A good assistant is worth their weight in gold, suggests a new survey from staffing firm OfficeTeam. Senior managers said their administrative professional's efforts save them an average of 101 minutes a day. That's more than eight hours each week — the equivalent of a full work day.

In addition, all respondents reported that their administrative professional is important to their success at work. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of them said their assistant's contributions are very valuable.

OfficeTeam is releasing these findings in advance of Administrative Professionals Day (April 25) as a reminder of why the achievements of office support staff should be acknowledged.

"Most executives would be hard-pressed to get through a day without the help of their assistant," said Brandi Britton, a district president for OfficeTeam. "Administrative professionals go out of their way to make things easier and more efficient for those around them. There's no question they deserve to be recognized for their daily contributions."

The Changing Administrative Role

These days, support staff are taking on more than standard administrative tasks. Three in four senior managers (75 percent) said office support workers' responsibilities have increased in the past five years. In addition, 64 percent feel administrative professionals have a more promising career-growth track than five years ago.

Ways Administrative Workers Have Surpassed Expectations

It's not uncommon for support staff to help on things outside their traditional job descriptions. Senior managers provided these examples of administrative professionals going above and beyond:

• "Analyzed data and identified potential clients for the company"

• "Trained fellow employees on technology tools"

• "Helped review resumes, post jobs and organize interviews"

• "Mentored new employees"

• "Worked with the HR team to set candidate compensation packages and send offer letters"

• "Gave birthday cards and flowers to each team member"

• "Worked on the employee recognition program, veterans initiative and candidate recruitment"

• "Chased a delivery van to retrieve a missing package"