If you search “What are the responsibilities of an executive assistant,” you’ll often find a list of duties like taking notes, managing calendars, and organizing documents. However, if you are an EA or work with one, you know these lists fail to accurately represent the breadth and depth of impact that executive assistants have within the corporate workplace.
With the advent of the digital age, the role of the executive assistant has evolved significantly. Today, EAs are responsible for optimizing executive productivity and driving operational excellence. Companies and their executives lean on executive assistants to help the organization remain agile while adapting to an ever-shifting market landscape. It’s become a dynamic position that intertwines strategic partnership, technological expertise, and operational excellence.
Inevitably, this transformation of the role means that modern executive assistants have more work on their plate than ever before.
One responsibility that is often placed on executive assistants is planning in-person meetings including team offsites, executive and board meetings, quarterly business reviews, and more. Unlike virtual meetings, in-person meetings require significant time, effort, and resources in order to be successful. Depending on the type of in-person meeting, an executive assistant will need to spend dozens of hours coordinating logistics to ensure successful outcomes.
As an EA, you must keep track of many tasks to deliver a high-quality in-person meeting including:
- Research, book, and coordinate flights, local transportation, and hotel accommodations for multiple individuals all while adhering to corporate travel policies.
- Manage all meeting-related expenses including developing and managing the meeting budget, assigning virtual expense cards, owning vendor contract negotiations and payments, and reconciling attendee expenses.
- Develop and distribute the meeting agenda and key assets like presentations and reports, and organize activities, scheduled breaks, and meals.
- Manage all communications to and from attendees before, during and after the meeting so they have all the information they need to effectively contribute.
If your head is spinning, it’s for good reason. Planning in-person meetings in addition to daily responsibilities is a lot to ask of one individual, regardless of how talented or experienced they may be. This is why it’s essential for executive assistants to have the best tools at their disposal.
How TROOP ONE Helps EAs Plan In Person Meetings
Luckily, the digital age hasn’t just transformed the role of the executive assistant. It’s also transformed the tools available to EAs. TROOP ONE is a great example of one of the best tools EAs can use to help stay organized when planning in-person meetings.
Does this sound familiar to you? You’re planning an upcoming in-person meeting, let’s say it’s the annual sales training. On one monitor, you have 50+ browser tabs open as you research potential locations, flight options, hotels, meeting venues, vendors, and more. On your other monitor you have several spreadsheets and word documents, one to track expenses, one to track attendee dietary restrictions and travel preferences, one for all of your meeting related tasks, and one with a draft agenda and other deliverables you need to provide attendees. You’ve spent the last two hours switching between browser tabs and spreadsheets, trying to coordinate travel for 20+ attendees but feel like you haven’t even made a dent. Meanwhile, your inbox and chat are starting to overflow with unread messages.
TROOP ONE eliminates the time-consuming and error-prone aspects of in-person meeting planning. Instead, executive assistants can wrangle every detail, from group travel logistics to creating meeting agendas, all in a single, simplified planning software. Below are 5 ways that TROOP ONE makes in-person meeting planning as painless as possible for executive assistants.
1. Travel Logistics Made Simple
On average, executive assistants report spending 10 hours a week managing travel logistics. TROOP ONE lets you reclaim that time by recommending meeting locations, flights, and hotels that comply with your company’s travel policies without sacrificing on meeting attendee convenience and experience. TROOP ONE can even suggest travel options based on preferences like flight duration, cost, CO2 emissions, and more.
2. All-In-One Budget and Expense Tracking
When planning in-person meetings it’s easy to lose track of expenses, increasing the likelihood that you’ll end up over budget. No one wants to have that conversation with their boss. With TROOP ONE you can create an estimated budget using flight and hotel data to help you make informed decisions on your meeting location and get approval before booking. TROOP ONE also makes it easy to compare your initial budget estimates against additional planned expenses so you have a better understanding of where you are with meeting spend.
3. Streamline Attendee Coordination
Coordinating meeting attendees can be a job in and of itself. TROOP ONE lets you streamline your workflows and save time trying to keep tabs on attendees. Invite attendees, track RSVPs, and get a comprehensive overview of outstanding action items like travel requirement preparations, and transportation and accommodation bookings. TROOP can even generate a master attendee arrival and departure schedule for easy transportation coordination.
4. Easy Meeting Management
Executive assistants are meeting planning professionals, it’s about time you have professional meeting planning tools. TROOP ONE comes with pre-built meeting planning templates to make it easier than ever to get started planning your next in-person meeting. The built-in agenda generator and planning checklists offer a jumping off point, are customizable to your needs, and ensure you never miss a thing.
5. All Your Meetings In One Place
Planning multiple in-person meetings at the same time? TROOP ONE gives executive assistants a birds eye view of every meeting that you’re managing. Quickly see an overview of all current meetings, outstanding action items, and key details. TROOP ONE also makes it easy to track important data like individual and total meeting spend, cost savings, time savings, and more.
In the fast-paced world of executive support, the art and science of planning in-person meetings is a testament to the expertise of executive assistants. From orchestrating travel logistics to curating agendas that inspire meaningful team collaboration, you create experiences that drive organizational success.
Just as your role has evolved to meet the demands of the digital age, so have the tools available to you. TROOP ONE isn't just another software solution; it's your partner in streamlining the complexities of meeting planning, empowering you to reclaim time and elevate your impact.
Take the next step in your executive assistant journey by signing up for a TROOP ONE demo today. In just a quick 15 minute call you’ll experience firsthand how TROOP ONE can help you set a new standard for excellence in executive support.
How to Plan In-Person Meetings More Effectively
