Fine line between an Executive Assistant and Admin Assistant

In the old era the role of secretaries was limited to Typing, fixing the files, maintaining records and to maintain diary of appointments.

Its very important to understand the fine line that differentiates a Professional / Executive assistant from an Administrative Assistant.

Admin assistants usually assist a whole Business unit or company branch with routine activities and ensuring the office has regular supplies to keep it up and running, they are also responsible to handle floor staff who are in-charge of cleanliness, security and routine supplies. Vendor Management, Maintaining office equipment, ensuring discipline on the floor, Travel management and other admin tasks.

Executive Assistants / Professional assistants support Senior leadership team, to ensure maximum output of the time they have. it typically involves:

• ensuring the diary appointments are strategically managed to help Senior leaders prioritize their time efficiently and they should have enough breaks to focus on day to day work
• Helping them with presentations, getting things ready by coordinating with their teams to save time and efforts
• Maintain Data files for ready access when required, being a strategic link between the Senior leader and the team (s)he manages to ensure right information is shared where required
• Researching about the topics important to business
• Attending meetings to record minutes and join links where required, to follow up on actions till complete
• Taking up work which is stagnant and pushing it to completion
• Travel bookings and Expenses Management - routine
• Liaise between the Senior Leaders, their teams, their counterparts and team as a whole

A big part of an Executive Assistant is to focus on executing objectives, whether leadership driven or employee driven. When an assistant has access to those objectives and ensures the priorities are set accordingly and works towards achieving them together results in positive outcomes throughout the team. --- more on this in the next article.

In most of the companies in India, the role of an Executive Assistant is a combination of Admin work + Professional Assistance + supporting the HR unit. The role here as an EA is limited to fixing appointments and travel bookings and the major part is covered by Admin duties and supporting HR inductions, Employee record Management, HR activities like Birthday celebrations, treats etc.

While this combinations helps an individual to have an understanding of various important functions in a company, it also helps an individual to create and maintain amazing strategic relations in the firm which ensure quick wins.

Over the years with experience the Executive assistants move towards Strategic support while still helping with the Admin and HR role by hiring Support assistants.

This was about the fine line between Admin assistants and Executive Assistants, in the next article I will focus on how a strategic relation between the Senior Leaders and Executive assistants will prove beneficial to the company and how can you build it.

If you have any ideas or thoughts on it, please drop a message.

Thank you

Sukaina