Strategic Meeting Planning for Executive Assistants

Not enough Executive Assistants (EAs) connect their day-to-day responsibilities with their company’s wider strategy or goals, but this is often an oversight—especially when one of EA’s key responsibilities is planning in-person meetings. 

As a concept, “strategy” can sound intimidating, or something you leave to the leadership team. But as an EA, you’re not only well-positioned to contribute to strategic efforts, but are likely already doing so. Strategy simply means setting specific actions to achieve a goal. If you’re planning meetings, you’re doing just that.

Even so, there are always opportunities to hone and improve your strategic skills so that you can efficiently achieve your and your company’s goals. In this blog, we’ll be taking a look at ways to become even more strategic as an EA, in general and especially when organizing meetings. 

1. Clearly Define Meeting Objectives

A strong, well-thought-out meeting objective can be the difference between a great meeting and a waste of time and resources. It sets the tone for the meeting and helps guide the rest of the planning process from who should attend, the agenda, and what meeting venue will work best.

In order to define your meeting objectives effectively, it’s important to have one or two objectives, maximum. While some meetings may have multiple objectives, focusing on too many often leads to confusion. Try to limit the number of objectives and keep the team focused on what is top priority. 

Similarly, you’ll want to make your meeting objectives actionable and measurable, so you have definitive indicators of how things are progressing and where you need to improve. 

Properly communicating your meeting objectives is also an invaluable part of the process. You can be as strategic as you like, but it only works if your strategy is properly communicated with the right people, and in good time. So, make sure you’re able to clearly communicate what you need from attendees, and what the desired outcomes are. 

2. Make Data-Driven Decisions

A surefire way to become more strategic in general is to become more adept at understanding and using data. Data arms you with the insights and information to make better, faster, more accurate decisions. It also provides strength and proof to your decision-making. 

When booking meeting logistics, for example, the right data can help you to compare travel and accommodation options in real-time, better estimate budgets, and spot trends. By contrast, a lack of data opens up the doorway for poor planning and mistakes, such as, creating a meeting budget that’s way below what you’ll actually need, or booking flights that are inconvenient or stressful on attendees.  

And let’s not forget how data reflects back on you. After all, an EA that is consistently informed with data-driven insights is going to be ahead of EAs who leave things up to chance! 

3. Incorporate New Technologies and Tools

Technology and automation have proven to maximize your efficiency as an EA time and time again. Not only do they significantly help with repetitive and manual tasks on your plate but they also assist in making informed decisions, as we just discussed. 

For example, a tool like TROOP, enables you to be more strategic with planning in-person meetings by arming you with key data and automated analyses in minutes, from ideal meeting destinations and travel logistics based on your team’s unique needs, to accurately budgeting, and much more. TROOP uses real-time data in each analysis, meaning the strategic decisions you’re making are as accurate, up-to-date, and efficient as possible.  

Similarly, ChatGPT and other large language AI models can help write your meeting agendas, summarize information for you, or draft attendee briefs. Tools like Otter.ai handle real-time transcription of meeting discussions, and Trello is an excellent tool at helping you manage projects by automating to-do list tasks, and generating reminders.

Need help in asking for new technology? Here’s a guide and email template.

4. Keep Meetings Organized and on Track

There’s nothing more frustrating than an unproductive meeting. Keeping your meetings on track is a simple way to be more strategic when attendees are in session. 

To do so, ask yourself these important questions when planning any type of meeting: 

• Does this meeting have a clear objective?
• Does the meeting have the right venue or environment to achieve the set objectives?
• Are the right people invited? 
• Does the meeting location make the most sense for all participating attendees?
• Does the agenda align with the set objectives?
• Are there defined roles for each attendee (note-taking, presenting, decision-making. etc)
• Have attendees been given enough time, both to prepare for the meeting, and to get things done when they’re in the session?   
• Do I have a plan in place to collect feedback from attendees for future improvements?

If all these points are covered, then you’ll set your meeting and the attendees up for success.

5. Budget Accurately and in Advance

Part of being strategic is being proactive. And when it comes to budgeting for in-person meetings or in general, this means asking for the budget you need versus waiting for Finance to give you something unrealistic. 

To give yourself the best chance at calculating your in-person meeting budget, use historical data from past meetings, consider your company’s recurring or pending plans, expect the unexpected, and plan for how to best present your budget clearly and efficiently to stakeholders. There will always be an element of the unknown when it comes to meeting budgets—the key is to be prepared for it.

In Summary

Strategy is not something reserved for a certain few. All of us have the ability and expertise to incorporate strategic thinking and planning into our roles. 

If you’d like to become more strategic in your meeting planning, book a TROOP demo. A member of our team would be delighted to take you through our features, all of which will help you become a more strategic EA.