Best practice: Using the Appointment Request Form
When you have people call and request time on your manager’s calendar, you have to ask yourself two important questions:
“How is this valuable to my manager?”
“Is this the best use of his time?”
Using the appointment request form is a good guide for an assistant – especially one new to the role – to ensure that all of the information you will need to make a decision is fully captured and placed in one location.
• Who is the requestor? Will others be included?
• What is the purpose of the meeting? Are there materials or an agenda readily available for review?
• When will you need this meeting?
• Where? What kind of room is needed and what audio/video or computer equipment is required?
• Why does the executive need to be included?
Gathering this information will guarantee you are prepared when you ask for input from your executive. This also shows the requestor that while you do have complete autonomy over the executive’s calendar – you partner with him and collaborate on the planning of his schedule as needed.
By gathering the pertinent information you also position yourself to ask hard questions such as, “Does my manager need to be included in this meeting? Has this been vetted through the appropriate staff member who can make this decision?” Remember – who knows more about the operations of the office or company that the assistant? The person requesting the meeting may not be aware of office protocol.
Face it – people are passionate about their work. Let’s review this scenario:
Mark is the product manager for a software development company. He has developed a product that will reduce the amount of toner needed to print a document. This is not only good for the environment, but it will also be a revenue generator for the company. Full of pride and enthusiasm he wants to give the executive a preview. The executive loves the product and says he is looking forward to the launch of the software.
Mark goes back to his office feeling good about his meeting. He shares with his boss the follow up from his meeting with the executive. His manager is angry for being excluded fro the meeting, especially since the new software has not been through the new product approval process.
There are times that managers with good intentions break protocol and solicit the approval of the executive. This can be a slippery slope if there is a clearly defined process that is being circumvented. But remember, no matter how proactive you are in this process, there will be times when these situations arise. It is what you learn from them and how you adjust your future approach that matter most.
0282 – Appointment Request Template
