Administrative support survey questions, plus a grid to rate each service
An administrative support survey asks the people who rely on your admin team how well it serves them. The core 12 covers deadlines, accuracy, early warnings and fair treatment; a second set rates six admin services side by side and shows which one needs work first.
- 37questions
- 12in the core set
- 4 minto answer the core
- 6admin services rated
By Michael Hodge, BSc Psychology Updated September 2026
Core 12 first, then the service grid, assistants and travel
Q1 to Q12 start ticked and suit any office. The service grid rates six admin services side by side; further sets cover assistants, travel, meetings, one request that went wrong and remote staff. Each question shows the answers staff pick from and what a weak score on it tends to signal.
The core 1212 questions
A checklist of the admin help people used, nine statements about that help, a vote on what to improve and one comment box. Sent without extras, these twelve still give a complete read on admin support.
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Which kinds of admin help have you used in the last 3 months?
Meetings and roomsTravelExpenses and ordersDocuments and filingSupplies and mailFront deskNone of theseTick all that applyShows which services carry the load, and lets you rate each service only with answers from people who used it.
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I know where to send each kind of admin request.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeWhen people guess where to send things, requests start late. A low score calls for one clear inbox or form, not more effort.
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My requests are acknowledged on the same working day.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeA quick note that the request has landed saves people from chasing it, even when the work itself takes days.
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Admin work I ask for is done by the date I need it.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeDeadlines judged against the requester's own date. Reliability of this kind ranked first in a study of university administrative services.4
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Bookings and documents are right the first time.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeAccuracy. A wrong flight time or a letter sent back for fixes costs both sides a second round.
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I hear early when a deadline is at risk.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeAn early warning turns a missed deadline into a changed plan. A low score here often sits behind a low score on Q4.
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Rooms, supplies and equipment are ready when needed.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe side of admin support people only notice when it fails: an empty paper tray, a room with no chairs.
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I trust the admin team with confidential material.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeAdmin teams handle contracts, pay letters and personal details. Low trust means people keep sensitive work to themselves.
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Requests from junior and senior staff get equal care.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeAdmin time can drift toward the most senior person asking. Split this one by role level to see whether it happens in your office.
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Admin help frees up time for my own work.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeThe reason an admin team exists. If this is low while the rest look fine, the handoffs themselves may cost too much.
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Which part of admin support should improve first?
SpeedAccuracyUpdatesRooms and suppliesTravel and expensesOne priority per person. The biggest pile is your first fix, and the question works as a quick vote at a staff meeting.
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What is one thing the admin team could start doing that would help you most?
Open answer"Start doing" invites new ideas as well as complaints. Sort the answers into a few themes before you share them.
Rate each admin service7 questions
Six services on one satisfied scale, then the one that matters most to each person. Together they fill in the priority grid further down this page.
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How satisfied are you with meeting and room bookings?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedCalendars and rooms. A low score from heavy users points at the booking process itself, such as double bookings or rooms without the right kit.
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How satisfied are you with travel arrangements?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedFewer people book travel, but it matters a great deal to those who do. Read it beside the importance question below.
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How satisfied are you with help on expenses and orders?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedClaims and purchase orders touch pay and budgets, so delays here get noticed quickly.
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How satisfied are you with document preparation?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedFormatting, editing and filing. The open answers will say whether the issue is quality or turnaround.
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How satisfied are you with supplies, mail and deliveries?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedThe stockroom and the post room. Usually quick to fix once one person owns it.
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How satisfied are you with front desk service?
Very dissatisfied12345Very satisfied1 = Very dissatisfied, 5 = Very satisfiedVisitors and callers meet the front desk first, so staff rate it partly on behalf of their guests.
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Which of these services matters most to your work?
Meetings and roomsTravelExpenses and ordersDocumentsSupplies and mailFront deskThe importance half of the grid. The share who pick each service goes on one axis, its satisfaction score on the other.
If you have a dedicated assistant5 questions
For managers and leaders who share an executive or personal assistant. Send it only to the people each assistant supports.
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My assistant keeps my calendar the way I would.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeCalendar judgment: the right meetings accepted, the right ones moved, without a check each time.
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My assistant protects time for focused work.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeWhether the calendar leaves room for thinking, not only for meetings.
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My assistant flags what needs my attention first.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeInbox and paperwork triage: the urgent things reach you first and the rest get handled.
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We agree on what my assistant can decide alone.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeClear decision rights stop small things from waiting on your reply.
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How often do you and your assistant plan the week together?
DailyA few times a weekWeeklyRarely or neverRead it beside the four statements above. Low scores together with Rarely or never point to a missing routine, not a skills gap.
Travel, expenses and claims3 questions
Add these where the admin team books trips, checks claims or places orders for staff.
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Travel bookings match what I asked for.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeDates, times, seats and hotels. A mismatch here costs money to change.
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Changes to travel plans are handled quickly.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreePlans change. This shows whether the team can react outside its normal queue.
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I know what an expense claim needs from me.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeClear rules on receipts and forms stop claims bouncing back and forth.
Meetings and events3 questions
For teams whose admin help is mostly calendars, rooms and events.
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Invitations arrive with the right time, room and link.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeOne error in an invitation repeats for every attendee. This catches it.
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Rooms are set up before the meeting starts.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeScreens, cables, chairs and catering in place, so meetings start on the minute.
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How much notice do you usually give for a meeting request?
Same day1 to 2 working days3 to 5 working daysA week or moreShows whether last-minute requests, not slow admins, drive the rush. Useful when you agree a fair turnaround.
When a request went wrong3 questions
Three questions about one real request that went badly. They separate a problem with the rule from a problem with the steps or with how it was handled.
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Think of your last admin request that did not go well. What held it up?
A rule or policyThe process or systemHow it was handledNot sureNo problemsSplits policy from process from performance, the same split UW-Madison builds into its survey of administrative services.3
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How many times did you follow up on that request?
NoneOnceTwiceThree or moreChasing is hidden work for both sides. Three or more usually means the request had no clear owner.
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What happened, and what would have fixed it?
Open answerGives the admin team a real case to walk through, not just a score.
Remote and hybrid staff2 questions
For people who work away from the office for some or all of the week.
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I get the same admin help when I work remotely.
Strongly disagree12345Strongly agree1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agreeAdmin support built around a desk in the office can miss people who are not in the building.
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How do you usually send an admin request?
EmailChat messageOnline request formIn personPhone callTells you which channel to keep and which to close. Requests spread across five channels are hard to track.
About you (optional)2 questions
Only for splitting results. Show a group on its own only when it has ten or more people in it.
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Which best describes your role?
StaffTeam lead or managerSenior leaderPrefer not to sayLets you test Q9, equal care for junior and senior staff, without asking anyone for a name.
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Where do you work most weeks?
In the officeHybridMostly remotePrefer not to sayShows whether people in the office and people working remotely get the same service.
Match the survey to how your admin support is set up
Admin support looks different in a ten-person office and a university faculty. Find the row closest to yours to see who should answer and which sets to add to the core 12.
| How admin support works | Who answers | Sets to add |
|---|---|---|
| One office manager or front desk for everyone | All staff | Rate each admin service |
| An administrator for each team or department | The team they support | Meetings and events; Travel, expenses and claims |
| Executive or personal assistants | The leaders each assistant supports | If you have a dedicated assistant |
| A shared admin pool or service center | Everyone who sent a request this quarter | Rate each admin service; When a request went wrong |
| Outsourced or virtual assistants | The staff who hand them work | If you have a dedicated assistant; Remote and hybrid staff |
The six services in the grid follow the everyday duties in the federal Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for secretaries and administrative assistants, an occupation with about 3.5 million jobs in 2025: phones and messages, calendars and appointments, staff meetings, mail, documents and filing, bookkeeping and buying supplies.6 Whatever the setup, keep the core 12 word for word so results from different offices and different years line up. For surveys about planning, operations and the wider business, browse our business survey questions.
Running an admin survey people answer honestly
Four habits that keep the results fair to the admin team and useful to everyone who depends on it.
Ask everyone who sends requests
The people best placed to judge admin support are the ones who ask for it: staff, managers, remote colleagues and people in other buildings. Send the survey to all of them and let Q1 sort out who used which service in the last three months. Someone who never books travel should not move the travel score.
What students expect most from university admin services
Weight deadlines and accuracy most
When 104 students at five Greek universities rated their administrative services, reliability, meaning the job done right and on time, came out as the most important of five service qualities. It also showed the widest gap between what people expected and what they got.4 That is why Q4 and Q5 sit in the core: they are the two statements to track round after round.
Rate the service, not the person
UW-Madison, which has surveyed its employees about administrative services every two years since 2022, states plainly that the results are not used to evaluate budgets or employee performance, and an outside firm collects the answers so they stay confidential.12 Say the same in your invitation. In a small office, use a link that stores no names and hold back any group smaller than ten. UW-Madison also lets employees answer during paid work hours, a simple way to show the survey matters.2
Sort each complaint: rule, process or people
A slow expense claim can come from an approval rule, a clumsy form or the person handling it, and each needs a different fix. UW-Madison built that split into its survey so employees could separate policy, process and performance for each service.3 Comments are where it shows up most: the 2026 round collected more than 20,000 of them from 3,660 employees.1 The When a request went wrong set asks the same thing about one real request, so you know whether to change the rule, redesign the steps or coach the team.
Holding an all-staff meeting soon? Turn Q11 into a free live poll and let everyone pick the first admin fix, days ahead of the full survey. Our page on how to create a poll covers the setup from start to finish.
Find the admin service to fix first
Six satisfaction scores are hard to rank on their own. Put each service on a grid of importance against satisfaction and the order of work becomes clear.
This is importance-performance analysis, a method Martilla and James set out in 19775 and researchers still apply to administrative services.4 Q13 to Q18 give each service its percent satisfied. Q19 supplies importance: what fraction of staff chose it as the service they need most. Draw one line at the average of each, as the university study did, and read the four boxes:
- Concentrate here: matters more than average, pleases less. Start here.
- Keep up the good work: matters and works. Protect it.
- Low priority: below average on both. It can wait.
- Possible overkill: works well but matters less. Hold it steady and put new effort elsewhere.
A worked grid for a 50-person office
Here is how the grid reads once the answers are in. The office is made up, the method is the one above.
| Service | Picked as most important / satisfied (percent) | Box |
|---|---|---|
| Meetings and rooms | 30 / 58 | Concentrate here |
| Expenses and orders | 22 / 49 | Concentrate here |
| Documents | 18 / 84 | Keep up the good work |
| Travel | 12 / 81 | Possible overkill |
| Front desk | 10 / 90 | Possible overkill |
| Supplies and mail | 8 / 66 | Low priority |
The averages are 17 for importance and 71 for satisfaction. Meetings and expenses sit above the first line and below the second, so they go to the top of the list. Supplies and mail also scores below average, but few people rank it first, so it waits its turn. Travel and the front desk already satisfy most of their users; hold them steady.
The nine admin statements, charted
Type how many staff chose each point on the nine admin statements, Q2 to Q10 in the survey. Agreement is the healthy result on all of them, so the shortest blue bars mark the admin habits to fix.
- 1The figure at the right of each bar is the percentage of staff agreeing with that admin statement. It recalculates with every count you enter.
- 2Read the deadline and right-first-time statements before the rest. Those two carry the most weight with the people an admin team serves.
- 3Set the two weakest admin statements beside the Q11 vote and the service grid. If all three agree, that is where to start.
- 4Share a short summary with the admin team before anyone else sees it, then tell all staff what will change and by when.
Admin support results
Colleagues without a desk computer can answer on paper
Handy for colleagues without a desk computer, such as reception, warehouse, cleaning or site crews. Put copies by the sign-in book, with a closed box for returns next to them.
Reception or the loading dock only needs the core?
Admin support questionnaire
Q1 to Q12 fit on page one, each with boxes for a pen. The service grid and the remaining sets follow for offices that want them.
Download PDF
Admin results worksheet
Tally the returned forms, work through the nine admin statements for percent agree, total the improve-first ticks and write in two admin fixes.
Download PDFAdmin survey questions worth rewording
Three drafts we see in admin surveys again and again, rewritten so the admin team can act on the answers. For question types beyond these, read how good survey questions are built.
Is the admin team helpful?
Admin work I ask for is done by the date I need it.
Bookings and documents are right the first time.
Helpful means something different to everyone. Deadlines and accuracy are what people really judge, and the team can act on both.
How satisfied are you with the speed and quality of admin support?
My requests are acknowledged on the same working day.
How satisfied are you with document preparation?
Speed and quality in one question hides which of the two is the problem. Ask them apart.
Do you use the admin team a lot?
Which kinds of admin help have you used in the last 3 months?
A lot means weekly to one person and twice a year to another. A checklist with a time window gives counts you can compare.
What office managers ask about admin surveys
Short answers for whoever is sending the survey.
What questions should an administrative support survey include?
Start with which admin services each person used, then ask about things they can see for themselves: whether requests are acknowledged, finished on time and right first time, whether rooms and supplies are ready, and whether confidential work is safe. Close with one question on what to improve first and a comment box; Q1 to Q12 above do exactly this.
How do you measure administrative support?
Two numbers do most of the work: percent agree on each core statement, and percent satisfied for each service in the grid. Compare both with the last round of the same survey, and use the importance question to decide which low score to tackle first.
Should an admin support survey be anonymous?
Yes. People who work beside the admin team every day will hold back if their name is attached. Use a link that collects no names, or paper forms dropped in a sealed box, and show results only for groups of ten or more.
How often should you run an admin survey?
Yearly works for most offices. Add a short check a few months after something big shifts, like a new booking system or a reshuffled admin team, and hold the core questions fixed so the scores stay comparable.
Can I use it to review one administrative assistant?
Yes, with the dedicated assistant set, sent to the leaders that assistant supports. Treat the results as a conversation about how you work together, and keep the core 12 for the service as a whole.
Ask the people your admin team supports
Open Q1 to Q12 in the builder, add the service grid, and email the survey to every colleague who asked the admin team for something this quarter. Results in a week, fixes in a month.
