsoft Office. Familiarity with more specialized office management programs is useful as well, especially if your office manager needs to train other staff.

Office managers are often the face of their companies, welcoming visitors at the reception desk while also taking a high volume of calls. Experience with phone lines, a high level of comfort in communicating on the phone, and strong phone etiquette are musts for office managers.

Office managers are professional problem solvers, and need to demonstrate flexibility and quick thinking when circumstances change. Teams look at office managers to find the answers to questions so that an office can run smoothly. An affinity for problem-solving takes confidence, attention to detail, and adaptiveness under pressure. These are qualities to look out for when interviewing a potential office manager.

Office managers interact with a lot of people on a day-to-day basis — including staff, vendors, visitors, and bosses. They need to be excellent communicators, which may include fielding the occasional difficult conversation. This question will showcase the candidate’s ability to communicate smoothly under pressure.

Office managers are leaders, and are expected to learn and grow on the job. They should be comfortable taking charge of projects and teams, so that they can coordinate operations in a business environment. They should demonstrate their ability to work independently as self-starters, and staff should be able to rely on them to coordinate travel, meetings, and office facilities.

Managing an office requires a high level of discretion regarding confidential information, and knowing who and who not to pass on information to. This could include overhearing conversations, being copied on emails, or hearing HR complaints from staff. Office managers need to distinguish sensitive information and develop a plan of action for keeping it confidential

Someone managing the schedules and tasks of an entire office should be organized, and that starts with self-management. The systems they use — for example, to-do lists, calendars, other organizational programs — can impact the entire office. A strong candidate should be able to explain which systems they use, and why.

Very often, businesses look to their office managers to train employees on how to follow office procedures. Office managers create management systems, and they are often required to teach those systems as well. Plans to teach and implement management systems are important for qualified office manager candidates.