I will be acting EA to the CEO – what should I ask for during handover?

Good luck in the new position (even if it is only for 4 months, it is great experience for your CV) 😊

For any handover I would definitely prepare a list of questions you may be unsure of that she can answer for you.  Below are some of the items I would ask:

1. Is the CEO planning any travel in the 4 months – either international or local?
   1. Copy of Passport and relevant Visas/ ID
   2. Preferred hotels/airlines
   3. Seating Preference / meal preferences
   4. Any loyalty numbers for airlines/car hire
   5. Class of car hire allowed and preference if any
2. Access to the CEO’s calendar to be arranged so that you can see what is happening and for planning and booking meetings
3. List of any meetings requested that have not been scheduled as yet
4. Access to contacts in outlook
5. How to submit expense claims if any and training on the system if required
6. Copy of an organogram to see who reports to whom within his Exec Team and company if required for the position and you will be dealing with other managers
7. His wife’s contact details (in case you need to call her for any reason)
8. Does the EA have a “manual” or “handover document” where she details her duties, if not ask for a list of her duties and responsibilities and from there you will have further questions
9. List of caterers used for lunches etc you need to order for the office
10. List of preferred restaurants for any possible business lunches to schedule
11. List of usernames/passwords for any sites you will have to log into for his stuff
12. Map the drives on your pc to folders you will require access to (IT)
13. Any templates she has that she uses
14. External client database contact lists
15. Access to MS Teams if you use that platform and training on how to use it if you do not already know
16. Are there any reports she prepares and if so who she gets the data from and copies of previous one to use as a template
17. Does he have enough business cards for that period?
18. Supplier for flowers / gifts in case you need to send on behalf of the company
19. How he drinks his coffee – seems simple and not sure if you will make but I always greet my CEO with a cup of coffee on his desk in the mornings and everytime I go make myself I offer him some.
20. How to use the office equipment if you do not know, like printers etc.. – we have a “follow me” printing system that we use tags at any printer and can access our print jobs.
21. Contacts for IT should anything go wrong with your CEO’s laptop etc (after hours emergency contact as well)
22. Not sure if you will need it but I have attached a template for personal information for the CEO that she can fill out for you.
23. Copy of the staff contact list

Those are basics I can think of that I use quite often and I am sure you will have lot of them on your list already.

If you are going to perform any personal duties for him, you will need contacts for those people as well.

Joann 
askjoann@opsa.org.za