Global Learning for Operational Leaders
Introduction
Course overview
Executive assistants and administrative secretaries play a vital role in supporting senior management, coordinating organisational activities, maintaining effective communication, and ensuring the efficient operation of executive offices. Their responsibilities extend far beyond traditional secretarial duties to include executive coordination, information management, meeting administration, stakeholder communication, and confidential business support.
In today's demanding business environment, executive support professionals are expected to demonstrate exceptional organisational skills, sound judgement, discretion, technological proficiency, and the ability to manage competing priorities. They must anticipate executive requirements, coordinate complex schedules, prepare professional correspondence, and maintain administrative continuity under pressure.
The increasing adoption of digital workplace technologies, remote collaboration tools, and artificial intelligence has further transformed executive administration. Modern executive assistants must combine strong interpersonal and communication skills with digital efficiency, information security awareness, and proactive problem-solving capabilities.
However, administrative professionals frequently encounter challenges involving excessive workloads, conflicting deadlines, inefficient office procedures, communication breakdowns, and the management of sensitive information. Addressing these challenges requires structured administrative practices, effective planning techniques, and a professional approach to executive support.
The Executive Assistant Secretary Administration course provides participants with the practical knowledge, professional techniques, and administrative competencies required to support executives and senior management effectively.
Participants explore executive office management, business communication, diary and travel coordination, meeting administration, document control, professional etiquette, stakeholder management, digital productivity, and administrative problem-solving.
Through practical exercises, workplace simulations, and realistic executive office scenarios, participants develop the confidence and capabilities needed to deliver reliable, proactive, and high-quality executive administrative support.
Professional Problems This Course Is Designed to Solve
Disorganised executive schedules and competing priorities: Applying structured diary management, task prioritisation, and executive coordination techniques to improve time efficiency.
Ineffective administrative communication: Developing professional correspondence, accurate message handling, and effective communication with internal and external stakeholders.
Poor meeting preparation and follow-up: Establishing reliable procedures for scheduling meetings, preparing agendas, recording minutes, and monitoring agreed actions.
Inconsistent document and information management: Implementing organised filing, document control, recordkeeping, and information retrieval practices.
Difficulty managing confidential executive information: Strengthening professional discretion, information security awareness, and responsible handling of sensitive records.
Inefficient administrative workflows: Using digital productivity tools, standardised procedures, and practical automation techniques to reduce repetitive tasks.
Limited confidence in executive-level interactions: Developing professional etiquette, interpersonal effectiveness, problem-solving abilities, and proactive executive support skills.
What you will achieve
Learning objectives
- Explain the responsibilities and professional standards of executive assistants and administrative secretaries
- Organise executive office activities and manage competing administrative priorities
- Apply effective diary management, scheduling, and time management techniques
- Prepare professional business correspondence and executive communications
- Coordinate meetings, prepare agendas, record minutes, and track follow-up actions
- Organise executive travel, appointments, events, and logistical arrangements
- Establish effective document management and administrative recordkeeping procedures
- Apply confidentiality, professional ethics, and information security principles
Who should attend
Target audience
- This course is suitable for:
- Executive assistants and executive secretaries
- Personal assistants to senior management
- Administrative assistants and office administrators
- Senior secretaries and executive office coordinators
- Office managers and administrative supervisors
- Departmental secretaries and administrative coordinators
- Board and committee administrative support professionals
Methodology
Learning approach
- The programme combines instructor-led discussions, practical administrative exercises, executive office simulations, communication workshops, role-playing activities, and realistic workplace case studies.
- Participants practise managing executive calendars, preparing correspondence, coordinating meetings, organising business travel, maintaining records, and handling challenging administrative situations.
- Practical demonstrations introduce digital office tools, collaborative platforms, electronic document management, and appropriate uses of artificial intelligence to support administrative productivity.
- The course emphasises active participation, professional standards, practical problem-solving, and the development of reusable administrative templates and procedures.
- Participants are encouraged to apply the techniques to their own working environments and develop a personal improvement plan for executive office administration.
Complete course outline
Five focused days of learning and application
The timings provided are estimates and may vary depending on the number of participants and the discussions taking place during the sessions. They are indicative only and do not constitute a binding commitment.
Day 1
Executive Assistant Roles, Professional Standards and Office Organisation
- Understanding the evolving role of executive assistants and administrative secretaries in supporting organisational leadership, management effectiveness, and business operations
- Defining executive support responsibilities, reporting relationships, professional boundaries, accountability, and expectations of senior management
- Establishing effective executive office procedures, administrative routines, task tracking systems, and service standards
- Applying time management and prioritisation techniques to manage urgent requests, conflicting deadlines, interruptions, and changing executive requirements
- Coffee break
- Applying time management and prioritisation techniques to manage urgent requests, conflicting deadlines, interruptions, and changing executive requirements (continued)
- Developing professional conduct, workplace etiquette, confidentiality, discretion, reliability, and a proactive executive support mindset
- Practical workshop: Designing an executive office administration system incorporating daily priorities, task registers, scheduling procedures, and administrative performance standards
Day 2
Business Communication, Executive Correspondence and Stakeholder Relations
- Developing effective written and verbal communication skills for professional interactions with executives, colleagues, clients, and external stakeholders
- Preparing business emails, official letters, memoranda, notices, briefing notes, and administrative reports using clear and appropriate professional language
- Managing executive telephone calls, messages, enquiries, and correspondence through accurate screening, prioritisation, and follow-up
- Coffee break
- Managing executive telephone calls, messages, enquiries, and correspondence through accurate screening, prioritisation, and follow-up (continued)
- Applying active listening, questioning, interpersonal communication, and professional diplomacy when handling sensitive or challenging situations
- Understanding communication protocols, cultural awareness, professional etiquette, and the management of executive relationships
- Hands-on exercise: Preparing executive correspondence, responding to challenging communication scenarios, and developing a structured stakeholder communication protocol
Day 3
Executive Scheduling, Meeting Administration and Travel Coordination
- Managing executive diaries, appointments, calendars, reminders, and scheduling conflicts through systematic planning and prioritisation
- Coordinating internal and external meetings, including invitations, attendance confirmation, venue arrangements, virtual meeting access, and supporting documentation
- Preparing professional meeting agendas, briefing packs, attendance records, minutes, resolutions, and action tracking documents
- Applying effective minute-taking techniques to capture decisions, responsibilities, deadlines, and significant discussion points accurately
- Coffee break
- Applying effective minute-taking techniques to capture decisions, responsibilities, deadlines, and significant discussion points accurately (continued)
- Organising executive business travel, including itineraries, accommodation, transport, travel documentation, meeting schedules, and contingency arrangements
- Practical simulation: Coordinating a multi-day executive schedule involving meetings, business travel, correspondence, urgent requests, and post-meeting follow-up
Day 4
Document Management, Digital Administration and Office Productivity
- Establishing effective document control procedures covering document creation, classification, naming conventions, version control, storage, retrieval, and archiving
- Managing confidential executive files, sensitive correspondence, administrative records, and access permissions in accordance with organisational policies
- Applying Microsoft Office applications and collaborative workplace tools to improve document preparation, scheduling, information sharing, and task coordination
- Exploring digital workflow management, electronic approvals, shared calendars, cloud-based collaboration, and administrative process standardisation
- Coffee break
- Exploring digital workflow management, electronic approvals, shared calendars, cloud-based collaboration, and administrative process standardisation (continued)
- Understanding practical applications of artificial intelligence for drafting correspondence, summarising information, preparing meeting materials, and organising routine tasks while protecting confidential information
- Technology workshop: Developing a digital executive administration toolkit incorporating document templates, tracking registers, calendar procedures, meeting records, and productivity workflows
Day 5
Executive Support Excellence, Problem-Solving and Administrative Improvement
- Strengthening proactive executive support through anticipation of management requirements, effective preparation, initiative, and attention to detail
- Applying practical problem-solving and decision-support techniques to administrative disruptions, competing demands, scheduling conflicts, and unexpected operational challenges
- Managing workplace pressure, professional relationships, difficult interactions, and changing priorities while maintaining service quality
- Coffee break
- Supporting executive decision-making through accurate information preparation, concise briefing materials, progress tracking, and administrative reporting
- Developing administrative performance indicators, service improvement initiatives, personal development objectives, and continuous professional improvement practices
- Capstone exercise: Developing and presenting a Comprehensive Executive Office Administration Plan incorporating executive scheduling, communication protocols, meeting management, travel coordination, document control, digital productivity tools, confidentiality safeguards, and administrative improvement priorities
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does Certified Executive Assistant (AS-008) cover?
This course covers Administration and Secretarial through a structured five-day outline focused on practical application, discussion, and implementation planning.
When is the next available session?
The next scheduled session starts on 16 - 20 November 2026. See the course schedules section for the available dates and delivery formats.
Who should attend this course?
This course is suitable for:, Executive assistants and executive secretaries, Personal assistants to senior management
Is bilingual course delivery available?
Yes. All course materials and presentations are provided in English, while bilingual explanation and discussion support may be available depending on the selected location and trainer availability. For example, when attending a course in Istanbul, you may request a Turkish-speaking trainer to explain the English course content in Turkish. Arabic explanation support may also be requested at this location. Other languages are available in selected cities. You can choose your preferred language support as an optional preference during registration.
How can I register for a session?
Use any Register button next to the available course dates to open the participant registration page and submit your booking request for the selected session.
Is this course available online as well as classroom-based?
Check the course schedules section for currently published classroom and Online / Live sessions.
Where are classroom sessions delivered?
Current classroom venues include Istanbul, London, Rome.
How long is the training programme?
The programme runs for five days, with up to five training hours per day, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Each programme includes a total of 25 training hours.
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