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PapaHR · Mike Pritula Academy · Roles

Executive Assistant: Job Profile, KPIs and Interview Questions

Find an executive assistant job profile, key performance indicators (KPIs), interview questions and an onboarding plan. Use them to agree on responsibilities, decision authority and support standards.

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  1. Take the profile below or build your own with the builder.
  2. In PapaHR the profile turns into a job ad, an onboarding plan and probation goals.
  3. After 90 days, review the person against the same KPIs and competencies.

Job profile

Why the role exists

Free up the executive’s time for decisions by organising their schedule, information and follow-up.

Result in a year

The executive receives materials on time, meetings run without scheduling errors, and action items have owners and deadlines. Daily coordination no longer needs their constant involvement.

Place in the structure

  1. Reports toThe business owner or one designated executive
  2. Direct reportsNone
  3. Works withDepartment heads — deadlines, materials and agreed actions, Employees — meeting requests and executive action items, Office manager — meeting rooms, visitors and events, Accountant — documentation and executive travel expenses, Partners and suppliers — meetings, bookings and confirmations
Key result areas
  1. Reliable calendar management — Share of meetings without coordination errorsSample target: at least 98% of meetings without coordination errors.
  2. Executive prepared for meetings — Share of meetings with materials ready by the agreed deadlineSample target: at least 95% of meetings with materials ready on time.
  3. Own tasks completed on time — Share of the assistant’s tasks completed by the agreed deadlineSample target: at least 95% of own tasks completed on time.
  4. Agreed actions kept on track — Share of scheduled follow-up actions completed on timeSample target: 100% of planned follow-up actions completed on time.
  5. Documents free of assistant errors — Share of documents accepted without error correctionsSample target: at least 98% of documents without assistant errors.
  6. Incoming requests given a timely next step — Share of requests handled within the agreed response timeSample target: at least 95% of requests handled within the agreed response time.
Requirements

Experience: Experience managing calendars, business correspondence and action tracking.

Formal: Education suited to business needs; language skills for international contacts.

Should know

  • Business correspondence and meeting organisation.
  • Handling confidential documents.
  • Travel planning and booking checks.
  • Recording decisions, action owners and deadlines.

Should be able to

  • Plan calendars with buffer time between meetings.
  • Summarise requests and identify the decision needed.
  • Maintain a task tracker with deadlines and status updates.
  • Check documents, recipients and access permissions before sharing.
  • Rearrange schedules and notify everyone affected.
  • Use calendars, spreadsheets, shared documents and video calls.
Competencies at three levels

Prioritisation

Protects the executive’s time when several people need attention at once.

  1. Clarifies urgency and importance before adding tasks to the calendar.basic
  2. Suggests task order, allows preparation time and flags overload.solid
  3. Anticipates priority conflicts and presents options with their consequences.strong

Follow-through

Keeps action items from disappearing after meetings or verbal requests.

  1. Records tasks, owners and deadlines, then marks completion.basic
  2. Checks progress and flags delays before deadlines pass.solid
  3. Identifies recurring causes of delay and agrees changes to follow-up.strong

Business communication

Secures responses and agrees changes without constant executive involvement.

  1. Writes concise messages stating the request, response deadline and next step.basic
  2. Clarifies disagreements, reschedules calmly and confirms agreements in writing.solid
  3. Resolves tense situations while preserving relationships and staying within authority.strong

Attention to detail

Prevents disrupted meetings, misdirected messages and avoidable travel costs.

  1. Checks dates, times, recipients and attachments against a checklist.basic
  2. Verifies time zones, itineraries and document versions before confirmation.solid
  3. Adds checks for recurring errors and spots inconsistent information early.strong

Confidentiality

Protects the executive’s correspondence, plans and documents from accidental disclosure.

  1. Checks recipients and gets approval before sharing restricted materials.basic
  2. Checks why information is needed and shares only the approved scope.solid
  3. Identifies unnecessary access and arranges a review with document owners.strong

Independent judgement

Reduces routine approvals while keeping important decisions with the executive.

  1. Distinguishes authorised actions from decisions requiring approval.basic
  2. Handles routine matters independently; presents options and recommendations for exceptions.solid
  3. Proposes broader authority where repeated approvals slow work down.strong
Builder

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Tick what this person does at your company. On the right is the ready profile: copy it or open it in PapaHR.

Executive Assistant

Free up the executive’s time for decisions by organising their schedule, information and follow-up.

Duties
  1. Manage the executive’s calendar, allowing for priorities, travel and preparation.
  2. Schedule meetings; confirm attendees, location and a working meeting link.
  3. Collect agendas, briefing notes and documents for the executive’s meetings.
  4. Record meeting decisions, action owners and deadlines.
  5. Remind owners about deadlines and alert the executive to risks.
  6. Complete assigned tasks within agreed authority.
  7. Review incoming requests and identify decisions requiring the executive.
  8. Draft correspondence and documents; check recipients, dates and attachments.
  9. Arrange executive travel and check the itinerary before departure.
  10. Store working materials with access restricted to approved people.
  11. Handle personal errands within boundaries agreed in advance.
  12. Prepare short partner briefings before negotiations.
  13. Organise owners’ meetings and collect participants’ materials.
  14. Collect executive expense documentation for the accountant.
  15. Coordinate small projects with defined deadlines and decision authority.
  16. Find travel and meeting suppliers against agreed requirements.
  17. Prepare calendar and task handovers for cover during absences.
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Executive assistant KPIs

  1. Meetings without coordination errors — Error-free meetings / meetings held × 100%. Mistake: Hiding coordination errors in meeting records.weight 25% · month
  2. Meeting materials ready on time — Meetings with timely materials / meetings requiring materials × 100%. Mistake: Counting incomplete materials as ready for the meeting.weight 20% · month
  3. Own tasks completed on time — Own tasks completed on time / own tasks due this month ×100%. Mistake: Including other people’s tasks or changing missed deadlines retrospectively.weight 20% · month
  4. Timely follow-up on agreed actions — Follow-up actions completed on time / planned follow-up actions × 100%. Mistake: Counting reminders without checking progress or reporting identified risks.weight 15% · month
  5. Documents without assistant errors — Documents needing no error corrections / documents submitted × 100%. Mistake: Counting unchecked documents as error-free.weight 10% · month
  6. Incoming requests handled on time — Requests handled on time / requests with response deadlines elapsed × 100%. Mistake: Counting automated acknowledgements instead of replies or assignment to an owner.weight 10% · month
Calculator

Work out the KPI bonus

Enter how much of each target was met, in percent, and the bonus at 100%. You can change the weights.

KPIWeight, %Achieved, %Share
Meetings without coordination errors
Meeting materials ready on time
Own tasks completed on time
Timely follow-up on agreed actions
Documents without assistant errors
Incoming requests handled on time
KPI total
Bonus
Sum of weights

The weights are an example. They should add up to 100%.

Interview questions

Scorecard

Run the interview and get the result

Score each answer from 1 to 5 and the total is worked out by competency. Keep this page open on your phone during the interview.

Prioritisation

Describe a day when an urgent request conflicted with an important executive meeting. What did you change, and what was the outcome?

✓ Listen for: Clarified priorities, proposed options, notified attendees and protected preparation time.

⚑ Red flag: Followed the loudest request without checking the consequences.

Tell us about reducing an overloaded executive calendar. Which meetings did you move, and how did you assess the result?

✓ Listen for: Checked meeting purposes, agreed changes and protected time for important work.

⚑ Red flag: Cancelled meetings without checking their importance to the executive.

Follow-through

Describe a meeting action at risk of being forgotten. How did you spot the risk and secure a next step?

✓ Listen for: Named the owner, deadline, progress checks and timely escalation to the executive.

⚑ Red flag: Only remembered the action when the executive asked.

Describe an assigned task you could not finish on time. When did you flag it, what did you suggest, and what happened?

✓ Listen for: Gave early warning, explained the obstacle, agreed a solution and completed the task.

⚑ Red flag: Hid the delay or changed the deadline without approval.

Business communication

Tell us about a difficult meeting reschedule with an important partner. How did you explain it, and what did you agree?

✓ Listen for: Offered suitable options, considered partner constraints and confirmed the new time.

⚑ Red flag: Blamed the executive or left the partner without confirmation.

Describe getting materials from an unresponsive colleague. What actions helped, and how did the situation end?

✓ Listen for: Clarified obstacles, explained deadlines and consequences, and involved the executive in time.

⚑ Red flag: Used the executive’s name to pressure them or repeatedly forwarded identical requests.

Attention to detail

Describe a scheduling or booking error you caught before a meeting. How did you verify the details, and what did you fix?

✓ Listen for: Checked original confirmations, corrected discrepancies and notified affected people.

⚑ Red flag: Relied on memory and failed to check updated details.

Tell us about an error in correspondence or a document you prepared. How did you fix the consequences and change your checks?

✓ Listen for: Acknowledged the error, corrected the message and added a specific check.

⚑ Red flag: Blamed the recipient or only promised to be more careful.

Confidentiality

Describe a request for confidential executive information. How did you check access rights, and what did you tell the requester?

✓ Listen for: Checked authority, secured sharing approval and limited the information disclosed.

⚑ Red flag: Shared information because the requester was senior or persistent.

Describe unnecessary access to documents or correspondence that you discovered. Who did you notify, and how did access change?

✓ Listen for: Explains actions without revealing secrets and confirms unnecessary access was removed.

⚑ Red flag: Discloses a previous employer’s confidential document contents during the interview.

Independent judgement

Tell us about an urgent issue when the executive was unavailable. What did you decide, on what authority, and with what outcome?

✓ Listen for: Checked authority, considered consequences, recorded the decision and notified the executive.

⚑ Red flag: Committed money or made binding promises without authorisation.

Describe a recurring issue you stopped seeking approval for each time. How did you agree the rules, and what changed?

✓ Listen for: Agreed decision limits, exceptions and reporting; reduced unnecessary requests.

⚑ Red flag: Stopped asking and treated the executive’s silence as permission.

Score at least one answer and the result shows up here. ·
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Test task

Replan an executive’s day and keep action items on track · 2 hours

Give the candidate a fictional daily calendar, six incoming messages, an action list and brief decision authority rules. Include overlapping meetings, travel time and a call across time zones. Messages should include an urgent partner request, delayed materials and a request for a restricted document. State the executive’s priorities, preparation deadlines and spending limits. Ask for an updated calendar with explanations, an action tracker with owners and deadlines, two draft replies and questions for the executive. The candidate should flag missing information and propose decisions within their authority. Use fictional data throughout; no messages should be sent or actual bookings made.

How to assess it

  • Calendar conflicts resolved; travel, preparation and time zones accounted for.
  • Schedule changes reflect the executive’s stated priorities.
  • Each task has an outcome, owner, deadline and next follow-up.
  • Delayed materials flagged with a plan to preserve the meeting’s purpose.
  • Replies are clear and include a specific next step.
  • Restricted document protected; decisions outside authority submitted for approval.

Ready job ad

Executive Assistant at [company]

Help the executive at [company] protect time for key decisions. You will manage the calendar, meeting preparation, correspondence and action tracking.

What you will do

  • Manage the executive’s calendar, arrange meetings and flag scheduling conflicts.
  • Collect meeting materials and record decisions.
  • Track actions, remind owners of deadlines and flag delays.
  • Prepare correspondence, documents and short briefings for the executive.
  • Arrange travel and check booking confirmations.
  • Handle requests within agreed authority and confidentiality boundaries.

What we need

  • Experience organising meetings and tracking several tasks simultaneously.
  • Ability to prioritise and clarify expected outcomes.
  • Clear, concise business writing.
  • Careful checking of dates, time zones, recipients and attachments.
  • Confidence using calendars, spreadsheets and shared documents.
  • Discretion and early reporting of risks.

What we offer

  • Pay: $[salary]; [pay review process].
  • Location: [city]; working arrangement: [office/remote/hybrid].
  • Hours: [schedule]; contact outside these hours: [terms].
  • Direct support for [executive] with clearly agreed decision authority.
  • Travel: [frequency and business travel arrangements].
  • Work tools and onboarding support: [details].

In PapaHR this text becomes a job opening with a careers page and a candidate pipeline.

90-day onboarding plan

Before day one

  1. Confirm hours, work arrangements and contact outside working hours.HR
  2. Define priorities, assistant authority and rules for urgent requests.Manager
  3. Set up email, calendar and approved access permissions.IT

Day one

  1. Explain meeting, correspondence and daily check-in preferences.Manager
  2. Show the calendar, action tracker and location of working materials.Mentor
  3. Check access and list missing information.New hire
  4. Agree which materials are restricted and who may receive them.Manager

First week

  1. Take over the calendar and confirm upcoming meetings with attendees.New hire
  2. List active actions; clarify owners and deadlines.New hire
  3. Agree request response times and meeting preparation deadlines.Manager
  4. Review initial correspondence, invitations and action records.Mentor

30 days

  1. Manage the calendar and regular meeting preparation independently.New hire
  2. Review coordination errors and update the checklist.Manager
  3. Agree indicator targets based on the first month’s results.Manager

60 days

  1. Track agreed actions and flag risks early.New hire
  2. Prepare a practice travel itinerary with backup options.New hire
  3. Review independent decisions and clarify approval boundaries.Manager

90 days

  1. Document calendar and task handovers for absence cover.New hire
  2. Assess probation period goals using actual meetings and tasks.Manager
  3. Record onboarding outcomes and the next development plan.HR

Probation period goals

  1. Manage the calendar without preventable coordination errors.Sample target: in the final month, at least 98% of meetings have correct times, locations and links, with no overlaps.
  2. Keep the executive prepared for meetings.Sample target: by the end of the probation period, at least 95% of meetings have materials ready on time; verify against the calendar.
  3. Keep active executive action items on track.Sample target: 100% of active actions have an owner, deadline and next follow-up; review the tracker weekly.
  4. Handle routine matters independently within agreed authority.Sample target: review five cases; every decision stays within authority, with exceptions approved before action.

Career path

Junior Administrative Assistant

Organises individual meetings, prepares documents and works from checklists.

To move up: Learn full calendar management and complete routine tasks independently.

Executive Assistant

Manages one executive’s calendar, meeting preparation, travel and action tracking.

To move up: Learn to anticipate priority conflicts and coordinate complex meetings with minimal support.

Senior Executive Assistant

Coordinates complex actions involving multiple people and improves executive support processes.

To move up: Develop project planning, team coordination and outcome reporting skills.

Executive Office Project Manager

Owns specific project outcomes with assigned resources and team members.

To move up: For further growth, develop budgeting skills and management expertise in a chosen business area.

Questions for a 1:1 meeting

  1. Which meetings are taking my time without a clear outcome?
  2. Where do you need clearer guidance on my calendar priorities?
  3. Which tasks need my decision before work can continue?
  4. Which delays by task owners should I know about today?
  5. Which meeting materials do you keep having to collect at the last minute?
  6. Which decisions could you make independently once we agree the boundaries?
  7. Which requests outside working hours disrupt your rest and need a different approach?
  8. Where should access to my documents or correspondence be reviewed?

Mistakes in hiring and managing

  1. Hiring a personable candidate without checking calendar skills and attention to detail.
    Better: Give a practice calendar with conflicts and ask them to explain each change.
  2. Assigning everything to the assistant, including personal errands, without discussion.
    Better: Define business and personal tasks, working hours and availability before hiring.
  3. Expecting initiative while requiring approval for every email and meeting change.
    Better: Document permitted decisions, spending limits and situations requiring approval.
  4. Scoring assistants on others’ task completion without authority over those people.
    Better: Assess timely follow-up and risk alerts; hold task owners responsible for delivery.
  5. Sharing the executive’s passwords instead of setting up appropriate access.
    Better: Provide a separate account, configure delegated access and review permissions when responsibilities change.
HR in money

What a bad hire costs: Executive assistant

The same calculation as in PapaHR «HR in money»: the cost of hiring plus the salary for the months the new hire worked at half capacity.

One leaver
A year

In the first months a new hire delivers about half the result, so the company pays the other half of the salary for learning. In PapaHR the calculation uses your real leavers.

Questions and answers

How does an executive assistant differ from an office manager?

An executive assistant supports a specific executive through calendar management, decision preparation and action tracking. An office manager keeps the workplace running for the whole team. A small business can combine the roles if time and responsibilities are agreed in advance.

Should an executive assistant handle personal errands?

Include personal errands only after discussing them explicitly with the candidate. Specify the types of errands, working time involved, spending limits and contact outside working hours. Agree any new responsibilities separately.

How do you measure executive assistant performance?

Review coordination errors, material readiness, the assistant’s own deadlines and action follow-up. Define errors and where evidence of completion is kept in advance. If there are no relevant meetings or tasks in a period, leave that indicator unscored and agree its weight redistribution beforehand.

Can you hire an executive assistant without experience?

Yes, if initial tasks cover calendars, correspondence and simple assignments, and the executive can provide training. Check attention to detail and organisation through a practical assessment. Introduce complex travel and restricted materials after checking skills and setting up access.

How do you manage a remote executive assistant?

Agree availability, an urgent contact channel and a brief daily check-in. Use a shared calendar and action tracker with owners, deadlines and status updates. Provide individual document access and assign someone to handle tasks requiring an office presence.

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