An EA operating manual is one of those things many of us mean to create, talk about creating, or have half started in a notebook, OneNote page, Google Doc, or random folder somewhere on our desktop. Then work gets busy, your Executive’s schedule changes before you’ve even had your first coffee, and the idea gets pushed down the list again.
But as EAs, we hold a huge amount of information in our heads every single day, and a lot of it sits with us alone. You end up knowing how your Executive likes to prepare for meetings, which supplier always delivers at the last minute, where the files are saved, who to contact when something goes wrong, and which stakeholder needs the extra follow-up email because they never read the first one.
The same can be said for building our own systems and routines without really thinking about it. The way we prepare for quarterly meetings. The process for expenses. The order we tackle travel bookings. The spreadsheet only we understand. The folder structure that makes perfect sense to us and absolutely nobody else.
That’s why having an EA operating manual can make such a difference, not just for the business but for us personally as Assistants. It gives you one place to document processes, recurring tasks, key contacts, Executive preferences, annual rhythms, office information, meeting preparation, travel routines, and all the little details that keep things moving.
It also makes holidays, sick leave, handovers, and onboarding far less stressful. Most of us have had that moment where we’ve taken a day off and still answered messages because nobody could find something, access something, or work out how a process worked. Now I’m not saying for a second that any of your colleagues would look in the operating manual, but it’s a place to nudge them towards. If you really have to. We laugh about it as EAs because we know how common it is, but it also says a lot about how much knowledge often sits with one person.
I’ve also found that building an EA operating manual helps you understand the full scope of your role properly. Once you start documenting everything you manage across the week, month, quarter, and year, you quickly realise how much operational knowledge sits within the EA role. It can also help when preparing for performance reviews, salary conversations, promotion discussions, or even when trying to explain to others exactly what your role involves.
And the good news is you do not need to create the perfect EA operating manual in one sitting. Most of us build these documents gradually. You add a process after an event. You document a recurring task after someone asks how it works. You update instructions after a new system launches. AI can also really help with this now, especially when it comes to turning rough notes into processes, cleaning up instructions, creating checklists, or helping you structure information properly. Bit by bit, it becomes one of the most useful resources you have.
Make sure everyone is on the same page and knows all of your Executives’ preferences around communication, decision-making, and so much more.
An EA operating manual does not need to be some formal corporate document full of complicated language and fifty-page process maps that nobody ever opens again. For most of us, it is simply a practical guide to how our role works and how we keep things running day to day.
As EAs, our jobs are rarely straightforward because our roles usually stretch across multiple areas of the business at the same time. On any given day, you might be supporting your Executive, coordinating with teams, managing office issues, helping with projects, organising events, fixing diary problems, dealing with suppliers, preparing documents, and trying to remember where someone saved a file six months ago.
That’s also why every EA operating manual will look slightly different. Some Assistants support one Executive. Others support multiple leaders across different regions and time zones. Some roles are heavily operational. Others lean more into project management, office management, events, culture, or communication.
Your operating manual becomes the central place where all of that information lives. A reference point for the recurring tasks, systems, processes, contacts, preferences, routines, and working practices that help you do your role.
And honestly, it does not really matter what format you use as long as it works for you and is easy to update. Some EAs create a digital binder. Others use a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) library, a shared OneNote, a Notion workspace, a Google Drive folder, or a SharePoint site. I also know Assistants who keep voice notes, Loom walkthroughs, screenshots, templates, and checklists alongside their written instructions because sometimes it is easier to explain a process by showing it.
The important part is creating something that helps you and supports the wider team when needed, rather than leaving all of that information sitting in your head.
Most EAs will immediately relate to this because we’ve all seen what happens when somebody suddenly needs to cover our role.
Nobody knows how expenses are processed. Nobody can remember which supplier to contact. The files cannot be found. The board papers are prepared differently every month depending on the meeting. Half the team thinks every meeting is urgent and your Executive is messaging you while you are technically meant to be off work.
An EA operating manual gives people somewhere to look before they immediately come back to you for answers. And no, it probably will not stop every question, but it does make handovers, annual leave, sick days, and unexpected situations far easier to manage for everyone involved.
One of the unexpected benefits of creating an EA operating manual is that it gives you a much clearer picture of your own role.
When you start documenting your responsibilities properly, you quickly see how much operational work you manage, how many systems you oversee, how often you support decision-making, and how much information sits with you.
That can be really useful when it comes to performance reviews, promotion discussions, salary conversations, career planning, or even conversations around delegation and additional support.
I also think many EAs are so focused on getting through the work that we rarely stop and look at everything we are actually responsible for across the business. Writing it down properly gives you that visibility.
When somebody new steps into the role, even temporarily, an operating manual gives them a much clearer starting point and helps them settle into the role far more quickly.
Most EA handovers can be quite difficult because every Assistant works differently. We all build our own systems, routines, filing methods, meeting preparation styles, and ways of supporting our Executive over time.
Having documented processes, notes, instructions, and context makes that transition smoother for the person coming in and far less stressful for everyone around them
One of the hardest parts of building an EA operating manual is usually deciding what to include in the first place. Most of us sit down to document the role and then immediately realise just how many moving parts there are behind the scenes.
This is completely normal. As EAs, we are often managing a mix of operational work, communication, planning, coordination, administration, and relationship management all at the same time. A good EA operating manual helps pull all of that information into one place so it is easier to manage, update, and hand over when needed.
A really useful place to start your EA operating manual is with your Executive’s preferences. This section becomes incredibly helpful because so much of the EA role involves understanding how somebody likes to work, communicate, prepare, travel, and manage their time. Inside your EA operating manual, you can include things like:
This part of your EA operating manual can save a huge amount of time for anybody stepping in to support your Executive because many of these details are things we learn gradually over months or years in the role. Sometimes it is the small details that make the biggest difference, like how your Executive likes meeting notes prepared, how much travel buffer they prefer, or whether they want short summaries or detailed briefings before meetings.
Most Executives will not sit down and formally explain all of this. As EAs, we usually learn through experience, trial and error, and the occasional look across the desk when we have booked something slightly differently from how they expected.
Adding this information into your EA operating manual will also help create more consistency in the support your Executive receives.
Every EA operating manual should include a clear contact section because so much of the role depends on knowing exactly who to contact and when. We used to have a Rolodex (showing my age here), but now our key contacts don’t have a place to live, so it is super helpful to include in your operating manual. Your EA operating manual might include:
Internal stakeholders
Vendors
Travel contacts
IT support
HR
Finance
Building management
Executive family contacts where appropriate
After-hours or emergency contacts
A contact section in your EA operating manual becomes particularly useful during annual leave, busy periods, travel disruptions, office issues, or urgent situations where someone else may need to step in quickly.
It also helps avoid the situation where important relationships only exist inside one person’s inbox or phone. As EAs, we often become the central point of contact for so many different people across the business, and over time we naturally build up knowledge around who to contact for certain issues and how quickly different people usually respond.
You can also add useful notes into this section of your EA operating manual, especially where there are preferred ways of working, escalation routes, or important context somebody else may not know.
One section that can make a massive difference inside an EA operating manual is documenting recurring work across the year.
A lot of EA work follows rhythms and cycles that repeat throughout the month, quarter, or year, but because we manage them so regularly, we sometimes forget how much planning sits behind them. Your EA operating manual could include things like:
Board cycles
Budget season
Performance reviews
Quarterly meetings
Offsites
Events
Team planning
Annual reports
It can also help to structure this part of your EA operating manual into monthly, quarterly, and yearly planning rhythms so somebody covering the role can quickly understand what happens and when.
For example, there may be certain months where travel increases significantly, periods where budgeting meetings take over the calendar, or annual leadership events that require preparation months in advance.
This section of your EA operating manual also helps you personally because it gives you a much clearer overview of the operational calendar you manage throughout the year.
Most EA roles involve managing a surprising number of systems, folders, templates, and processes, which means this section of your EA operating manual becomes very practical very quickly. Inside your EA operating manual, you can document:
What systems are used
What they are used for
Where files are stored
Naming conventions
Approval processes
Shared folders
Templates
Obviously, your EA operating manual should never contain passwords or sensitive login information, but it can absolutely explain how systems are used and where people should go to find things.
This section becomes especially useful because every organisation structures information differently. File naming conventions, folder locations, approval processes, and templates can all vary massively depending on the company.
As EAs, we often spend years learning where things live and how processes work across departments. Writing that information into your EA operating manual saves other people from having to piece it together from scratch.
You can also include screenshots, walkthroughs, short videos, or links to instructions if that makes your EA operating manual easier to follow.
This is probably one of the biggest sections inside many EA operating manuals because travel and meetings often involve dozens of moving parts.
Your EA operating manual might include:
Preferred airlines and hotels
Passport and visa processes
Loyalty programmes
Meeting setup processes
Board paper preparation
Agenda management
AV requirements
Catering preferences
Travel alone can involve so many hidden processes that nobody really sees until something goes wrong. Preferred flight times, seating choices, hotel chains, transfer arrangements, visa requirements, travel insurance, contingency plans, and emergency contacts all tend to sit with you.
The same applies to meetings. Your EA operating manual can document how agendas are prepared, how papers are distributed, who normally attends, what technology is needed, how the room is set up, and how follow-up actions are managed afterwards.
Some meeting setups feel like military operations once you get into board meetings, leadership offsites, or international events. So documenting these processes inside your EA operating manual can save a huge amount of time and stress later.
Many EAs also manage large amounts of office and supplier information that rarely reside in a single central location, making this another useful section in an EA operating manual. Your EA operating manual could include:
Preferred suppliers
Ordering processes
Office routines
Deliveries
Catering
Gifts
Team celebrations
This section helps create consistency across the office and makes it much easier for somebody else to step in when needed.
You can also use your EA operating manual to document preferred vendors, ordering deadlines, useful contacts, and notes around quality or service levels. Most EAs know there is always one supplier that works brilliantly and another that should probably only ever be used as a last resort.
And then there are all the office routines that nobody notices until they stop happening. Birthday collections, welcome gifts, kitchen supplies, visitor processes, catering orders, meeting room setups, and team celebrations all tend to sit somewhere within the EA role.
This section can feel slightly uncomfortable to document inside an EA operating manual, and it is a hard one because we often don’t know what we don’t know… until it happens. But it is genuinely one of the most useful areas to include. Your EA operating manual might cover:
Executive travel disruption
Last-minute cancellations
IT outages
Event issues
Building access problems
Executive illness
Urgent stakeholder escalation
When problems happen, people usually want answers quickly, and those situations become far easier to manage when processes are already documented.
For example, if your Executive is stranded during travel disruption, somebody else may need access to airline contacts, travel insurance details, or escalation procedures. If a major meeting is cancelled unexpectedly, there may be communication templates, stakeholder lists, or room bookings that need immediate attention.
Even simple things inside your EA operating manual, like documenting who to contact during an IT outage or where emergency supplier details are stored, can save a huge amount of time during stressful situations.
And while we all hope these situations never happen too often, as EAs we know there is usually at least one unexpected issue every single week that somehow lands on our desk. So once they happen, document what you did and create the procedure for next time.
One of the questions I hear quite a lot when people start creating an EA operating manual is which tool they should actually use.
There probably isn’t one perfect answer, because it depends on how your organisation works, how your Executive works, and how you personally like to organise information.
Some EAs prefer having everything inside one central workspace. Others prefer a mix of documents, folders, videos, templates, and notes depending on the process.
What matters most is that your EA operating manual is easy to search, simple to update, and accessible when people actually need it.
There are lots of tools that can work well for an EA operating manual, including:
I know a lot of EAs who use OneNote because it feels flexible and easy to structure into sections and tabs. Others prefer Notion because it allows you to link information together really well and build a more connected knowledge base.
Google Docs and SharePoint also work well for an EA operating manual, especially in organisations where multiple people may need access to documents and updates. And if your business already uses tools like ClickUp or Confluence, it can make sense to keep processes and documentation in the same place as wider operational work.
I also think Loom videos are incredibly useful inside an EA operating manual because some processes are simply easier to explain visually. Recording a five-minute walkthrough of how to prepare a board pack or complete an expense process can often save somebody a huge amount of confusion later.
ChatGPT Projects can also help organise an EA operating manual by keeping processes, templates, notes, and recurring workflows grouped together in one place. As EAs, we are often managing information across multiple topics at the same time, so having a space where you can build and refine processes gradually can really help.
Whatever system you choose for your EA operating manual, I strongly recommend that it be searchable, easy to maintain, and collaborative where appropriate. The easier it is to update, the more likely it is that your EA operating manual stays useful long-term rather than becoming another outdated document buried in a folder somewhere.
One thing that has changed massively over the last couple of years is how much easier AI tools can make the process of building an EA operating manual.
I think this is especially helpful for EAs because one of the hardest parts of creating an EA operating manual is often finding the time to sit down and document processes properly.
AI can help structure rough notes, tidy up instructions, create step-by-step processes, summarise meeting workflows, organise recurring tasks, and even help turn voice notes into written documentation for your EA operating manual.
For example, if you already have handwritten notes, meeting checklists, old onboarding documents, or random process documents saved across folders, AI can help you organise that information into something far more usable.
You can also use AI while actively building your EA operating manual. If you have just completed a complicated travel booking, event setup, or board meeting process, you can quickly ask AI to help structure your notes into a clearer process document while everything is still fresh in your mind.
I also think AI works really well for recurring workflows inside an EA operating manual because it can help standardise formatting and create more consistency across documents.
At the same time, there is still a human side to an EA operating manual that AI cannot fully replace. A lot of the value in an EA operating manual comes from your experience in the role, your understanding of your Executive, your knowledge of stakeholders, and all the small details that surround the process itself.
So while AI can absolutely help you build an EA operating manual faster, the context and knowledge behind the role still comes from you.
One thing I would really recommend is treating your EA operating manual as a working document rather than something you create once and never touch again.
The easiest way to manage this is usually by updating your EA operating manual little and often.
You might add notes after an event, document a new approval process after a finance change, update travel preferences after a difficult trip, or add meeting instructions after supporting a new board cycle.
This approach feels much more manageable than trying to sit down and rewrite your entire EA operating manual in one go.
I also think it helps to block small amounts of time in your calendar specifically for updating your EA operating manual, even if it is only fifteen or twenty minutes every couple of weeks. The more current your EA operating manual stays, the more useful it becomes for you and everyone around you.
Building an EA operating manual takes time, and most of us will probably never feel like it is completely finished because the role itself keeps changing.
But even a partially completed EA operating manual can make a huge difference to your day-to-day work, your handovers, your onboarding processes, and your own understanding of the role.
Future-you will probably be very grateful the next time somebody asks where a process lives, how a meeting works, or which supplier your Executive prefers, and you can point them towards the EA operating manual instead of rewriting the same instructions all over again.
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