Measure outcomes, not activity
Activity counts, such as emails sent or meetings booked, rise just as easily when the work goes badly as when it goes well. Outcome measures ask whether the area the assistant owns is in the state you agreed. Start from the outcomes in the job description: if you wrote “inbox at zero unread by the end of my day”, that is already a measure.
Agree the measures with the assistant rather than handing them down. Ask which signs would show that an area is in good shape: they often know better than you where things slip, and measures they helped choose are taken seriously. Keep the list short and stable, so that the trend over months means something.
Measures by area
Inbox
- Unread or unhandled messages at the end of the day, checked on a few random days a month.
- Time to first reply on the threads the assistant owns.
- Messages you had to answer yourself because something was missed.
Calendar
- Clashes, double bookings and time-zone mistakes in the month.
- Meetings with an agenda or a brief whenever you asked for one.
- Focus blocks that survived the week.
Follow-ups and projects
- Items in the waiting column older than an agreed limit.
- Commitments from your meetings followed up within a day.
- Projects delivered on the agreed date, such as an event or a vendor review.
Time returned
- Hours a week you no longer spend on the delegated areas, estimated by you once a month. Rough, but it is the reason the role exists.
Your own monthly rating
Some of the most important parts of the job, such as judgement and discretion, do not fit a number. Add a short rating that you fill in every month, honestly, in a few minutes:
Monthly rating, 1 to 5
Reliability: things happen when they should, without reminders.
Judgement: the right calls on what to decide, what to ask and what to flag.
Communication: clear updates, good emails in my name.
Initiative: problems spotted early, improvements proposed.
Discretion: confidential matters handled with care.
Examples: one for each low score, and one thing that went especially well.
Share it in the next one-to-one, examples first. A score without an example teaches nothing.
A one-page monthly scorecard
Put the measures and the rating on one page, with the target next to each, and fill it in together at the end of the month. Fifteen minutes is enough:
EA scorecard: [month]
Inbox: end-of-day state [result] against [target]; misses [number]
Calendar: errors [number]; briefs prepared [number] of [requested]
Follow-ups: items over the limit [number]
Projects: [project], delivered [on time / late, and why]
Time returned: about [hours] a week
Rating: [scores], with examples
Next month: one area to improve, one new responsibility
Keep every month's scorecard in one folder. Over a year it becomes the history of the role and the basis for the pay review.
From monthly scorecards to reviews
Three monthly scorecards make a quarterly review almost write itself: look at the trend, not at one bad week. Use the review to change the scope, widen decision rights, or agree what the assistant needs from you. If you are still in a trial period, the scorecards are the evidence for the decision; see our trial period guide.
Link pay reviews to the scope and the trend over a year, not to a single number. Our guide to retaining remote staff covers raises and growth.
Pitfalls
- Measuring what is easy rather than what matters, such as counting closed tasks.
- Changing the measures every month, which makes trends impossible to see.
- Ignoring your own part: slow answers from you show up as the assistant's delays. Look at the waiting column before you judge.
- Measuring an assistant without clear areas: without ownership, no measure is fair. Fix the scope first; our management guide shows how.
Questions
How many KPIs should an executive assistant have?
Three to five measures for the areas they own, plus your monthly rating. With more than that, nobody reads the scorecard.
Should EA KPIs affect pay?
Over a year, yes, through the scope of the role and the trend. A bonus tied to one number tends to distort the work; reward the growth of the role instead.
How do I measure an assistant who supports several people?
Ask each person for the monthly rating, keep the area measures shared, and agree whose priorities win when they clash.
What if the numbers look good but I am not happy?
Trust that signal and look for the reason in the rating; often it is judgement or communication, which numbers miss. Talk about it with examples.
General information for small employers, not legal or tax advice: check contracts, tax and data rules for your country with a qualified adviser. Figures carry their sources below; our own prices are on the pricing page. Spotted a mistake? Write to hello@stafka.com.