Vervoe

How To Hire An Administrative Manager

Admin & Office

Complete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Administrative Manager hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.

What does a Administrative Manager do?

An Administrative Manager is also known as an Office Manager or Head Administrator. They are in charge of overseeing all administrative staff and making sure all their tasks are being done efficiently to ensure a smooth workplace.

Day to day tasks of a Administrative Manager

  • Coordinate and organize office events like meetings, interviews, training, and orientation sessions.
  • Supervise the daily operations of all administrative staff.
  • Guide the organization’s administrative activities.
  • Hire, train, and evaluate staff when necessary.
  • Improve administrative systems or policies when necessary.
  • Ensure office supplies are in stock and make the necessary requisitions when low in stock.
  • Closely work with the accounting and finance team to manage budget, expense, and payroll processes.
Recruitment guide role overview illustration

An Administrative Manager’s primary responsibility is to oversee the daily operation of all administrative tasks. Because of this, they require excellent organizational and multitasking skills to be able to manage all the different tasks that need to be supervised.

Role definition illustration

Administrative Manager Hiring Process

Build the Ideal Candidate Profile​

To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.

Write A Job Description Based On Skills

Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.

Selecting The Ideal Candidate

See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.

Interview Top Performers

Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.

Making An Offer

Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.

Admin Office sector illustration

Skills needed for a Administrative Manager

An Administrative Manager must be creative and innovative. Because of all the administrative duties that they need to supervise, they must be able to come up with innovative ways to maintain and sustain the day to day operations. They must also be a good multitasker as they will be overseeing several tasks daily.

  • Reporting
  • Leadership
  • Strategy

How to write a Administrative Manager job description

Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Administrative Manager job description:

Job Title
What position are you hiring for?
Summary
What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
Responsibilities
An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
Requirements
Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
Benefits
Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer
Use our sample Administrative Manager job description
Job description checklist illustration

Sample skill tests for a Administrative Manager

Create a free account today to access the full assessment and more from our library

Question 1

Strategy

Question Type: Text

Explain a time when you worked to deliver a successful change project?When answering, consider the methodology for your approach.

Question 2

Leadership

Question Type: Video

In your own words, tell us what you think makes a good leader? Why?

Question 3

Reporting

Question Type: Text

As an Administrative Manager, you will be responsible for coordinating and reporting back up on multiple projects. Explain how you would track and monitor the progress of multiple projects at once?Think about what resources you could use to make this as seamless as possible.

How to interview a Administrative Manager

Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.

Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.

How much does it cost to hire a Administrative Manager?

The US average for an Administrative Manager according to Glassdoor.com is $51,555 while Salary.com reports it at $139,478. The lowest reported salary is at $47,000, and the highest is at $162,359. The salaries depend on the nature of the company, and some companies offer additional pay through profit sharing, cash bonus, performance bonus, and incentives.

United States

Administrative Managers’ salaries in the United States range from $47,000 - $162,359. The average falls between $50,000 - $100,000. These figures can still depend on several factors including educational background, additional skills and certifications, years of experience in the field, and the location.

Source: Source: Salary.com; Glassdoor.com

United Kingdom

Administrative Managers’ salaries in the United Kingdom range from £20,000 - £50,000 (GBP). The average falls between £24,000 - £31,000 (GBP). These figures can still depend on several factors including educational background, additional skills and certifications, years of experience in the field, and the location.

Source: Source: Glassdoor.com; Payscale.com

Australia

Administrative Managers’ salaries in Australia range from $47,000 - $125,000 (AUD). The average falls between $60,000 - $90,000 (AUD). These figures can still depend on several factors including educational background, additional skills and certifications, years of experience in the field, and the location.

Source: Source: Talent.com; Payscale.com