The Boss is Away: Executive Assistant Tips for Sharing Files

© Duchess O’Blunt, 2010; all rights reserved.

When your boss is on the move, she will almost invariably need things you have not thought to pack for her. Because it is your job to make her look good, you do your utmost to have all the pertinent information gathered before she leaves, and printed off in nice colored copies if necessary.

Sometimes:

• New information comes to light while she is en-route
• You think of something as you pack up for the night
• It is misplaced, gets drenched in a sudden downpour or gets left in the hotel room
• She needs addition personal information on the people she is meeting
• She decides she needs more background information or a history of their interaction with your company

When she's on the go and in a rush, here are a few tips to give her what she needs quickly.

There are times when contracts are needed that require a signature. It used to be that you would have to "fax" them to the hotel or meeting room of the client. Today, it is relatively easy to PDF it and send it as an attachment with signature in tact.

Many photocopiers today provide the option to scan to PDF. Adobe has a program now that will export documents from word, or excel to a PDF format.

PDF is an acronym that stands for 'Portable Document Format'.  pdf is the file extension used when filing this particular electronic format which was first created by Adobe in 1993.  While it has been proprietary to Adobe, in 2008 it was made an open standard and is now much more accessible.

When you must travel for business, it soon becomes just another day to get through. You soon stop looking forward to hoping from city to city, and become travel weary. The last thing you want to do is tote around the country with you a portable office.

In Part One, I shared how you and your boss can effectively use Calendar Sharing and the mobile phone to eliminate some of the paperwork.

Another very effective way to help make her traveling lighter and easier is electronic file sharing. It is not necessary to carry your important documents on flash sticks, and you do not have to use up mega memory on your laptop. You can use some of the very good services on the internet for file storage, sharing and retrieval. It is a practical solution to the weary wanderer.

SharePoint is a Microsoft program and can be used effectively to share documents while on the road. It was put in place by someone other than myself, so I have learned to use it. It is a bit cumbersome and quite costly but one must use the tools provided.

I am 100% positive there are many other progrmas that will work just as well and are more cost effective. Just knowing that they are out there is a step in the right direction. Do your research and present your Boss with several viable solutions. Make sure you know which one you feel would do the job the most effectively. If you are any good at your job, she will quite often take your recommendations.

This is an important issue and one that you must always keep front and center. Using the internet to store your documents should always be used with caution. Always create strong passwords and NEVER give them out to anyone.

One would think that sensitive information would be safest on a flash stick that doesn't store information on any hard drive or on the airways. While this thought does have merit, remember they are very small and can easily by lost or forgotten. Even putting them on your key chain or around your neck is not a safeguard against loss or theft.

One of the easiest ways to create a .pdf document is to use a photocopier that has the capability to scan the document into a pdf. This can easily be sent via email. However, one final word of caution with respect to security. Every photocopier has a hard drive and every thing you copy or scan is saved on that hard drive. When you think about all the types of documents you have copied or scanned, that can be a very serious security risk when you decide it is time to trash your copier, or trade it in for a new one.

Always remove the information on the hard drive.

Many of today's copiers provide an option to have the hard drive wiped with every copy or scan made. That ability is generally costly - but so completely worth it.

The ability to work from just about anywhere, on just about any device, and at any time. Microsoft has produced Office 365 and boasts all of these things. You can use your phone, your PC and just about any browser. This new software works with what you already know with Microsoft office.

There are many other similar programs out there and it would be prudent to research them to find a fit for your situation.  Always be ready with information on the newer technologies.  

Combine cloud computing with all the different types of video conferencing, and you have ways to communicate while the boss is away that we never would have dreamed of - even just a few years ago.

Video conferencing can be as easy and as cheap as the free version of Skype that allows for free Skype to Skype calls. I love this for keeping in touch when I have to be away. They also provide the ability - for a cost - to use their Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology with their video ability for video conferencing with several people if necessary.

For more advanced conferencing, where you need to share the information with several people at once from the information on your computer, consider something like GoToMeeting or similar services with your phone service providers.

These are all ways to help shorten the distance between you and your boss when she is out of town. Don't forget the conventional ways of email and phone calls. They always work best in most situations. When the time arrives and you need the newer technologies - ensure you are ahead of the game and have information available to make this happen. Perhaps, be the one to suggest these opportunities.

This series on Executive Assistants is all about doing your job, and doing it very well. Remember that everything you do reflects on your boss. Do your job well, and your boss gets where she needs to be, when she needs to be there, with all of the tools she requires to do her job well. Keep that thought in the back of you head at all times. Do your job well, and you won't need to be looking for a new one any time soon. Keeping your boss up to date and on time will ensure she is happy with your work.

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