In many departments within an organization, success and efficiency are measured through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs are performance measurements used to evaluate an organization’s overall long-term performance by measuring success through gathered data. 

For departments like Sales and Marketing, KPIs are fairly straightforward and easy to track. However, for an Admin department, there aren't necessarily quantifiable goals that employees are working towards. Because of this, it can be a challenge for administrative professionals to report on KPI metrics for the individuals in their department. 

KPIs do exist for Admin department employees, and we’re here to shed some light on what those are and how organizations can be reporting on them. 

Top KPIs for Administrative Professionals 

Organization and Coordination Skills

Executive assistants coordinate meetings, plan travel, set appointments, and fill in where there are workflow gaps in the office. For tasks of this nature, KPIs focus on how smoothly things flow that they’re the point person for, like travel or meetings for the executive.

For example, with an executive’s travel schedule, do they:

• Create a travel itinerary with all details of the trip 
• Set up appropriate transportation and accommodations
• Include thorough notes and instructions where appropriate

This is just one task of an administrative professional and a few of the responsibilities that are included in their role. But knowing what to strive for will help them improve. 

Communication and Collaboration 

Many EAs are the ones sending out department notes from the executive and are responsible for proofing, editing, and delivering other content as well. KPIs in this regard can be their strength with office correspondence, as well as communication with partners, vendors, and customers (if the role requires it). 

While executive assistants are responsible primarily for the executive they report to, much of their role can require working with other employees, regardless of department. 

Here are a few ways to measure the success of an admin’s strength in communication and collaboration.

• How is their openness to learn and collaborate with others? 
• Do they have positive relationships with colleagues? 
• Are they cooperative and team-oriented? 
• Are they helpful in sharing their own knowledge?

Preparation and Support for Executive

Typically, the most important task in an executive assistant’s job description is ensuring that the leader they report to is up to speed on their daily calendar, prepared for any meetings and appointments for the day and week, and aware of upcoming engagements (travel, conferences, etc). 

This can be measured in regards to how prepared the executive feels for appointments and meetings, which can be acknowledged in discussions after these events. Are there actionable items they are achieving or missing the mark on? Are they successful in managing the pieces of the executive’s workload that they are responsible for?

Personal Motivation and Drive

Many administrative jobs are heavy on standardized responsibilities, there’s always room for personal goals like growth, achievement, and learning. While most of these roles are by the book, a KPI for executive assistants to challenge themselves is a healthy way to measure their personal drive and motivation as an employee. 

This type of KPI can be:

• Do they set goals for themselves beyond their scope of work?
• Are they creative in brainstorming ways to alleviate stress on their superior?
• Do they try to learn new things, take on new responsibilities or tasks?
• This could include spearheading a new technology for department adoption, hosting a training, or learning a new skill

There are many ways to measure the success of an executive assistant. While the KPIs may not be as easy to define as they are in other departments, with analyzing and goal-setting, the expectations and goals of an administrative professional can be transparent and measurable.

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