The True ROI of Hiring an Executive Assistant (It's More Than You Think)

Key Takeaways

• Claim #1: You Will Reclaim 20% of Your Time. A landmark study by McKinsey found that a skilled Executive Assistant (EA) can save a CEO up to 20% of their time, which translates to a full day of reclaimed focus each week. [1] This is time you can reinvest into high-value, revenue-generating activities.

• Claim #2: You Will Save Up to 70% on Salary Costs. The average salary for a U.S.-based EA is over $70,000. By hiring a world-class EA from a global talent hub, you can expect to save up to 70% on salary costs without sacrificing quality, resulting in a direct and immediate impact on your bottom line.

• Claim #3: Your Team’s Productivity Will Increase. An EA doesn’t just support you; they support your entire leadership team. By acting as a central hub for communication, scheduling, and project management, a great EA can increase the productivity of the entire executive team by 10-15%. [2]

• Claim #4: You Will Make Better Decisions. Executives who are bogged down in administrative tasks are more likely to make hasty, poor decisions. An EA acts as a strategic partner who prepares detailed briefings, researches topics, and ensures you have all the necessary information before a critical meeting, leading to better, more informed decision-making.

• Claim #5: The ROI is Not Just Financial, It’s Strategic. The true ROI of an EA isn’t just in the time and money you save; it’s in the opportunity you unlock. It’s the deals you can finally pursue, the strategic partnerships you can build, and the burnout you avoid. For a deeper dive into finding the right strategic partner, learn more about our Executive Virtual Assistants.

For many busy executives and CEOs, the idea of hiring an Executive Assistant (EA) feels like a luxury—a cost center that would be nice to have, but isn't essential. This is one of the most common and most costly misconceptions in the business world. A great EA is not a cost center; they are a revenue-generating, productivity-multiplying force. They are an investment with a return on investment (ROI) that is both immediate and immense.

The question is not “Can I afford an EA?” The question is “Can I afford to not have an EA?” When you, the leader of the company, are spending your time managing your inbox, scheduling meetings, and booking travel, you are actively losing money. You are performing tasks that are worth $20 an hour, when your time should be focused on the $1,000-an-hour tasks that only you can do: closing deals, building strategic partnerships, and steering the vision of the company.

This guide will break down the five key ways an EA delivers a massive, measurable ROI. We will move beyond the abstract and into the concrete, data-backed realities of what this strategic hire can do for you, your team, and your bottom line.

Claim #1: You Will Reclaim 20% of Your Time

This is the most immediate and most impactful ROI. A landmark study by McKinsey & Company found that a skilled Executive Assistant can save a senior executive up to 20% of their time. [1] Let’s break that down. In a 50-hour workweek, that is 10 hours of reclaimed time. That is a full day, every single week, that you get back.

What could you do with an extra full day every week? You could:

• Take four more high-level sales calls.

• Have two more strategic planning sessions with your leadership team.

• Mentor a rising star in your company.

• Finally have the headspace to think about the long-term vision for your business.

An EA achieves this by taking over the administrative tasks that currently clog your day. This includes:

• Inbox Management: Filtering your email, responding to routine inquiries, and flagging only the critical messages that need your attention.

• Calendar Management: Scheduling meetings, resolving conflicts, and ensuring you are properly prepared for every single appointment.

• Travel Coordination: Handling all the logistics of flights, hotels, and ground transportation.

By offloading these tasks, you are not just freeing up time; you are freeing up mental energy. You are moving from a reactive state, constantly putting out fires, to a proactive state, focused on the high-level work that drives growth.

Claim #2: You Will Save Up to 70% on Salary Costs

This is the direct, hard-dollar ROI that is impossible to ignore. According to data from salary comparison sites, the average salary for a qualified Executive Assistant in the United States is over $70,000 per year, and can easily exceed $100,000 in major metropolitan areas. [3] This doesn’t even include the additional costs of benefits, payroll taxes, and office space.

By leveraging the global talent market, you can hire a world-class, highly experienced EA for a fraction of that cost. A top-tier EA from a talent hub like Latin America or the Philippines may have a salary in the range of $20,000 to $30,000 per year. This represents a direct, immediate saving of up to 70%.

It is critical to understand that this is not about finding “cheap labor.” It is about leveraging global economic differences. A $25,000 salary in the Philippines provides an exceptional quality of life, often many times the local average. You are not exploiting anyone; you are providing a life-changing career opportunity to a skilled professional, while also making a brilliant financial decision for your business. This is the win-win of the global talent economy.

Claim #3: Your Team’s Productivity Will Increase

A common misconception is that an EA only supports the executive. The reality is that a great EA acts as a productivity multiplier for the entire leadership team. Studies on organizational efficiency have shown that streamlined administrative processes and communication flows can increase a team's overall productivity by 10-15%. [2]

An EA is the central hub that makes this happen. They:

• Standardize Processes: They create and manage SOPs for common tasks, ensuring that everyone on the team is operating from the same playbook.

• Act as a Gatekeeper: They protect your time and the time of your leadership team by filtering out low-value requests and interruptions.

• Facilitate Communication: They ensure that information flows to the right people at the right time, preparing agendas for meetings, taking detailed notes, and following up on action items.

When your leadership team isn’t bogged down in administrative chaos, they can focus on their own high-value work. The EA doesn’t just make you more productive; they create a more efficient and effective environment for everyone.

Claim #4: You Will Make Better Decisions

Decision fatigue is a real and costly phenomenon. When executives are forced to make hundreds of small, low-stakes decisions every day (like “Should I take this meeting?” or “Which flight should I book?”), their capacity for making high-stakes strategic decisions diminishes. [4]

An EA’s role is to eliminate these low-stakes decisions from your plate. But their value goes even further. A true EA is a strategic partner who helps you make better high-stakes decisions. They do this by:

• Preparing Briefings: Before a major sales call or board meeting, they will prepare a detailed briefing document with background information on the attendees, key talking points, and desired outcomes.

• Conducting Research: If you’re considering a new software purchase or a new market to enter, they can conduct the initial research, summarize the options, and present you with a concise report.

• Acting as a Sounding Board: A great EA understands your business and your goals. They can act as a trusted, confidential sounding board for new ideas.

By the time a decision reaches your desk, you have all the necessary information, context, and research at your fingertips. You are no longer making decisions based on gut feelings; you are making them based on data.

Claim #5: The ROI is Not Just Financial, It’s Strategic

This is the final, and perhaps most important, piece of the ROI puzzle. The true value of an EA cannot be fully captured on a spreadsheet. It is in the opportunity cost of not having one.

Every hour you spend on administrative work is an hour you are not spending on:

• Building a relationship with a key client.

• Developing a new product or service.

• Mentoring your future leaders.

• Preventing your own burnout.

Burnout among senior executives is at an all-time high, and it is a direct threat to the health of your business. [5] An EA is one of the most powerful antidotes to burnout. They create the space and the structure that allows you to lead effectively over the long term.

The ROI of an EA is not just in the money you save or the time you reclaim; it is in the deals you can now pursue, the strategic thinking you can finally do, and the sustainable pace you can finally achieve. It is the difference between being a stressed-out operator and a visionary CEO.

Conclusion: From Cost Center to Strategic Investment

It’s time to stop thinking of an Executive Assistant as a luxury and start seeing them for what they are: a strategic investment with a massive, multifaceted ROI. They are a force multiplier for you and your entire team.

By reclaiming your time, saving you money, increasing your team’s productivity, improving your decision-making, and unlocking your strategic potential, an EA pays for themselves many times over. The question is not whether you can afford one, but how much longer you can afford to go without one.

If you are ready to explore how a world-class, remote Executive Assistant can transform your business, learn more about our specialized Executive Virtual Assistants and how we find the perfect strategic partner for leaders like you.

References

[1] McKinsey & Company. (as cited in multiple EA-focused publications). The Case for Executive Assistants. [2] Parker, G., & Rippin, A. (2002). Team-Based Organization: A Review of the Literature. British Journal of Management. [3] Salary.com. (2025). Executive Assistant Salary in the United States. [4] Baumeister, R. F. (2003). The Psychology of Irrationality. The Irrational Economist. [5] Deloitte. (2023). Global Human Capital Trends Report on Worker Well-being and Burnout.