EOP vs PA
Emergence of the EOP tenure:
The Personal Assistant (PA) concept has been around for at least two decades. After the Personal Computer emerged in the mid-1980s as a standard office and home tool for both secretaries and top executives, the traditional position of Personal Secretary evolved to include the new position of Executive Secretary; this evolution merely ratified the end of tedious secretarial note taking, letter typing and paper dossier archiving. In the early years of the 21st century, the emergence of numerous fast growing multinational firms offering revolutionary information and communication products and services gave birth to a genuine “New Economy”. This buzzword was not lost by the big management-consulting firms. They were prompt to identify the need for a new generation of young, hi-tech oriented heads of functional departments and to recognize the necessity to define, hire and train a new generation of executive secretaries who would not be characterized as officers but would acquire the title of Personal Assistant. In recent years, the PA concept evolved to include tactical decision-making and negotiating in order to relieve the Boss from a variety of tasks, which, on a day-to-day basis, were incompatible with a modern top executive agenda. The title of Executive Personal Assistant (EPA) was one of those most used for this position. The Executive Office Academy standardizes the title for the position reporting directly to, and working with an Executive or Entrepreneur as an Executive Office Partner (EOP) as we believe this is the most accurate title for the position.
Examples of accountability domains an EOP can handle, that a PA is usually not entrusted with:
In considering an EOP as a partner to the Boss, accountability domains and responsibilities cannot be easily defined because of the many variables that the EOP-Boss working relationship can entail. Details may vary depending upon the characteristics of the organization and/or office and the leadership style of the Boss. The main criterion affecting all accountabilities is that they are dealt with at an Executive level that includes the appropriate requirements for tact, diplomacy; confidentiality; values and standards. Some broad-based accountabilities include such factors as:
- involved leadership – has several facets including ‘managing the boss’; sharing as a partner in the defining and achievement of the vision, goals and objectives of the Executive Office and also leadership of additional staff.
- decision making – impacts the whole empowerment scenario; includes defining levels of authority for decisions and negotiations effecting the everyday working environment of the Executive Office, both internally and externally.
- information and communication – gathering, processing and disseminating information as well as effective communication of information and decisions to all appropriate stakeholders, both internal and external.
- defining and implementing Executive Office operational systems and procedures for maximizing effectiveness and efficiency - includes management and scheduling of meetings and events as well as management of boss’s agenda priorities.
- financial and business management wherein the budget is professionally overseen and forecasts and targets established and met.
- more specialized skills and knowledge areas such as getting results without direct authority; networking; teamwork; dealing with difficult workplace conditions; understanding financial and accounting essentials; understanding the business and the organization and, most importantly, being able to effectively facilitate the introduction and acceptance of a new boss.
Boss’ privilege or PA’s promotion?:
The ability of some executives to demand extraordinary tasks from their PA without granting him/her adequate compensation in the form of higher salaries and more glamorous in-house titles is well-known. To many observers, the PA is often treated to do all what a “Boss” can do without benefiting from the same title, the same salary and the same perks. In many organizations worldwide, the EOP status is construed as a subtle way to promote a PA without giving him/her any hope to access genuine executive responsibilities. In practice, this situation tends to disappear with the advent of the Executive Office, a novel business environment that makes it mandatory for Human Resources as well as the PA’s Line Manager to recognize the importance of the responsibilities and accountability domains entrusted to a PA promoted to EOP status.
How a PA becomes an EOP:
The person who decides to promote a PA to an EOP position is usually a Boss who has come to see his/her PA as a potential “partner” and believes it is now time to give instructions or advice in terms of accountability and responsibilities, and no longer in terms of tasks or activities. Some of the most frequent challenges of this promotion include:
- the non-existence or scarcity of academic training and support that allows a person to become a recognized EOP.
- the governance of the entire executive staff and the Board that needs to be adjusted to accommodate the promotion and support of EOPs.
- the necessity for newly appointed EOPs to cope with those passive PAs who plan to keep the same job for the rest of their life.
Any specific training for a PA to access EOP status?:
Nowadays, a PA still has to prove himself/herself as an individual who can become a super-efficient “business partner” of the Boss prior to being treated and appointed as an EOP. This kind of conversion process tends to leave the golden key to EOP status either to the Director of Human Resources or to the PA’s Boss. What the Executive Office Academy aims to achieve in approximately six months is an acceleration of the conversion process based on the dual support of the Boss and HR, and consisting of customized executive-level seminars attended by Bosses, EOPs, and EOPs + Bosses. This duo approach to training is unique in the training and coaching services industry. It requires senior trainers and coaches who have experienced and managed the subtle difference between PA and EOP status in various types of Executive Offices and in diverse industries, NGOs and/or administrations.
