Managers: The Hidden Administrators?

When interviewing team leaders and other mid-level managers in charities, I’ve been struck by the sheer amount of administration they conduct day to day. Much of this administration is still done on paper and in spreadsheets.

In these conversations, I’ve been able to estimate how much of their time is spent on regular administrative tasks. The range is surprising: from as little as 25% to as much as 75%. While I wouldn’t claim this range applies to all managers, it’s certainly eye-opening.

What’s particularly notable is that, in many cases, this admin burden is absorbed by managers in an effort to keep their direct reports—frontline workers—productive. But this has serious consequences for the organisation’s overall impact.

Firstly, it hides the very real administrative overhead. In organisations like financial institutions, dedicated admin teams make the overhead visible, which makes it easier to optimise. When admin tasks are buried in managerial roles, inefficiencies go unnoticed.

Secondly, there’s the issue of cost. A manager’s time costs, on average, 50% more than that of a dedicated administrator. Having managers handle admin tasks means organisations spend more, reducing the impact they can deliver with the same funding. This is especially problematic under block funding models or when relying on donations.

For me, the invisibility of the admin burden is the bigger challenge. I often see executives struggle to quantify their organisation’s efficiency because they can’t see how much time is consumed by administration. As a result, they’re hesitant to invest in automation solutions for repetitive, time-wasting tasks.

That’s why I focus so much on exposing the hidden cost of managerial admin. It’s often the easiest inefficiency to address, and tackling it can make a significant difference. For example, in a care organisation of around 100 people, automating just one or two key time-wasting tasks could free up enough budget to hire an additional five social workers.

Importantly, I’m not advocating for downsizing. Instead, I’m suggesting a smarter allocation of resources. This means hiring more frontline workers while temporarily freezing the proportional growth of team leaders and managers.

Andrew Walker
Technology consulting for charities
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-walker-the-impatient-futurist/

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