How to Manage Your Executive Assistant

Selecting & Hir ing the Right Executive Assistant

Trust , Confidential i ty, and Authori ty

Assignment of Personal Tasks

Effective Delegation

Prior i t izat ion

Systematizat ion

10 Steps to Delegating Tasks and Authori ty More Ef fectively

Quest ions to Ask When Delegating

Quest ions to Ask When Pr ior i t iz ing

Contacts

Off ice

Travel

Scheduale +Calendar

Meals

E-mails

Bi l l ings + Book

Phone Calls

CustomerRelat ions Management

Home + Personal

Schedule a Pr ior i t izat ion Meeting

Provide a Self- Inventory

As a leader, your Executive Assistant (EA) can assist you or, in effect, execute you.This how-to guide will help you select a compatible and capable EA, create time-saving processes, manage expectations, avoid confusion/duplication of effort, and work together as a coordinated team.

You don’t need another you. You need someone who complements you well. Look to hire an executive assistant who possesses the skills and expertise that you don’t have. If you aren’t terribly social, hire an assistant with great social skills who can anticipate your needs. This assistant can:

If you’re not detail-oriented, hire someone who is. If you’re a workaholic, name it and let the EA know what this will mean for them. If you’re a perfectionist, likewise, explain how it will impact the EA’s work.

Be prepared to give an unabashed assessment of yourself to prospective EA. Don’t be implicit about who you are, and don’t hold back on self-critical analysis. This is the person in your life with whom you are not going to pretend you’re something you are not. That is because they are going to be the person who has your back at all times.

TRUST & CONFIDENTIALITYAs a leader, you must trust your executive assistant (EA) absolutely and without question. If you don’t have this trust, you do not have the correct EA. Executive assistants must un-derstand that if they breach this trust even the smallest bit, operating in the grey, they have crossed the line and should give their resignation or you will need to let them go immediately.

Executive assistants cannot participate at all in gossip or be an avenue for you to get inside information (triangulation) — otherwise they will lose the trust of others in the organization. It is your re-sponsibility, in turn, not to ask them for gossip they may have heard.

This level of trust & confidentiality is crucial because your executive assistant does not have the privileges of the executive team and yet he/she has perhaps even more information than even your number two in the organiza-tion. If your EA doesn’t maintain a certain dis-tance from all other employees within the or-ganization, a lot of harm may come to you and others.

Managing your executive assistant is different from managing any other direct report. This person is an extension of you. Their role is to unburden you from anything and everything they possibly can.As a leader, your role is to work on high leverage issues and put your expertise and skills to their best use. Your EA should be able to complement you and deliv-er exactly what you need and when. In order to do that, though, you need to know how you work best, what work you prefer to do yourself, and what work you would like to del-egate to others. Some leaders don’t feel com-fortable delegating personal tasks to their ex-ecutive assistant. Other leaders aren’t sure if they should ask. And some delegate these tasks without hesitation.

Is it appropriate for leaders to assign personal tasks (like picking up dry cleaning or going to get coffee) to their EA, and, if so, under what circumstances?

The Cost/Benefit EquationAs a leader, your time is considerably more valuable in dollar terms to the company than your assistant’s. No one human life is more valuable than an-other, of course, but the company can and should try to increase your productivity. Personal tasks take up a great deal of time away from work, as well as time away from your family and friends.

Personal tasks can not only be inconvenient and distracting, but also aggravating if they involve multiple phone calls, time spent on hold, or misunderstandings. These aggravations can seep into the leader’s work, focus, and attitude. These aggravations and distractions can cost the company considerable money over time.So as long as the EA is well compen-sated for doing these tasks (and understands it is part of their job responsibilities), they ought to be open to ways save you time and reduce your personal to-do list. Your EA may be able to arrange for someone to open your cabin for you up north, for instance, or start the lawn mowing service, open the pool, and put the boat into the water.

Setting ExpectationsBe clear up front about whether or not you expect your EA to perform personal tasks for you. Some EA applicants may feel like doing your errands is beneath them, and they have a right to know what you expect from the outset. If you try to assign personal tasks to executive assistants after months of working only on work-related tasks, you’ll likely meet resistance and/or create hard feelings.Let your EA know which personal tasks you’d like to delegate completely, which ones you might like your EA to do on occasion, and which ones you’d like to do yourself. Be sure to provide your EA with everything he or she needs to know about what you’d like done, how, and when.

Leaders usually love the idea of delegating, but when it comes time to passing out tasks, they sometimes get cold feet. It might be more work, they realize, to explain how to do the task appro-priately than to just do it themselves. Or they may balk at trusting their EA because of variables they haven’t considered or addressed.

When leaders delegate halfway—by re-taking responsibility midway through or by micromanaging throughout—no one is served. It tends to irritate everyone and lead to poor work quality.

For delegation to work effectively, the delegator and delegatee should communicate well from the outset.

1. Make sure this is, in fact, a task you want someone else to do. Leaders often have tasks that feel sacred to them—either because they like doing the task, they feel it’s too important to be given to someone else, or they’ve done it for so long that it feels necessary to contin-ue. If you won’t be happy with how someone else does the task, don’t delegate it—unless and until you come to terms with the fact that the task is not sacred.

2. Make sure this is, in fact, a task that someone else can and ought to do. Leaders shouldn’t assign the work they themselves are obligated to do—such as determining compensation, engaging in strategic planning, making personnel decisions, and handling performance re-views.3. Verify that the delegatee has adequate time to meet your timeline without compromising other organizational priorities—especially higher priorities. Ask what they’re working on cur-rently and to specify the rank order of their other projects. You should feel free to change the order of these priorities and make clear where your task falls in that order.

4. If the delegatee needs your authority to accomplish the task, give it (preferably in writing, so that it’s on record) and communicate it to those who need to know. Send out a note to those that he/she will need to interact with to communicate they are working under your au-thority. In this way your EA will be treated with the level of urgency that your VPs would re-

5. Indicate how the task connects to broader organizational goals, so that the delegatee is motivated to succeed.

6. Explain what the task or objective is in detail, then ask the delegatee to explain it back to you, so that there’s no chance of miscommunication. Saying it aloud also promotes owner-

7. Set expectations about what the delegatee is responsible for and what your involvement will be (if any). People tend to be more motivated when they can choose how they can best accomplish a task, but if you want it done your way, say so at the outset, so that there’s no second guessing (on your part) or misunderstanding (on theirs).

8. Ask for specific feedback at specific times and/or certain milestones, so that you’re not spending time worrying and they’re not feeling hounded by follow-up questions.

9. Agree on resources. There is nothing more frustrating than being delegated a task and given direction, but not having the necessary resources to accomplish the task.

10. Put as much of this communication in writing as possible. If you’re very particular about how the task should be done, you may find it easier to write it out yourself (and save the in-structions for future use). Or have the delegatee take copious notes and provide you a copy of those notes within 24 hours.

Your EA may not be able to read your mind, but over time he or she will come to know not only how you like work done, but also in what order. Every morning you should schedule a 30 minute meeting with your EA to set priorities. This meeting will become shorter over time as you get into rhythm.

Start the meeting by asking what they’re working on currently and what they see as their priorities. Since their priorities are, in effect, your priorities, you should alter them as needed. But first you should gather more information about how much time each task might take, when projects are due, and ways the task might impact the business—directly and indirectly—based upon how it’s completed and when.

To the degree possible, try to help your EA both with both prioritization and systematization. The form above is one way to do so. For the most part, though, it is the EA’s role to take what ap-pears to be non-routine and find ways to systematize the work–to make it manageable and er-ror-free. It is the best way to stay ahead and anticipate your needs. This will be done using soft-ware and by building templates, checklists, daily routines, and useful tools. Your EA should docu-ment them all and keep them current. They should work under the assumption that they will be promoted or one day move on; both you and a new EA should be able to pick up on a mo-ment’s notice exactly where your current EA left off.

What follows are some systemization tools and protocols that you and your EA might find particu-larly helpful.

In order for EAs to speak as your representative, they must understand not only know you--your preferences, skills, and weaknesses—but also be aware of all the people in your immediate uni-verse.

To get your EA up to speed quickly,

provide your contacts in a format that’s

compact, helpful, and easily accessible.

Family

Friends

List all Clubs, Associations,

Committees, and Boards

knowledge of basic office

info with all your passwords.

Indicate any software that EA should be using

on a daily basis

Payment info (credit card, PayPal, etc.

Preferred method of communication

Is there any office filing system and mainte-

nance that needs to be done

Marketing Materials Contact Info and Budget

and Payment Method)

Handling Mail

Meetings/Events

If you’re considering delegating a task, here are four questions to ask the potential delegatee that will give you a quick sense of whether it’s advisable:

What other projects are you working on?

How much time will you have to devote to this project?

What opportunities does this project provide to help you advance in the company?

What resources can I help you obtain that will free up time for you to work on this project?

*If you follow these ten steps you will be delegating tasks effectively, and these tasks will most

YOUR BRANDYour EA needs to be comfortable with feel-ing like a bouncing ball between you and others. Sometimes they will need to interpret your tone and language and make it consis-tent with how you want to be represented (even if, and sometimes especially if, you spoke quickly or frankly with your EA about a sensitive matter). The better you communi-cate your brand to the EA, the more consis-tent they will be with it. If you trust them with your brand, they may show up to meetings as your representative and report back to you on what they have learned or be told to deliver a specific message.

AUTHORITYBecause EAs act on behalf of leaders, they must truly show up as the leader’s most professional side never wholly as themselves.This can get confusing not only for the EA, but also for those with greater hierarchical positions who have less actual authority.

Be as clear as possible to both your EA and your staff about which things—and to what degree—they have authority to act on your behalf.  The boundaries may get fuzzy and may have to be worked on with many unintentional cross-overs. Try to anticipate and be sensitive to this ambiguity and potential conflicts.

How does this task relate to larger organizational goals or actions?

To do this task successfully, what do you need in the way of resources and cooperation from others?

What might prevent you from finishing this task on time?

What are the repercussions of a missed deadline—for this particular project and other related projects?

Should part or all of this task be delegated to some-one else?

$

Travel Preparation Checklist

General Travel Information

Travel to Airport

Flights

Hotel

Car Rental

What Tools?

Scheduling Based on Specific

Criteria/Priorities

Establishing Standard Length of

Time for Frequent Events

Location Preferences

Setting up Meetings

Lunch In

The Usual Suspects Lunch List

Dinner

Access

Labels or Folders

Acounting

Bills + Statements

Payments

2016

1. Remind you of someone’s birthday and even send a gift from you.

2. Schedule a lunch with someone that he/she may know needs to connect with you.

3. See that you need a haircut and make the appointment for you.

2.

3.

4.

1.

What is it like to be

Where do you strug-

What have others said who report to you?

What are the five things that will drive you crazy

What are five things if always done will delight you?

?

CONTACTS: PERSONAL + PROFESSIONAL

OFFICE/ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

TRAVEL

In order for EAs to speak as your reprsentative, they must understand not only know you--your preferences, skills, and weaknesses—but also be aware of all the people in your immediate universe. To get your EA up to speed quickly, provide your contacts in a format that’s compact, helpful, and easily accessible.

Start by giving a brief run-down of family and friends the Executive Assistant should know:

FAMILY

Name Relationship How do you feel about this

person/relationship?

FRIENDS

Name Connection Level of Closeness

List all Clubs, Associations, Committees, and Boards where you are an active member (and your role).Provide your full and complete résumé and go thru it with your assistant, so that he/she better understands your career trajectory.Create a more comprehensive list of work/family con-tacts that includes instructions about how to handle their common requests:

EAs need to have knowledge of basic office info with all your passwords:

Business addressPhone #Business hoursYour mobile numberYour skype IDWebsite URLSocial media linksFacebookLinkedInGoogle+MeTwitterInstagramOther

Spouse

Kids

Parents

Professional Contacts

Internal Boss

Internal Peers

Internal Subordinates

Vendors

Customers

Providers

Community Leaders You Work

with & Their Organizations

Consultants

Board

Indicate any software that EA should be using on a daily basis:Google apps

Evernotes (your account and

shared connections with them)Software/programs

Social MediaE-mail

Reporting Excel, smart sheets (templates)

CRMProject Management tool

Mind MappingPowerPoint

(Templates, Colors, Fonts, Style, Size)MS Word

(Templates, Colors, Fonts, Style, Size)Outlook and Schedule

(Standard signature)Scheduling software

Wordpress

Payment info(credit card, PayPal, etc.)Personal Credit CardBusiness Credit CardYoursHers/HisPayPalAmazon

Preferred method of communication

How and when do you like to be contacted?

What tool do you like to use for file-sharing(e.g., Dropbox or Google docs)?

Is there any office filing system and maintenance that needs to be done? (including paper files/file cabinets, shared electronic files)Describe the filing taxonomy used for keeping organizedExample: Subject_Date_Version_AuthorDo you use tags for your documents? If so, what is the protocol?

Marketing

PublishingDo you need EA to proofread your articles/documents before you post/send?

What is the schedule on turnaround for proofreading?

Brand StandardsProfessional Pictures of YouLogo (Size and Use)Color (HEX, RBG, etc…)Fonts (Type and size)Ads or copy

Marketing Materials (Contact Info and Budget and Payment Method)

Where do you purchase premiums (Contact Info)Does EA need to purchase any marketing material?

Who is your printer for (Contact Info):StationaryBusiness CardsBrochuresReprints

Handling MailHow to sort? Can it be opened?Wrong person – redirect?Promotional Mailings (can they be recycled?)UrgentImportant and not time sensitiveWhat can they handle for you?Scanned and sent to you or other?If you work remotely, how to handle?

Do you need personnel management (if no HR department)?Welcome packagesEmployee handbook + procedure/policy manuals preparation, proofing, updatesRecruitment (interview scheduling, review applications, etc.)Training

Do you need office management tasks like these done?Operate and maintain a wide variety of office equipment including copiers, fax machines, scanners, computers, printers, alarmsList equipment and links to manuals

Work with vendors and service providers to keep office systemsfunctioning smoothly at all times: List all vendors that they will be working with and contact information.Or build a system in CRM or Contacts to make easy for anyone to find. And provide protocols for having them get to this information.

Maintain office furniture and storage layout, suggest improvements, implement changes as needed or directed

How are things left at the end of the dayConference room chairs tucked in?EA’s desk cleared with nothing left out and file cabinets locked?Your desk to be cleared at end of day or in morning before you arrive and where each item goes?When you’re out of the office are your lights on and office open or is the door closed and/or locked?Who has access to your office besides you and them?

Manage office consumables including office supplies, postage system, kitchen supplies, printer and copier supplies, stationary, etc. What amount of backlog of supplies do you want on hand?

Maintain telephone system (programming, maintenance, repair, training)

Meetings/EventsDo you need personal appointments and events assistance?Send invitations and take RSVPs?Arrange venue and other resources(catering etc.) for your event/meeting?Design registration forms, take registrations?Design and print name badges? Prepare handout materialagendas, minutes, reports, booklets, PowerPoints, etc.? If so, what should always be included in these?Do you need a recorder?Prepare a questionnaire and forward it to your list of participants?Track responses?

Travel Preparation Checklist:Public Holidays if International Travel Travel AdvisoriesInoculationsHealth AdvisoriesPassport (Number / Date for Renewal)VisasExport License(s)Health Insurance Coverage (Who do you call in country or city)Restaurant suggestions near meeting or hotel locations?Tipping suggestions in regionAirline change number with menu sequence for getting to live agentFrequency Club Number

General Travel InformationWho are your closest friends in your most frequently travelled destination(s)?

Who or where can your EA find your clients in a particular region topresent options for you to meet with?

Would you like your EA to fill your schedule with meetings with clients, em-ployees, and friends for you?

What are the hottest shows, events or unique things to do when you have down time?Adventures EntertainmentShowsArtsMovies

Travel to Airport Driver – Who?UberTaxiCar to Parking

FlightsIs there a cap on price before approval is needed?Airline preferences?Do you fly coach | Economy Plus | Business Class | First Class?What time of day would you like to depart/arrive?What time would you like to arrive back home?Preference on where you sit (Right or Left side and aisle, window, etc.)?Non-stop or connecting flights? (What are you willing to spend more to go direct?)

Frequent Flyer numbers?Do you have status and with which airlinesDo you have a status goal for the year and will you spend money to hit it?What airline airport clubs do you belong to?TSA Redress NumberDo you need itineraries printed? Marked on schedule (How)?Who is responsible for confirming flight, by when?Passport/Visa info?

SCHEDULING/CALENDAR2016

MEALS

E-MAILS

BILLING/BOOKEEPING (WHICH OPTIONS BEST SUIT YOUR NEEDS?)

Respond on-behalf of BossSchedule

Update Solve / Gmail ContactsStatusDone

TodayWaiting for

Rules for eachAging e-mails

Junk e-mailsFiling historic e-mails

HotelAny preference on hotels (Doubletree, Marriott, etc.)? Types of hotels (3 or 4 star, king, queen or double, etc.)?A specific hotel for specific cities?Does there need to be a gym or pool in the hotel? Or does it need to be near a fitness club with reciprocity, or a park, or a running trail? Do you want to stay close to the meeting location so you will not need to rent a car or simply for convenience?Proximity to friends?Rewards number?Room preferences: bed size, pillow type, size of room, view?Price guidelines?

Car RentalPreference for rental company?What type of car should be rented (midsize, SUV, luxury)?Car features (GPS, ski rack, hybrid)?Is there a price cap?In what cities would you prefer no car but use driver (do you have a preference for the service) or do you want to use uber?Do you want to stay close to the meeting location so you will not need to rent a car?Member number?

Scheduling Based on Specific Criteria/Priorities

Let’s say you shared the following scheduling-related priorities with your EA: Family School FunctionsClientProspectFriendInternal OrganizationVendor / PartnerNetworking

If you have a prospect that wants to meet, and you already have plans with a family member or client, your AE will know not to change those. If, however, you have a lunch scheduled with a friend and it is the only time the prospect can meet, your assistant will call your friend, explain the situation, and ask if they would be willing to accommodate a change in the schedule. The clearer you can be in how you make these decisions and com-municate this to your EA the more effective they will be and the fewer disruptions they will have to make to get your input.

Another way for you to segment your work may be billable vs non-billable hours if you’re in a service profession and prioritize billable over non-billable time.

Establishing Standard Length of Time for Frequent EventsI work on 1 ½ hour increments for coaching and lunches. Coffees are 1 ¼ hours and phone calls 30 minutes. Having a standard length of time for each activity allows my EA to make many scheduling decisions without my input.

Location PreferencesWhere you like to meet is an entire category in itself. Few things frustrate me like the back and forth on where should we meet. If you have a very external life like I do you can solve this quickly by having a Google map made with all of your favorite go-to places. I used to keep this on the bottom of my signature on emails; there is an icon that allows anyone and my EA to see my favorite places to meet. I choose these places because of location, park-ing, proximity, and certainly quality of the establishment. I separate them by fine dining, dinner, bar, coffee spot, etc.

Are you typically on time, late, or early?Do you wrap things up quickly and stay on time?Do you need extra time to keep on track?Do you schedule extra time into the meeting or set blank space between them?Do you need decompression time after all or specific types of meetings

How to Handle Meeting RequestsSomeone I Know: Book the meeting, inform afterSomeone I Don't Know/Sales Oriented: Don't book but informProspect for Organization: Book and inform

Setting up MeetingsWhat program is used for scheduling(Outlook, Google calendar, iCalendar, etc.)? Explain what mobile device app you use and how that takes the information from Outlook, Google Calendar etc… and uses it so they understanding why you need information in a certain way.

What are the hours you will meet with clients (8-5pm, 7-3pm, not after 12pm on Fridays, etc.)?

Order of priority when scheduling: (ex. clients, new business, family/friends)

What format should be used when adding events manually to calendar?

Should any details be added into the description box (phone number, description of purpose of meeting, etc.)?

Are there any color codes that the EA should be aware of?

Should any of the following items be included when adding events?Who is initiating a callWhere a meeting is being placedWho booked the appointment (if multiple people book things on the calendar) Who to call if you have to reschedule and/or confirm the appointmentwhat the call or meeting is about, etc.Do you need a buffer in between appointments? (travel time, extra time in case meetings run late, etc.)

Meeting Titles: should they include host, guest, # of participants, and purpose?

Usual vacation times, holidays, etc. that need to be blocked off (Family vacation in January, Week of Christmas off, etc.)?

When on vacation who are you willing to schedule a call with (if anyone) and for what reasons?

Do you need your confirmation/reminder calls placed? When?

Do you need directions for a meeting or appointment sent to you? If so, when?

What tool are you using: Google, Outlook, Lotus notes, or iCal? How do you want the schedule filled out? This may depend on the mobile app you use. I use Sunrise App for iPhone. I like my assistant to put the address in and make an invite to the person I am meeting with. By doing both of these things it links my schedule to their contact information so that it is easy for me to connect with them right from the calendar if I am running late or early. Also I never need to think about how I am getting to the destination from my last meeting because the software will provide me those directions. Even if I know where I am going (by having it in the GPS), I can get new directions from Sunrise based on traffic flow.

In the notes section of the schedule, I like to have my executive assistant provide me some context of the meeting if it is someone I do not usually meet with. In today’s world, with the volume of people each of us is meeting, it is easy to forget why you had agreed to the meeting originally.

Some executives will have their assistant create a brief on the person prior to meeting them for the first time or if it has been a while since the last meeting.

Do you want your appointments color-coded? For example, you can have all internal meet-ings one color, external another color. Family or kids’ events another color and community ac-tivities different yet. To some this is more confusing; for others it gives insight to where you are spending your time.

If you and your EA have to meet every day to discuss where you’d like to eat (in or out) and what you’d like to order, you’re extending the lunch hour. You’re wasting valuable time. The more your EA knows about your food & drink preferences, the more your EA can act in your stead.

Lunch InYour EA should know what restaurants and foods that you like and don’t like. Your EA should have the contact info for your go-to restaurants to order food from and know one or two of your favorite dishes from each place. If you have special requests, you need to list them. Your EA should also find out food preferences of your management team if frequently order-ing in for them as well. The idea is that you simply ask your EA to order lunch for X people, and he or she will know what to get without any additional information.

The Usual Suspects Lunch ListBusy leaders tend to like open lunch hours–for the quiet and/or the chance to catch up on work–but they also like to connect with friends and family. When lunch rolls around, and you find you have no plans, you may regret not having made a lunch date with a close friend. You may feel like it’s too late, but it’s really not. There is usually a close friend or two that has lunch-time free, too.

My former business partner Rick Diamond came up with the concept of a Usual Suspects Lunch List, and I have adopted it. Create a list of those you most enjoy having lunch with, and whenever there is an opening your executive assistant has permission to simply go next down on the list to invite that person to lunch so that you will never eat alone (if you don’t want to). Try it, and you will increase your life energy by spending time with those you enjoy most.

DinnerWhile your EA won’t likely be making many dinner plans for you, don’t ignore this aspect of scheduling. Help your EA and yourself out. Provide access to your spouse’s schedule and any information that will help your EA understand the rules of making dinner plans or weekend activities. What are the rules of your home about how many dinners out per week?  Who will you give an auto yes to if they invite you to dinner?

What are common practices in the organization for EA’s access to e-mail?

What are common practices in the organization for EA’s access to e-mail?

If yes, how should e-mails be sorted/forwarded?

Are there any symbols, flags, or colors that should be used when sorting?

At what time(s) should the EA review and, perhaps, respond to your e-mail?

Do you feel comfortable having the EA respond to some e-mail and, if so, which ones?

If your EA will be responding (either via your e-mail account or his/her own), provide some standard replies you would like him/her to use.Should the EA delete junk e-mail?

Any e-mails “off-limits” to read? If so, set filters or use a second e-mail address for your private e-mail.

Do you need management of your @admin or @enquiries e-mail ad-dresses?

How should EA handle any enquiries, sale bookings, etc. on your behalf?

CCs should be filtered to folder and never read. A message to your entire company should be sent saying you will never read or respond to a CC email. If they want you to read something or respond, it should be sent directly to you. Your volume of mail will drop by a third and you will increase accountability.

Labels or Folders

For BossNeeds ReplyNeeds Reply: UrgentPAIDPayment requiredRead then DeleteTickets for EventsTravel InfoFor EANeeds Reply | DeleteNeeds Reply | ReportRead, No action neededReceipts

$Accounting team/person handles billingNeed EA to pay bills through online billpay, scan/fax/mail bills in to be paid, accounting software, etc. Need EA to keep track of accounts payable/receivable (prepare invoices, reconcile bank statements, etc.)Need EA to invoice clients (email hours to be billed to each client)Need EA to handle past due account receivables – by phone and mailYou can pay your own bills, but need monthly bank reconciliationYou will pay your own bills, but need reminders as due dates approach

PHONE CALLS

CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT

HOME & PERSONAL SERVICES

Where do you get your: How Frequently? By Whom? Who else?Hair doneNailsMassage

Do you have: When Service Needed? Type of Service? By Whom?BoatsDock Tennis courtSnowmobilesMotorcyclesPoolHot tubCabinSki HomeBeach HomeSnow TiresSummer T ires

Special Occasions: Role Who Date Card Gift Type AmountMarriage BirthsBirthdaysAnniversariesMarriageJobNew JobJob LossDivorceFuneralHolidays

Transcription ServicesJottCopytalkDictation

Filing1/12/31 SystemIn/Out Box SystemRed Folder

How do you like calls answered: “(company name | your name), how can I help you?”

Or do you want a branding message)?

Who always gets put through (family only, clients, etc.)? What specifically do you want the EA to handle on your behalf and how persistent can they be?

What have you discussed with your spouse regarding using your assistant and have you shared that with your EA?

Are you and your spouse comfortable working thru EA to get schedule worked out? How about friends?

Who gets transferred to mobile if you are out of the office?

If you are out and they know you are available, do you want call transferred?

Do you want your calls to roll to EA’s voice mail and have them handle it or send it on to you?

Who’s voice do you want on your VMail?

Who answers call?

Do you send introductory letters to new contacts?

Is there a follow-up process for potential clients – meetings?

Do you need EA to send client gifts for birthdays, special occasions or just as a 'thank you'?

Christmas/Holiday cards and gifts to your clients and colleagues?

Do you have an online CRM (system for importing your contacts, customizing your reports and providing advice on usage)? Do you need any of the following?

Maintenance of your online CRM, including data entry & reviewing content for currency

Phone the contacts in your database and clarify their details are up to date

Enter details from business cards that you've collected into your CRM

'Client Feedback Surveys' and distribute to your clients

-Analysis of responses to your survey and summary reports

Do you have your e-newsletters? If so, do you need any of the following?

Management of mailing lists (including new subscribers, un-subscribes, removing "bounced" addresses, etc.)

Statistical reports on open rates and click-through rates, etc.

Search for appropriate articles for use in your newsletters and obtain approval from the authors to use their material.

Social Media: do you need any of the following?

Set up your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) and management daily

WordPress Websites & Blogs – Edit, tag, categorize and put your posts up on your blog site

Moderate any comments received

Website tweaks/changes or uploading content

Google Analytics monitoring/setup