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Executive support risk management research

How executive support teams can reduce risk around access, documents, calendars, stakeholder communication, and follow up.

4 min readHireExecutiveTeam research

Key takeaway Risk management in executive support starts with access boundaries, documented escalation rules, and reliable records.

Executive support risk management research research illustration

Where risk appears

Executive support touches sensitive calendars, correspondence, documents, records, and information requests. Each area needs clear access and escalation rules. [1][2]

Risk increases when support is informal, when instructions live only in chat, or when confidential stakeholder communication has no review boundary. [3]

Control points

Control points include permission tiers, named approvers, secure document locations, response templates, travel profile handling, inbox labels, and a clear path for unusual requests. [2]

AI assisted workflows should also have rules. Summaries and drafts can save time, but sensitive content needs human judgment and restricted access. [4][3]

Make risk visible

Track exceptions such as missed approvals, access confusion, late document changes, unclear owners, and follow ups that require executive reconstruction. [5]

A helpful research page should give prospective clients concrete questions to ask before giving a support role high trust access. [6][7]

Sources

  1. Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook.
  2. Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, O*NET OnLine.
  3. 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report, Microsoft and LinkedIn.
  4. The economic potential of generative AI, McKinsey Global Institute.
  5. Dear Manager, You Are Holding Too Many Meetings, Harvard Business Review.
  6. Creating helpful, reliable, people first content, Google Search Central.
  7. Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide, Google Search Central.
  8. Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
  9. Business Formation Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau.
  10. Nonfarm Business Sector: Labor Productivity, Federal Reserve Economic Data.
  11. Productivity Statistics, OECD Data Explorer.
  12. World Development Indicators, World Bank DataBank.
  13. ILOSTAT Labour Statistics, International Labour Organization.

Apply the research

Use the finding to frame one question for your own team: which support work is currently invisible, and who should own the next step? A scoped consultation can turn that question into a practical role.

Turn the finding into a support scope.

Bring the workflow that feels hardest to see. We will help define the role, the evidence it should maintain, and the decisions that stay with leadership.

Talk through the role
On this page
  1. Where risk appears
  2. Control points
  3. Make risk visible
  4. Sources
  5. Apply the research