6 Ways to Better Use Your Administrative Assistant

For those of you who are executives, you are paid for your knowledge, not the actual time you spend in the office doing things.  One statement that I heard years ago that affected me and my productivity was, “You are paid to get things done, not necessarily to actually do them.”  One of the most valuable tools that an executive can have in this endeavor is his/her administrative assistant.  A good rapport and respect for one another can turn this relationship into a productivity powerhouse.  Here are some ways to maximize the your effectiveness by improving how you utilize your assistant:

• Set aside time to meet with your administrative assistant daily – First thing in the morning and last thing in the afternoon.  This is to review your schedule, go over important deadlines, review what must be submitted during the day, etc. Your assistant will also use this time to clarify your wishes on how to handle situations that came his/her way during the day.  He/she will also use this time to remind you of important calls that came in and people that must be dealt with. 
• Train your assistant to sort your incoming papers – You’ll have to do this jointly at first until your assistant learns to recognize what is clearly trash and what is important.  Soon, your incoming mail pile will dwindle to only the vital few as your assistant will purge the useless and handle the routine.
• Give your assistant authority to process your inbox – Again, this will have to be done jointly until your expectations and priorities are recognized.  Your assistant should be able to go through your inbox and cull out the garbage, identify and process the routine, and forward only those things that need your personal attention.
• Give your assistant authority to process your email inbox – This is the same as above.  If there is a mutual trust between the assistant and executive, the assistant can be trusted with the password to your email inbox for the purpose of processing it just like the physical inbox.
• Train your assistant to handle routine correspondence – Every office has routine paperwork that makes its way into the executive’s inbox.  Requests for catalogs, requests for time off, reminders for reports that are coming due, lower priority items requiring signatures, requests for donations, requests for tours, requests for meetings, requests for your time in the form of attendance at different functions.  An assistant, armed with the knowledge of your policies and preferences as well as pre-written response templates or form letters, can handle these routine items, freeing up your time for the truly important.
• Make your assistant part of your inbox processing routine – Now that the assistant has trashed the useless items and processed the routine, he/she can now come in at a scheduled time to process the rest of your inbox with you.  One item at a time, you can verbally direct him/her as to how to handle it, leaving him/her to actually do it.  About 80% of the rest of your inbox items can be delegated back to your assistant for dispatch.  With each item, it becomes a matter of, “Call Ed and remind him of the tournament and his required attendance.  Set up the meeting room for my staff development session with the sales department.  Call Lakeisha and have her update the pivot tables on the new sales figures and submit them to me by Friday.”  Each directive by you is written down by your assistant to guide them when the processing meeting is over.  This will leave only the “vital few” inbox items that truly require your active completion of them.

I’ve held positions where I have had assistants and other where I did not.  I can tell you through personal experience that a well-trained and competent assistant can boost productivity by protecting your time and allowing you to concentrate on your key areas of responsibility rather than sitting for hours going through the inbox.  There is a synergy that develops as executive and assistant tackle their day as a team.

 

Comments

[Eric Mack]

Excellent points, Bert. For those who connot work with their assistant in person, here's look at how my assistant and I work remotely.

Eric

[Amy]

I was recently hired by an excellent corporation to handle the transfer of commercial real estate title in the buying and selling phase. Due to the merger not completing until October I have been relegated to basic administrative duties.

I am becoming frustrated with the two individuals that I have been thrust upon and vice versa. I do not feel that I am a very competent administrative assistant and seek to remedy this. These two individuals do not work with me, they work at me. I feel that I could be more productive if there was a team mentality. Just an observation.

[Matthew Cornell]

Thanks for the helpful post, Bert. It would be great to see how you recommend GTD in particular for this.

Also, I didn't see a link to Eric's post ("here's look at how my assistant and I work remotely")...

Thanks!

[Barb]

Is there a book out for executives that talks about how to effectively use an assistant?

[Patricia Robb]

I write a blog for administrative assistants and I stumbled across your site while writing an article. I agree 100% with your 6 points. What you describe is an ideal working relationship between the executive and their assistant.

Thanks for that. I hope lots and lots of executives read it.

Patricia