As a principal looking to hire support, you might be advised to get an executive coordinator, with the common reason being that they’ll support you and the organization concurrently.
But here’s the truth: An executive coordinator mainly focuses on administrative services at the departmental level. So, if you are a C-Suite looking to reclaim your time, you need an executive assistant.
This article covers executive coordinator vs. executive assistant to help you differentiate between them. You’ll also understand why an executive assistant provides more direct, high-level support to C-Suites than coordinators.
TL;DR – Executive Assistant vs. Executive Coordinator
Can’t read the whole article right away? The table below provides a quick overview of how executive assistants and coordinators compare:
| Executive Assistant | Executive Coordinator |
| Provides high-level support to executives, founders, and CEOs. | Oversees administrative services at a departmental or company level. |
| Scope | Scope |
| Helps their principal with five main performance multipliers, including: Chief of staff Business partner Personal assistant Project management Assistant/scheduler | Undertakes general administrative tasks, including: Sending internal team updates Coordinating departmental meetings Liaison among executives, staff, and external partners |
| Best For | Best For |
| C-Suites who need high-level support to reclaim their time and address scheduling bottlenecks. Examples include CEOs, founders, business owners, public figures, and high-net-worth individuals. | Businesses and companies looking for someone to oversee administrative tasks and facilitate communication among departments. |
Go for an executive assistant if you are a C-suite executive looking to reclaim your time or get a right-hand person. Hiring the right executive assistant simplifies your routine significantly, as the EA provides personalized support tailored to your needs.
At ProAssisting, we offer US-based remote executive assistants to help you with documentation, appointment scheduling, project management, and travel coordination. Even better, you only pay for the level of support you need, with a flat monthly retainer starting at $3,300.
Take the first step. Schedule a consultation with Ethan Bull to learn how our ProAssistants can support you for 50-80% less than the cost of hiring an in-house assistant.
What Is an Executive Assistant?
As the name suggests, executive assistants are an auxiliary to C-Suites and founders. They take up high-level support roles so their principals have additional time to focus on ‘more important’ goals.
Think of the relationship between a pitcher and catcher in a baseball game. The catcher (executive assistant) gets hold of the pitches, prevents stolen bases, and even advises the pitcher (C-Suite or founders).
Similarly, executive assistants perform integral roles, which we call performance multipliers. They include being a chief of staff, personal assistant, project manager, business partner, and assistant/scheduler.
Ethan and Stephanie Bull discuss these performance multipliers in detail in their book “The 29-Hour Workday.”
What Is an Executive Coordinator?
An executive coordinator functions a lot like a director of administrative services or office manager. They provide organizational support at the departmental or company level, unlike EAs, who serve specific executives.
Additionally, executive coordinators develop and enforce policies and procedures to boost the company’s operational efficiency. For example, they can facilitate collaboration between departments, or when the company works with an external agency in a joint project.
EA vs. Coordinator Key Role and Responsibility Differences
Now that you know who executive assistants and executive coordinators are, it becomes easier to compare their roles and responsibilities, including how they contribute to the company’s goals.
The table below provides a side-by-side comparison of EAs vs. coordinators:
| Category | Executive Assistant | Executive Coordinator |
| Calendar Management | Functions as an assistant scheduler to enhance time management for executives and address bottlenecks. | Helps schedule meetings for teams, departments, or the EA team. |
| Communication | Screens the executive’s emails and drafts correspondence. Also, they can pick or make calls to stakeholders like clients, vendors, and associates on behalf of the executive. | Sends internal team updates and acts as a liaison among executives, staff, and external partners. |
| Decision-Making and Strategic Involvement | Can act as a strategic partner to the executive, including suggesting solutions or taking initiative in high-urgency situations. | Involvement is often limited to the company’s administrative operations. |
| Reporting Structure | Reports directly to their executive, who could be a founder or a C-suite executive. | Often reports to different senior managers, depending on the assigned tasks, including departmental heads or operations managers. |
| Daily Scope of Work | Handles the executive’s scheduling, logistics, travel, and high-level correspondence. May undertake personal assistant roles, including running the executive’s non-work-related errands. | Coordinates meetings, tracks projects, and manages internal admin workflows. |
| Proximity to C-Suites | Works closely with top-level executives, forming part of their trusted inner-circle support. This exposes them to the executive’s private information, which requires the EA’s confidentiality. | Has limited access to executives because most of their roles and responsibilities are at the department level. |
| Budget Oversight | Handles the executive’s operational and travel expenses, making them integral to the budgeting process. | Only involved in tracking departmental budgets and supporting procurement. |
The comparison table above shows that EAs and executive coordinators are integral to a company’s operational efficiency. However, though their roles are closely related, they work in different capacities and to achieve unique goals (C-suites vs. departmental objectives).
Executive Assistant vs. Executive Coordinator Salary
For the US market, an executive coordinator may out-earn an executive assistant, but the difference is often insignificant in the context of the larger organizational operating expenses. In fact, many companies assign the executive coordinator position as a vanity title, as it sounds more prestigious and senior, but without extra compensation.
For example, Zippia and ZipRecruiter report that EA and coordinator salaries range between $24-$30 and $25-$31 per hour, respectively. This translates to $50,000-$65,000 annually for both job roles.
What Most Executives Miss When Hiring Support
A common mistake executives make when hiring EAs or coordinators is misaligning expectations with compensation. They list an exhaustive set of responsibilities, which is essentially every possible task they can offload. However, they fail to consider whether the role:
- Is too broad for one EA or coordinator.
- Requires low, medium, or high-level support skills and judgement.
- Matches the offered salary and reflects the position’s true scope and value to the organization.
Consequently, the job descriptions read like a mix of entry-level admin tasks, project management, and high-level strategic planning, all wrapped into one title. Even worse, the salary reflects a junior administrative role, as companies look to keep their operational costs low.
Here’s the danger of misaligning expectations with compensation:
- High Turnover Rates: Skilled assistants often feel undervalued, prompting them to pursue job opportunities elsewhere.
- Operational Inefficiencies: The roles overwhelm the support team and cause burnout, which affects the entire team’s productivity.
- Miss Out on Top Talent: C-level assistants are often thorough about their job roles and expectations, so they will likely pass up on your offer.
How ProAssisting Fills the Gaps Without Overhiring
ProAssisting offers a flexible support model to help executives align the level of assistance with actual business needs. This helps mitigate the cost and inefficiencies of employing unnecessary full-time staff.
Here’s how we do it:
- Support Tiers: Executives can hire fractional executive assistants, allowing them to utilize one-third, one-half, or two-thirds of a ProAssistant’s capacity.
- Seamless Scaling: Businesses can scale up or down support at any time to match changes in demand during peak seasons or fill up for unavailable in-house assistants.
- Cost-Efficiency: ProAssisting lets you pay only for the support you need, with fees based on a flat monthly retainer. This helps make your executive support expenses more predictable.
- Getting the Right Hire: Our ProAssistants often have 5+ years of experience providing C-level support, which reduces the time they need to settle into new roles. Also, we provide the highest compensation rate in the industry, which helps us retain our top talent and keep them motivated.
The Bottom Line – Executive Coordinator vs. EA
The support you need depends on your company’s specific needs:
- Hire an Executive Coordinator If: You run multiple departments and need an on-site ‘office manager’ to oversee general administrative tasks.
- Hire an Executive Assistant If: You need high-level support, including scheduling and project management, or someone you can entrust with confidential information so they can act as your extension.
As a C-Suite, founder, CEO, entrepreneur, or public figure, you probably experience scheduling bottlenecks ever so often, which often cause you to skip meetings and other personal commitments.
Our ProAssistants can help you reclaim your time through effective calendar management. In fact, they can handle up to 95% of what in-house assistants can do, at 50-80% less than the cost of hiring on-site support.
Book a free one-on-one consultation and discover how to reclaim up to 15 hours weekly!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Got pending questions?
Here are answers to commonly asked questions about executive coordinator vs. executive assistant.
Do Coordinators Usually Come From HR or Admin Backgrounds?
Usually, executive coordinators come from either HR or admin backgrounds. It mainly depends on individuals’ desired career paths or decision to branch into the executive assistance niche.
What Level of Autonomy Should a High-Performing EA Have?
A high-performing EA should have considerably more autonomy than a regular one. This is because they possess what Ethan Bull likes to call ‘superpowers,’ including executive support perception (ESP), synchronization, omniscience, and translation, which help them function as an extension of the executive.
Can One Person Fulfill Both Roles?
Yes. One person can function as an executive coordinator and executive assistant. However, this is only practical where a C-suite or founder has several EAs working for them, so one person becomes the team leader.
What Type of Executive Benefits Most From a ProAssistant?
Most executives can benefit from hiring a ProAssistant. However, most of our clients consist of executives who:
- Need fractional high-level support.
- Do not have an executive assistant to help them reclaim their time.
ProAssisting helps you hire an executive assistant who meets your support needs the best way possible to free your time so you can focus on your core goals.
