We want to assign weekly measurables to our back-office seats like the executive assistant and the office administrator, but their work seems highly administrative and hard to quantify. What actual, predictable numbers can we put on their Scorecard?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Back-office seats like administrative assistants, office managers, or internal IT are crucial for operational efficiency, but leaders often struggle to assign them weekly measurables. They assume administrative work is too fluid or subjective to quantify. This is a mistake. Every seat on your Accountability Chart must have at least one weekly measurable to drive true accountability. To find the right metrics, look at the core deliverables of the seat. For an executive assistant, the measurable could be the percentage of calendar conflicts resolved within twenty-four hours, or keeping the executive's email inbox under fifty items by Friday afternoon. For an office administrator, it could be maintaining office supply expenses within a specific weekly budget, or ensuring facility maintenance requests are acknowledged within four hours. The goal is to measure the output, not the activity. Avoid vague metrics like working hard or being helpful. If a person GWC the seat, they want to know exactly what winning looks like every week. By placing clear, objective numbers on their Scorecard, you take the emotion out of management. The employee knows exactly where they stand without relying on your subjective feedback, and you gain a clear view of back-office efficiency.