Leaders in organisations, whether they be CEOs, managers, or department heads, often find themselves bogged down by admin tasks, and while these tasks are essential, they can consume a significant portion of leaders' time, detracting from strategic activities that drive organisational growth. This article explores the untapped potential locked within the hours leaders spend on admin duties and how saving this time can translate into substantial financial wins for organisations.
The cost of leaders performing admin work can be substantial, calculated at £54.35 per hour (based on a salary of £100,000 per annum). This significant expenditure includes not only their hourly rate but also the missed opportunities for engaging in high-impact, revenue-generating activities. The financial implications of time spent on admin tasks are considerable and can greatly affect the overall profitability and efficiency of the organisation.
Admin tasks can range from scheduling meetings, handling emails, and preparing reports to managing routine communications and daily paperwork. This activity is necessary to fulfil business operations and to support various stakeholders and department to have the space to focus and deliver to a high standard their individual core competency that drives the business.
Our daily advisement to clients often highlights not only the direct cost of having non-admin/business support colleagues doing admin work but also the hidden cost—namely, the untapped revenue and negative impact on the business:
Our intel and experience tells us, leaders spend at least 1 hour per day on admin tasks (although this can be much higher in some circumstances), which means for a typical 5-day workweek, this translates to a minimum of 5 hours per week. The time spent on admin tasks is time not spent on strategic activities such as deal-making, innovation, and leadership development.
This equates to a very highly paid administrative or PA resource, essentially costing the organisation at the leader’s hourly rate of £54.35 (based on example) and this is excluding ancillary costs, plus the significant missed opportunity cost of not engaging in strategic, high-impact activities.
There are two factors to consider:
1. The direct cost of a leader doing administrative work—hourly rate and potential inefficiency due to it not being their core strength.
2. The untapped growth and revenue due to distraction and not playing to strengths.
To understand the true value of saving a leader's time, let's delve into a hypothetical scenario:
To capitalise on the untapped potential, organisations can adopt several strategies to reduce the admin burden on their leaders:
Outsourcing your business support and PA function to service providers, like SmartPA, delivers organisations three key benefits:
1. Growth and revenue accelerator
2. A fixed cost base
3. Insights from experts to ensure you have the correct admin / PA model for your specific needs
Implementing software solutions for scheduling, email management, and report generation can significantly reduce the time leaders spend on these tasks. Automation tools increase efficiency in handling routine tasks, allowing for more streamlined operations, while these tools provide real-time data analysis and decision-making support, enabling leaders to make informed decisions more quickly and effectively.
Hiring admin assistants or forming support teams to handle routine tasks can free up leaders' time for more critical activities. By delegating these tasks, leaders can focus on strategic goals and innovation, whilst better task management and workflow efficiency are achieved, leading to a more organised and productive work environment.
Streamlining workflows and eliminating redundant processes can enhance overall organisational efficiency. Process optimisation reduces bottlenecks and facilitates faster decision-making, and improved productivity across teams results from a more efficient and effective operational structure, allowing the organisation to respond quickly to market changes and opportunities.
The true value of a leader’s time goes beyond their hourly rate, by reducing the time spent on admin tasks, organisations can unlock significant financial gains and strategic advantages.
In a competitive market, where the ability to make quick and effective decisions is crucial, freeing up leaders to focus on high-impact activities can be a game-changer for sustained growth and success.
SmartPA leads the transformation of admin and business support services through technology and education, while our mission is to unleash potential by supporting young people and women to become business role models for future generations. Powered by a global team of passionate and accredited SmartPAs, we accelerate the success of over 5,000 businesses worldwide, delivering impactful outsourced support that allows organisations to focus on what they do best. With a Centre of Excellence in the UK, near shore hubs in South Africa and Uganda, and an offshore hub in Malaysia, we are dedicated to making a difference.
Click here to find out more about how partnering with SmartPA can help your organisation improve profitability and resilience by outsourcing non-core business support or administration services to SmartPA. Alternatively, contact us directly to discuss your requirements.