Starting Your Executive Assistant Partnership Right

So you’ve hired an Executive Assistant–congrats! You’ve taken that first step to free yourself up to focus on what matters. But before your Executive Assistant can be your ultimate chaos coordinator, they need to be set up for success with clear communication on your preferences, expectations, and access. As a community of high-caliber virtual executive assistants, we at 33Vincent have a wealth of experience kicking off strong executive/executive assistant relationships, and we focus on three areas..

Think About Your Preferences

An executive assistant can do many things, but they can’t read your mind (though many will try!). Your EA can’t know your preferences if you don’t share them, and you’ll be helping them not only steer their own work to accommodate those preferences but also anticipate problems, pitfalls, and opportunities within your work. 

Start with your communication preferences.. If you prefer to communicate on a one-on-one call, you might request that your EA “roll up” all questions, status updates and requests on a check-in call; whereas if you prefer everything in written format, you and your EA might settle on a project management tool where you all can communicate back and forth. (Our friends at Base have created the first-ever custom tool for EAs and executives to communicate efficiently and effectively.) Even if written communication is preferred, we are still huge proponents of a regular check-in call– video if possible– it’s a great way to build rapport and collaborate with your EA! Setting these guidelines is especially important when working with a virtual executive assistant, where in-person communication is absent. Prioritize your EA, and be willing to invest some time every week (or possibly every day) to update them, answer questions, and give context. Be available to them when needed, and be prepared to provide extra information so they can easily move projects forward.

Another area to consider is how much visibility you want into the work your executive assistant is doing. If you prefer to know what is going on each step of the way, make this clear up front so they can provide updates within the previously outlined communications preferences. Or, if you prefer to just know the highlights and when something is checked off the list, let them know that as well. 

In order to help you outline your preferences, we recommend creating a user guide to share with your EA and we’ve created a great template to help you get started! 

Set Boundaries and Expectations

We can all think of a time when we had a set of expectations and a colleague, friend or spouse had something else in mind. You see where this is going... your expectations aren’t met and the situation feels like a failure. We’ve noticed that our best clients are proactive from the beginning by setting clear and realistic expectations for areas of ownership, specific outcomes and goals, and project details.. 

To do this, first think about how much access you want to your assistant. Ask them what their availability is and agree to communicate within that. Your EA will be happy with their work-life balance if you’re avoiding contacting them outside of work hours and this balance will help your relationship thrive. 

It’s also important to outline how quickly you expect your EA to respond to communication. Do you expect a response to an email within an hour? A day? 48 hours? What about Slack and text messages? As you set these expectations, your Executive Assistant will manage their work for you and their own availability within these boundaries, and you’ll find that a harmonious balance develops. It’s a win-win situation!

Reflect on your expectations for delegation. Many executives are scared to delegate, but we believe that in order to truly maximize your EA, you need to delegate large areas of responsibility. We’ve found the best EA/executive relationships develop when leaders see their Executive Assistant as a crucial business partner, and trust them to manage up on what’s most important. By letting go, you can free yourself up to focus your time and attention on high-value work that will help your organization succeed.  In turn, your EA will feel an empowering sense of ownership in their success and loyalty to you. Spend some time thinking about your expectations with delegation– what and how you will delegate– and your expectations for having that work completed. Will you expect your executive assistant to fully own any projects? Make this clear up front too so you avoid that aforementioned “failure” feeling where expectations aren’t met. Are there several nuances to standard tasks that will make or break the project? Communicate this to your EA now, and ask them to create an SOP for you both to refer to.

Be Prepared to Give Your EA Access to Tools and Knowledge

In order for your EA to succeed, they need the right tools in their toolbox. This includes digital tools like software, documents, and account access, but also background info like institutional knowledge that will help them better understand you and your work. 

A good place to start is to create an email address for your executive assistant so you have a dedicated place to send information (and for them to organize it). If you’re working with a virtual executive assistant,we recommend giving them an email address specific to your organization to take it up a notch. By doing so, you’ll be able to acclimate them to your organization and make them feel ingrained in your work. 

Next, you’ll want to focus on all of the digital tools they’ll need. Some tools for consideration:

• Your calendar: Share your calendar with your EA, with edit or delegate access, so they can help you with calendar management. If you have multiple calendars (professional, personal), consider giving them access to all so they have full insight into your schedule. 

• Your inbox: If your executive assistant is going to be handling email management for you, you’ll want to give them delegate access to your inbox. Be sure to also define your expectations for managing your inbox up front: what should your EA respond to, file, or bring to your attention?

• Your tools: Think about the tools and accounts you use on a frequent basis: business software, project management tools, travel accounts, credit card information, and expense management tools, and give your EA access to everything that they may need in their daily work. By doing this up front, you can quickly delegate and prevent access roadblocks later on. 

A good way to share knowledge about you and your work is through key documents. Executive Assistants are very resourceful and, armed with the proper documentation, can glean a wealth of information that will help them drive your business forward. Are you able to provide your EA with access to past meeting notes, annual reports, or one-pagers on your organization that will provide them with this knowledge, without you needing to dictate it to them? 

Let these suggestions get your wheels turning on the preferences, expectations, and tools you’ll need to share to start your EA partnership on a high note. 33Vincent has many other resources to help you maximize your time and communication with your executive assistant. And if you don’t have a virtual executive assistant yet, but this article has piqued your interest, time to bite the bullet! Contact our team to share your support needs so together we can discover if 33Vincent is a good fit for you.