Help me manage my admin please?

[PoohBears#1fan]

Now I'm not her line manager, nor do I want this to escalate to the point where I need to involve her manager, but I'm struggling with my admin at work.

She books all my appointments for me, which is fine, but seems to work in a very slapdash way, often not letting me know or giving me the information I need in adequate time - I've taken to going into work an hour early as have discovered I need to do this to a) find out what appointments I have that day! and b) find out the information about them that she's not given me.

There hasn't been anyone doing my role for a while before I started so there was no order to it all, hence me trying to bring some in.

I've had several conversations with her about how we want things to run, which she agrees with and all feels very positive, but then it just doesn't materialise and we slip back into the lack of communication and last minute bookings.

Any tips please?

[T_Hodge]

Hello,
Congratulations on the new role!

Personally I'd tell them your diary 'locks' around an hour before they leave the office for the day and only urgent matters should then be added to it.
In that final hour I would ask them to send you your diary for the next day within 30 mins of it "locking" giving you 30 minutes to call them to discuss.

This will give you a better structure to the next day also giving you the time needed overnight/first-thing to prepare yourself for the day ahead. The emergencies may still pop up but a text/email "procedure" to update you could then be implemented but this gives you a bit of structure quickly.

Just my opinion and I look forward to hearing everyone else's ideas/experience!

[speedwayfan]

I'd definitely implement some of the procedures already mentioned.

However, also trying to look at it from the admin POV. Would it be possible for you to create some sort of form to fill out for each appointment? Maybe this will give her some sort of structure to follow when she make the appointments to pass onto you and would be less likely to forget the essential information you require.

Jill

[skstorm]

you could create a document she has to send you either weekly or daily with the appointments for the next day/ week and you could specify any particular information you wanted from her in addition to that. She would have to complete it and send it giving you a little more structure

[VeryexcitedH]

You could use Google docs then it is always live?

[PoohBears#1fan]

Thank you all.

Closing my diary at a set time could work.

We do actually have a document that she's supposed to fill out and let me have for each appointment, that's exactly the issue, for some reason, I just don't seem to get them, I get some, it's very hit and miss. I also get an awful lot that aren't supposed to come to me, but that's a whole other story...

I addressed this head on when I went in last Friday to find my clinic bookings had doubled and I had one hour to prepare for the extras (she hadn't even informed me, or given me the information I need) and the conversation feels really positive with a plan to move forwards with, but the same thing just happens again the following day.

I guess it's just going to take time and a bit of banging my head against the wall!

[2point]

I wouldn't hesitate to involve her manager. That's precisely what they get paid to do, manage people. It's not your job to do it.

It can be done tactfully and not sticking the knife into people - just be clear what you expect.

[Gill H]

OK, I am diary manager to a CEO and it's taken a while to find a system that works.

Here is what I do.

In Outlook I create an appointment at the top of the screen for every day. It's called 'Papers'.

Whenever something comes in that my boss is going to need that day - meeting papers, invitations, details of someone they will meet - I move them into the appointment for that day.

Every afternoon, I open the appointment for the next day, and put in it everything that is going to happen. So it might say something like the below (all details are made up!) NWD is non-working day. A/L is annual leave.

Once I have done the papers for the next day, I copy the entire text into an email. Make sure the format of the email is set to 'Rich text' so that the papers will appear in the body of the email next to the appointment.

I then send that to my boss by 4pm every day.

Of course, the problem is that everything kicks off about 3.55 and people start sending round updated papers or telling me they can't make it ... which means I have to stay later to sort it out!


...

Diary papers for Thursday 2 July

Note: Fred Bloggs A/L; Jill Smith NWD

9:00-10:00 Weekly Frog-Manglers' catch up meeting
Skype link in invite

Attendees: John A, Susan B, Jennifer Z, Philip Q

Purpose: to update on Frog-Mangling activities

Agenda
(attach Word doc of agenda)

Paper 1
(attach Word doc of paper 1)


10:30-11:00 Introductory meeting with Sir Percival Snotworthy
Sir Percival's PA will phone you and put him through

Biog of Sir Percival
(link to information)

[snowbelle]

I like Gill H idea , I may even implement it for myself

As admin to you, she should be able to find a system which works for her and you and you should not be expected to be creating documents for her

Who does her check in?

I guess she isn't meeting her objectives

Please dont think I am being rude can she actually do the role?

I am speaking from experience as I know someone who's role include full knowledge of Microsoft word, excel etc and does not have the experience to do it so seems to bluster their way through it and get others to do the work for them ( not me I hasten to add)

I would also not be working an extra 20 hours per month which I assume is unpaid, just to ensure that you are getting the correct comms and appts thats a lot over a year and not a footing I would like to start off on in a new role

[BevS97]

Do you have an online calendar you can both access? We use google calendar but I’m sure outlook is the same. Everything related to an appt/ event is attached to the calendar booking so all papers, contact details etc can be found in that one place.

I like the idea of closing the calendar at a certain point in time.

I hope you can find a system that works and doesn’t involve you starting work an hour early to sort out someone else’s mess.