6 steps to revamping your Office of the CEO ROI model

CEOs, Chiefs of Staff and Executive Assistants: your Office of the CEO ROI should be higher than 10x, otherwise you're doing something wrong. If you calculate an anemic ROI, I'm guessing:

• You don't have clear success metrics.

• You don't measure KPIs well.

• You aren't taking into account your full impact across your CEO, C-suite AND organization.

So how do you build a robust, accurate, and custom ROI model for your Office of the CEO? Here's a 6 step how-to guide:

1. Define your Office of the CEO KPIs

Set commonsense, impactful KPIs that capture the benefits your executive office delivers to your CEO, C-suite and company. These can include time, growth, speed, output and fun. Reference this playbook’s section on KPIs at the beginning of this chapter.

2. Set your Office of the CEO budget

Define your budget for the next fiscal year by forecasting costs and planning investments to develop your Office of the CEO. Outline fixed costs (salaries), variable expenses (tech and bonuses) and one-time expenses (training, coaching, development and consulting). Reference this playbook’s previous section on budgeting.

3. Quantify your impact over your fiscal year 

Over the next 4 quarters, collect data against your previously defined KPIs. Use RAG status to keep on track. Make sure you verify data quality by inspecting the sources of your data and doing quality control. If you put bad data in front of your CEO, you instantly lose credibility.

4. Track your budget over your fiscal year 

Simultaneously, track your actual vs. expected spend in your Office of the CEO. If you are able to stay on budget, great; if you can stay below budget with a rainy-day-fund surplus, even better. Future coaching, training and development is an easier sell since the money has already been budgeted.

5. Calculate your Office of the CEO ROI

Once your fiscal year ends, it's time to analyze. Calculate total business value for each KPI and divide by total Office of the CEO spend. Sanity check by referencing industry benchmarks and speaking to industry peers. We've seen ROI ranges from 10x-25x. Formally present your ROI analysis to your CEO, your C-suite, your entire organization and even your board.

6. Recalibrate your Office of the CEO ROI model 

If your numbers seem out of line, it's time to recalibrate. Inspect your model by standardizing the inputs, calculations and outputs. This is an emerging discipline in the Executive Operations field, so it can feel more art than science. Bring back your recalibrated model to your stakeholders mentioned above.

There you have it: 6 steps to revamping your Office of the CEO ROI model to quantify the value you bring to your CEO, C-suite and organization.

Contact us here to learn how to build a ROI model for your Office of the CEO and ensure you’re achieving an impressive return on investment. Let’s work together to define KPIs, track impact, and optimize your executive office’s performance.