Diary management is one of my favourite services as I love nothing more than taking the stress and headache of arranging meetings away from my clients.
In fact, I recently asked one of my clients:
“How much easier has your life been since you hired a Virtual Assistant to help you manage your diary?”
Her response? LIFE CHANGING. Now that’s what I like to hear 😀
But if I was to ask you “what is diary management” would you know what it is?
- Someone to book appointments? Yes
- Someone to add appointments into your calendar? Yes
- Someone organising your diary? Yes
- Someone giving me reminders? Yes
However, diary Management involves so much more than just the points I’ve listed above.
Yes I do all those things but in order to get the appointments into the diary I also need to do a lot of ground work which involves planning, organising, researching and communicating.
What does diary management involve?
I don’t just book meetings, I also book calls (which can involve setting up Zoom), webinars, holidays, hotel stays, flight details, events, speaking events, placeholders, block out personal time, exercise, personal appointments, client work… the list goes on.
With each appointment that goes into the calendar, a lot of work goes into organising and finalising it. The client will also receive travel confirmations into her inbox, ticket confirmations, event agendas and full comprehensive details.
I always add all of these details into each calendar appointment so that when my client is reminded of an upcoming appointment she can open it up and all the information she needs will immediately be to hand
My client said the best thing so far about having a Virtual Assistant to manage her diary is that things just happen! Train tickets appear in her inbox, ticket confirmations for events come in and the additional support on other business admin is massively helpful as some of those things can be a real time sink.
How does diary management work?
I will refer to my client again as she’s a good candidate for diary management. We have a great working relationship and she is such a great communicator that working with her diary is easy.
This is how diary management works for us and it can work for you too:
- When I began working with my client she shared her calendar and gave me editing rights so I had the ability to add, edit and cancel meetings on her behalf.
- Once an email conversation turns to arranging a meeting my client cc’s me. She will say something along the lines of “I’m looping in my assistant Kellie who can liaise with my diary to find a convenient time slot”.
- I check the calendar and send over various dates and times. Sometimes emails can go back and forth various times until we find a date and time that suits everyone.
- If my client asks me to arrange a trip I will research flights and hotels and once booked I will ensure the hotel is blocked out from check in to check out.
- For flights I will block out the flight time, add all details including flight no, time of departure, terminal and a screenshot of the booking. I will also book out travel time to/from the airport.
- If my client loops me into an email asking me to arrange a date and time for lunch, I will firstly find a convenient time slot. I would then find out the location of the third party in order to find a suitable restaurant in a location that works well for all parties. The restaurant is booked and confirmation details are put straight into the calendar.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to hire a Virtual Assistant to manage their diary?
I asked my client this and here are her words:
“Ooh this is a good one. I hired a VA in 2018 when I knew that 2019 was going to be busy ahead of 2020 being really busy! This has helped me make sure I get used to having the help and ways of working so I would plan ahead.
You also have to find the right one for you, much like any client relationship, it can often be about personality and ways of working so take time to find the right one.
And if you’re not sure, just do it. Nothing bad will happen, you’ll suddenly have time back, feel supported and have someone to help. Sometimes it’s about taking the leap and as someone who likes control, this has been surprisingly easy and incredibly valuable.”
To find out more about diary management and how it works, have a read of my blog: How to manage your calendar like an organised pro.
Hiring a Virtual Assistant – where to start?
If you need to hire a Virtual Assistant but don’t know where to start then I would also recommend you download my FREE guide “A business owner’s step by step guide to hiring a Virtual Assistant”. This guide includes:
- Outsourcing exercise – helping you to identify what tasks to outsource
- Skillset – helping you to identify the right expertise or talent needed in order to complete a job or task
- Job description – helping you to attract the right Virtual Assistant
- Questions to ask a Virtual Assistant
And of course I love to help you with your diary management so please, if you’re interested in finding out more or you want a FREE 20 minute chat, please contact me here.
