Executive Assistants: Comprehensive List of Performance Goals

Executive assistants are typically jacks-of-all trades that handle many aspects of office management and administration while supporting C-level executives.

The following items are some of the main responsibilities of an EA:

Complete administrative tasks in a professional and timely manner
Coordinate scheduling and calendar management
Manage all aspects of office operation
Perform necessary bookkeeping tasks
Coordinate travel and accommodation arrangements for executives and partners
Plan and execute office events such as social gatherings, company parties and so on.

When it comes to setting performance goals, EAs may have a difficult time establishing objectives, since they are involved in so many areas at work. These goals can be linked with performance reviews and should be SMART goals: Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely.

For the above-mentioned job duties, we have listed several example performance goals that are appropriate for an Executive Assistant.

Administrative tasks

Reply to all emails within 1 business day, with exceptions for urgent and high priority matters.
Answer all phone calls within 3 rings and reduce hold time to less than 3 minutes.
Stay updated with continuous learning for all Microsoft applications including Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc. Take time each quarter to research best practices and skill up.

Scheduling

Organize and manage schedules and logistics for quarterly Board of Directors meetings, finalized one quarter prior to the meeting
Schedule executive’s weekly appointments ensuring no more than four in one day.
Set meetings and manage calendar events for the office one month in advance.

Office management

Reduce office supply restock purchase from every week to once every two weeks.
Maintain new employee onboarding program and grow the mentor program by 15%.
Create synergy within the team,and across the company resulting in no more than 5 formal complaints.

Bookkeeping

Process expense reports within 24 hours for a 20-person team each week
Reduce company operation costs by 20% by researching and securing alternate vendors.
Audit budget activity once monthly to ensure all spending is reasonable and within range.

Travel and accommodation

Schedule executive travel itinerary in less than three hours for 10 partners in the firm.
Create a travel management policy to establish maximum spend on expenses and subsidies and cut spending by 10%.
Make alternate arrangements within 2 hours of notification of changes.

Event planning

Organize 8+ off-site events, parties, and company retreats for the year.
Create and implement 2 team-building activities per month to increase employee engagement and satisfaction.
Plan training event for 60 attendees including lodging, catering, transportation, off-site events, and travel visas; save $8K in expenses compared with the last training event.

Ardeley Sihite