What are the Best Microsoft Office Skills for an Executive Assistant

An Executive Assistant should be tech-savvy because they handle a wide range of administrative and business tasks. An EA is not just a calendar manager or gatekeeper of meetings; they constantly utilise technology to multitask across various areas. They should be highly skilled across Microsoft Office. This will enable them to deliver their daily tasks efficiently. We have spoken to the tutors from the Institute of Executive Assistants and Administrators to clarify what is needed for an Executive Assistant.

Microsoft Office Skills for an Executive Assistant

Excel is increasingly in demand among Executive Assistants. In recent years, Executive Assistants have been asked to perform more data analysis and collate reports using Excel objects. Generally, Executive Assistants will need to be able to use functions such as SUMIF, VLOOKUP, XLOOKUP, PivotTables, Conditional formatting, Charting and data validation. Each EA will find that they need to use different parts of Excel depending on their job requirements. However, Advanced Excel skills are growing in demand.

Outlook for Diary and Email Management

Outlook is the core programme for EAs and PAs. It is the main system for work planning, email communication and scheduling. Executive Assistants will need to master folders, rules and flags. Diary management for your Executive is essential, which means that synchronising multiple calendars is necessary. EAs will use Outlook all day. Experienced EAs always ace our Outlook Advanced Exam. You can use Outlook for scheduling meetings, tracking invitations, and sorting emails by priority.

Word and PowerPoint

Word is losing its position of importance to PowerPoint, as more EAs are focused on creating visual presentations and management packs. However, Word still enables Executive Assistants to develop documents with flawless formatting, utilise templates, track changes and apply styles. PowerPoint is now vital. Many EAs collate management packs and edit the final presentations. This means that EAs need to know slide masters, animations and alignment tools.  PowerPoint is essential to ensure that you do not struggle with high-profile presentations.

Office 365 Environment

SharePoint is the key to modern filing and document sharing. An Executive Assistant needs to understand the libraries, permissions and version control. SharePoint site ownership is common and you must understand how to keep organised and compliant. SharePoint is closely linked to Office 365. Now, all EAs should be able to utilise all the functions within the Office 365 environment.

Teams is a major system for an EA. Advanced Teams users will be able to manage channels, meetings, shared files and chat etiquette. You will need to add Copilot to use prompts that can automate tasks. You will be able to summarise emails, generate reports, draft agendas, create meeting minutes, and much more.

Finally, there is Power BI, which is used to create real-time dashboards. You need to have advanced Excel skills to use Power BI. Microsoft Visio is another programme for creating visuals. EAs can also use Microsoft Project in more project-based roles. However, these three programmes are less common for EAs, but offer interesting options.

In essence, the best executive assistant isn’t just using Microsoft Office; they’re conducting it. Each program becomes an instrument, and together, they create harmony from the endless noise of work.