The employer is screening for whether you can coordinate facilities, building management, and staff safety under time pressure, which is exactly what an Office Manager must do during typhoon season in the Philippines.
Structure the answer as a timeline: assess the building and weather, prepare resources and communications, then make a clear recommendation to leadership. Emphasize safety, early communication, and a backup plan.
Start by walking through the timeline from the moment the advisory is issued, not from tomorrow morning. Say plainly that your first move is to verify the building's physical readiness, so contact the building administrator or property management to confirm the generator is fueled and tested, check for any known flooding in the parking area or lobby, and ask whether the building has a protocol for forced closure. Then shift to people, because in a Philippine office the commute is often the real risk, not the office itself. Draft a simple advisory for employees that states the current forecast, the tentative decision, and the exact time you will confirm, and send it through all channels, email, group chat, and a quick call to department heads. Explain that you would then gather the latest PAGASA bulletin and local government announcements around late evening, and use that to make a firm recommendation to leadership, either to open with a later start time, to suspend work, or to shift to work from home if that is possible. Emphasize that you would communicate the final decision no later than a set hour so no one is left guessing before bed, and that you would also prepare a backup plan, such as identifying which employees can work remotely or which critical tasks can be postponed, in case the situation worsens overnight. Close by saying your priority is never to be the hero who keeps the office open, but to make a defensible, safety-first call that protects both the team and the business.
A common mistake is to answer 'Bahala na po, tingnan na lang natin bukas' which sounds reactive and unprepared. Instead say: I would verify the building's generator and flood risk, prepare an advisory for employees, and recommend a clear open or suspend decision before the evening commute.
Situation
In my previous internship as an administrative assistant at a small BPO office in Quezon City, a typhoon signal was raised in the afternoon, and the operations manager asked me to help decide whether the office could open the next day.
Task
I had to coordinate with the building administrator, check emergency supplies, and prepare a recommendation for the site director on whether to suspend work or open with a skeleton staff.
Action
I called the building admin to ask about flooding history, generator status, and parking access. I checked our emergency kit: flashlights, first aid supplies, charged power banks, and a list of employee emergency contacts. I drafted a simple announcement template with two options, one for work suspension and one for delayed opening, then sent it to the director for approval before 8 PM.
Result
The director approved the delayed opening plan, employees were informed through the company Viber group by 9 PM, and the next morning only 12 of 40 staff reported safely to the office. There was no confusion, and the team that stayed worked with the generator until power returned at noon.
Prepare the decision, communication template, and facility checks early so the leader only needs to approve, not invent, the plan.
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