It’s performance review season for many of us whose financial year is coming to a close. If you’re an Executive Assistant, now’s the perfect time to reflect on your achievements, advocate for your growth, and think ahead to how your role is evolving. Thinking About Your EA Performance Review in 2025 means understanding how your value is measured.
But let’s be clear: performance reviews are changing – and fast. Traditional check-the-box evaluations are being replaced with more flexible, data-driven, and people-focused systems. Thinking About Your EA Performance Review in 2025 means preparing for new expectations. So, if it’s been a while since you last updated how you prepare for your review, here’s your 2025 refresher. Let’s look at what’s shifting and what you can do to show up with clarity and confidence.
Use this template to map out your career path, identify skill gaps, and create an action plan for professional growth.
One of the biggest shifts in 2025? The move away from once-a-year reviews. More organizations are embracing continuous feedback systems, meaning regular 1:1s and real-time development conversations are becoming the norm. Thinking About Your EA Performance Review in 2025 means staying open to continuous improvement.
For us as Executive Assistants, this shift offers a real opportunity to build stronger, more consistent relationships with our executives. Instead of waiting for a yearly check-in, we can use ongoing feedback to stay aligned, address any issues early, and adapt quickly to changes. It creates a more dynamic way of working that reflects how fast-paced our roles really are.
In a structured review process, continuous feedback might look like monthly or quarterly development conversations where we bring updates, challenges, and wins to the table. We can ask for direct input, flag roadblocks, and agree on evolving goals that reflect the reality of our workload. It keeps our growth top of mind for both us and our executives—and ensures the annual review (if it still happens) becomes a meaningful summary, not the only moment we talk about performance.
If your executive or HR team isn’t already doing this, now’s the time to nudge things along. As EAs, we have a unique advantage—those regular touchpoints and close contact with our executives and the people likely to conduct our performance reviews. Let’s take the lead on more frequent check-ins. Don’t feel like you need to ask for feedback every time, especially if you’re mid-project. But use these moments to share updates, highlight your progress, and make sure your executive is aware of the impact you’re having. Thinking About Your EA Performance Review in 2025 means using those ongoing conversations to shape the narrative, so when the formal review happens, it’s just confirming what they already know.
Along with so much of our work life, AI is changing performance reviews, too. According to PeopleCentral, AI tools are now analyzing productivity trends, surfacing feedback patterns, and even predicting future performance.
So what does this mean for us? For starters, AI might be quietly working in the background—tracking project timelines, how quickly we respond to emails, how efficiently we manage tasks, and even who we communicate with. It’s not about being watched, but about how data is being gathered and used to assess performance.
Thinking About Your EA Performance Review in 2025 means getting a clear sense of whether and how AI is involved in your organization’s review process. Ask around. Talk to HR or your executive. You don’t need to become a tech expert, but you do want to know what tools are being used and how they might factor into your evaluation.
This might not be happening in your organization yet, and that’s okay. But it is a trend that’s gaining traction, and being aware of it now helps you stay one step ahead. Especially if you’ve been slower to embrace AI or digital tools, this is a chance to start paying attention and preparing. A little awareness goes a long way—and it means fewer surprises when performance time rolls around.
Remember to keep your own notes. Document as you go throughout the year. That way, if AI is telling part of your story, you’re telling the rest.
You can even use AI to help track your own progress. Tools like Microsoft Copilot, Notion AI, or ChatGPT can help you summarize weekly tasks, draft project updates, or log milestones as they happen. Try setting aside a few minutes each week to ask your AI assistant what you accomplished or to generate a short summary of your achievements. It can be as simple as copying highlights from your calendar, emails, or to-do list.
This doesn’t have to be a huge new habit, just a small regular check-in to help you stay organized. Then, when performance review season rolls around, you’ve got a ready-made log of everything you’ve done, how you contributed, and where you’ve made a difference. Thinking About Your EA Performance Review in 2025 means using the same tools your organization is using but on your own terms.
More companies are shifting from evaluation to employee development. That means performance reviews aren’t just about “How did you do?” they’re also about “Where are you going?” Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means being clear on your next steps.
That said, this can be a tricky one for a lot of us. As EAs, our roles can be incredibly reactive, and sometimes, it’s hard to map out a traditional career path when the job doesn’t follow a linear route. For some of us, being an EA is a career in itself. For others, it’s a stepping stone to something else, and we might not feel comfortable saying that out loud in a performance review.
And that’s completely okay.
If you don’t have a grand plan or a tidy career ladder mapped out, focus on the growth that matters to you. It’s absolutely valid to say that your development goal is to get better at what you already do, to sharpen your skills, deepen your knowledge, or expand your impact. Progress doesn’t always mean moving up or out. Sometimes, it means becoming more confident, more efficient, or more strategic right where you are.
So ask yourself:
Frame your review as a forward-looking conversation. This isn’t just a look back at what you have achieved; it’s also your moment to shape the year ahead. And as EAs, we don’t always take that moment. We’re so used to focusing on everyone else, supporting, anticipating, and fixing – that when it’s time to talk about ourselves, it can feel awkward or even indulgent. But your performance review is the time to change that. It’s important that you do take up space, shine a light on your wins, and show the real impact of your work. You’ve earned it. Don’t downplay what you have accomplished.
Many of us are working remotely or hybrid now, and our performance reviews should reflect that. Companies are starting to use tools to fairly assess remote performance, making sure remote or hybrid roles aren’t overlooked.
Let’s not assume our impact is obvious.
As Executive Assistants, so much of what we do happens behind the scenes, organizing, anticipating, problem-solving, and often, it only gets noticed if something goes wrong. If everything’s running smoothly, it can be easy for others to forget how much effort it took to make that happen.
That’s why thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means actively making your work visible – especially if you’re working remotely. When you’re not physically in the office every day, you miss out on those informal chances to remind your executive or team of everything you’re handling. And whether we like it or not, proximity bias is real. People tend to notice those they see more often.
To overcome that, we need to find subtle but consistent ways to keep our work front and center. One of the most effective approaches is a simple weekly briefing. Just a short summary of what you’ve completed, what’s in progress, and what’s coming up. It doesn’t have to be formal, just enough to give your executive visibility into your world. Not only does this build trust, but it also creates a record you can pull from when performance review time rolls around.
So keep records of your work, share your wins regularly, and don’t leave your performance to chance. Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means making sure your value is seen wherever you’re sitting.
Like it or not, some companies are linking office attendance to reviews and bonuses. Deloitte, for example, has said in-person presence might impact evaluations.
This is part of a broader trend where physical presence is being used as a proxy for engagement or productivity. And while that might feel a bit outdated, especially for roles like ours that are just as effective (if not more so) in a remote or hybrid setup, it’s something we need to be aware of.
Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means getting ahead of this. If your organization is placing weight on office attendance, find out how it’s being measured and how it plays into your review. But more importantly, whether you’re in the office or working remotely, make sure your executive and reviewers know exactly what you’re contributing.
This ties back to visibility. If you’re remote most of the time, you’ll want to find consistent, strategic ways to demonstrate your presence, your effectiveness, and your outcomes, regardless of location. Regular communication, weekly updates, and progress summaries go a long way. It’s not about being seen physically; it’s about making your impact seen.
If your company is leaning this way, talk to your executive. Ask how it’s being tracked and how it applies to your review. Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means being informed, not caught off guard.
We’re seeing tighter performance management across the board, especially in tech. Microsoft, Meta, and others are adjusting their review processes to prioritize efficiency and reduce underperformance.
So, what does that look like for us as Executive Assistants? In this environment, there’s a greater emphasis on measurable outcomes, consistency, and clear value. Organizations are looking closely at performance metrics and being more intentional about identifying top performers and those they consider to be underperformers.
That means we need to be prepared to talk about our role in a way that highlights efficiency, adaptability, and contribution to organizational goals. Whether it’s time saved for your executive, improved workflows, or smoother cross-team collaboration, it all matters. Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means thinking like a strategic partner.
In practical terms, this could look like:
This might end up being a tick-box exercise in your organization to keep up with the current trend, but it is also an opportunity to show just how essential the EA role is to making the business run smoothly and efficiently. It goes back to what we’ve already said – make sure your work isn’t just done but seen, valued, and clearly aligned with what the business is driving toward.
Now, I know this will feel overwhelming for a lot of EAs. The impact we make as Assistants is often more nuanced than the clear, measurable outputs from teams like engineering or software development. Our value is often in the relationships we manage, the fires we prevent, and the friction we remove – and those things don’t always show up in a dashboard or a report. But in this climate, having even a little data to support your performance story isn’t a bad thing.
It could be as simple as tracking how many meetings you’ve streamlined, how much time you’ve freed up for your executive, or the number of projects you’ve supported across different departments. Pair those numbers with stories that show your judgment, initiative, and ability to make things happen quietly and effectively. Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means not just showing that you’ve been busy, but showing why what you’ve done has mattered and the impact you have had through clear data.
Even if we’re not in tech, this mindset is filtering into many industries. Thinking About Your EA Performance Review in 2025 means showing your strategic value and adaptability in a climate that’s asking more from everyone.
So, that takes us to data. Let’s talk numbers. Data is now central to how organizations evaluate performance. That might sound a bit intimidating, especially in a role like ours where so much of the impact is relational and anticipatory. But embracing data doesn’t have to be difficult or all-consuming. It’s about pulling out meaningful signals from your day-to-day that help tell your story and show your value.
You don’t need a dashboard or KPIs to show your value (though if you have them, great). Start with the basics: How much time did you save your executive this week? How many meetings did you organize or improve? What did you handle before it became a problem? These small wins, tracked regularly, can paint a powerful picture when performance season rolls around.
Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means understanding that while your role might not be measured like sales or engineering, you can still collect the evidence that matters, and use it to advocate for your work with clarity and confidence.
Peer recognition, Slack shout-outs, spontaneous “thank you” messages—these all count. And more companies are baking them into performance management.
As EAs, we’ve got loads of this stuff – those little moments where someone drops a “you’re a star!” after you save the day (again). And yes, half the time it’s for something they probably should have done themselves, but still, it’s recognition. It’s a sign that you’re making things work, often under the radar.
These casual acknowledgments might not seem like much, but they can be incredibly powerful in painting a picture of your impact. So start capturing them. Take a screenshot, copy the message into a doc, or keep a folder with those informal notes of appreciation. Over time, they add up, and they remind your executive (and yourself) of just how often you’ve stepped up.
Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means collecting those everyday wins and using them to tell a story of consistent value, reliability, and support. It’s not about showing off; please don’t think that. It’s about making sure your work gets the recognition it deserves.
Your goals matter, but aligning them with company goals? That’s where you really shine. We talk about this all the time in The EA Campus, and with good reason. Now more than ever, it’s crucial that we understand how our work fits into the bigger picture. That means getting really clear on your executive’s goals – what they’re trying to achieve this quarter, this year, and beyond.
Once you understand what success looks like for them, you can think about how your goals, priorities, and daily efforts are contributing to that success. But don’t stop there. Take it one step further and look at how their goals connect to the wider strategic objectives of the business. This bigger-picture thinking positions you not just as an Assistant but as a strategic partner who’s invested in outcomes that matter at every level.
It’s not always easy to do this, especially when our roles are full-on and reactive. But even carving out time once a month to revisit what your executive is working toward and how you’re enabling that can completely shift how you approach your performance and development. Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means showing that you understand where your work fits, why it matters, and how it moves the business forward.
Ask yourself:
Performance reviews are evolving. In many organizations, the process is becoming more human, which is only a good thing. In other organizations, data is becoming central to the process. As EAs, we’re right in the middle of that shift. Thinking about your EA performance review in 2025 means showing up with purpose, knowing your worth, and owning your impact.
We’re living in uncertain times – politically, economically, and across the workplace more broadly. It’s never felt more like we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. That’s why it’s more important than ever to get ahead of any changes to your performance review process. Because let’s be really clear. Your performance review is directly linked to your salary, your career prospects, and your job security. Please don’t treat this process like a box-ticking exercise. It’s your opportunity to advocate for yourself in a way that genuinely impacts your future.
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