Skip to content This library is free, offered as dana. If it helps your work, donate here →
penguin tree ai
← back to libraryDonate here

This is one of 3,622 free prompts in the penguin tree ai library. Sign up once and the whole library opens, with new prompts by email.

open the library →

Executive workload & support coverage tracker

Assesses executive-to-ABP support ratios across a team, scores each executive's support load against a weighted demand model, flags over-leveraged assistants and under-supported executives, surfaces…

download .md

Purpose

Turn a roster of executives and their assigned admin business partners (ABPs) into a quantified coverage map — scoring each support relationship by workload demand, flagging assistants carrying more than they can sustain, identifying executives without adequate support, and exposing coverage gaps where a single absence would leave someone stranded. Produces a rebalancing plan an operations manager can act on this quarter.

When to Use

Invoke this skill when the user asks to:

  • Assess whether executive-to-ABP support ratios are right-sized across the team
  • Diagnose which admin business partners are over-leveraged or at burnout risk
  • Identify executives who are under-supported or sharing an assistant who's stretched thin
  • Plan ABP or EA headcount ahead of a hire, reorg, or busy season
  • Build a PTO/absence backup plan so no executive loses coverage when their ABP is out
  • Justify a support-staff hiring request with a workload-based rationale

Inputs Required

Before starting, collect:

  • Executive roster: List of executives supported, with title/level (C-suite, SVP, VP, Director) for each
  • ABP assignments: Which admin business partner is assigned to which executive(s), including any shared or pooled coverage
  • ABP roster: Names/count of admin business partners, plus each one's FTE status and tenure (new <6mo / established) if known
  • Workload signals per executive: Any available indicators — travel frequency, meeting volume, direct reports, external-facing intensity, board/investor involvement, expense/project coordination load
  • Known pain points: Any executives or ABPs the user already flags as strained, or recent complaints/escalations
  • Coverage expectations: Team norms — is 1:1 the standard, is pooling acceptable, what's the target ratio if one exists
  • Time horizon: Current state only, or planning for an upcoming change (hire, departure, busy season, reorg)

If workload signals are sparse, default to scoring by executive level (C-suite = highest demand) and note that the scores are level-based estimates pending real activity data.

Instructions

Step 1: Build the Executive Demand Score

Assign each executive a Support Demand Score (1–10) using a weighted model. Score each factor, then combine:

  • Seniority weight (0–3): C-suite = 3, SVP/EVP = 2.5, VP = 2, Director = 1
  • Travel/logistics load (0–2): Frequent travel or complex scheduling = 2; occasional = 1; none = 0
  • Meeting/calendar intensity (0–2): Heavily booked, multi-stakeholder calendar = 2; moderate = 1; light = 0
  • External/board exposure (0–2): Board, investor, or high-profile external work = 2; some external = 1; internal-only = 0
  • Coordination breadth (0–1): Large org, many direct reports, cross-functional projects = 1; contained = 0

Sum to a 0–10 Demand Score. Label each: High (7–10) / Moderate (4–6) / Low (0–3).

Step 2: Calculate ABP Load

For each admin business partner, sum the Demand Scores of every executive they support. This is their Total Load.

  • Apply a capacity benchmark of ~10 Demand points per full-time ABP as the sustainable ceiling (adjust for FTE — a 0.5 FTE ceiling is ~5).
  • Apply a new-ABP discount: partners with <6 months tenure operate at ~70% capacity — treat their ceiling as 7 points.
  • Compute Utilization = Total Load ÷ Adjusted Ceiling.

Step 3: Flag Over-Leverage and Under-Support

Classify every ABP by utilization:

  • Over-leveraged (>110%): At burnout risk — flag red, explain which executive(s) push them over
  • Well-loaded (80–110%): Healthy — flag green
  • Under-utilized (<80%): Has bandwidth — flag as a candidate to absorb reallocation

Then classify the executive side:

  • Under-supported: A High-demand executive sharing an over-leveraged ABP, or any High-demand exec on pooled/partial coverage
  • Well-matched: Demand and support are proportionate
  • Over-served: A Low-demand executive with dedicated full-time coverage (a reallocation opportunity)

Step 4: Run the Coverage Gap Analysis

Identify structural fragility, independent of workload:

  • Single points of failure: Any High-demand executive whose ABP has no designated backup — a single absence strands them
  • No-redundancy pairs: Any ABP whose knowledge/relationships aren't shared with anyone else
  • Concentration risk: Cases where one ABP covers multiple High-demand executives — a single departure creates multi-executive exposure
  • Pooling gaps: Where shared coverage means no one owns an executive's critical continuity

Step 5: Build the Rebalancing Plan

Produce a ranked set of moves (3–7 recommendations), each stating:

  1. The specific problem it solves (which ABP or executive, which flag)
  2. The move (reassign executive X from ABP A to ABP B, add a backup, split a pooled arrangement, or trigger a hire)
  3. The projected utilization for affected ABPs after the move
  4. Effort/disruption level (Low / Medium / High)

If total team Demand exceeds total adjusted capacity, state the headcount gap explicitly (e.g., "team is 6 Demand points over capacity — ~0.6 FTE short") and recommend a hire with the workload rationale.

Step 6: Build the PTO Backup Matrix

For every executive, name a primary ABP and a designated backup. Where no viable backup exists given current staffing, flag it as an unresolved gap and note what the rebalancing plan or a hire would fix.

Output Format

  • Structure: Executive demand table → ABP load & utilization table → flagged issues (over-leverage, under-support, coverage gaps) → ranked rebalancing plan → PTO backup matrix
  • Length: 800–1,200 words plus tables
  • Format: Tables for the demand scores, ABP utilization, and backup matrix; ranked list for recommendations; brief prose for flags and rationale
  • Sections: Executive Demand Scores → ABP Load & Utilization → Flags (Over-Leveraged / Under-Supported / Coverage Gaps) → Rebalancing Plan → PTO Backup Matrix → Headcount Assessment (if applicable)
  • Tone: Operations manager to operations manager — quantified, decisive, and staff-aware; names workload strain plainly without alarmism

Quality Checklist

Before delivering output, verify:

  • [ ] Every executive on the roster has a Demand Score with its component breakdown shown
  • [ ] Every ABP has a Total Load, an adjusted ceiling, and a utilization percentage
  • [ ] Every over-leveraged ABP flag names the specific executive(s) driving the overload
  • [ ] The coverage gap analysis identifies at least the single-points-of-failure among High-demand executives
  • [ ] Each rebalancing recommendation shows the post-move utilization for affected ABPs
  • [ ] The PTO backup matrix covers every executive with a primary and a backup (or an explicit gap flag)
  • [ ] If capacity is exceeded, the headcount gap is stated as a specific FTE figure, not a vague "consider hiring"

Notes

  • The capacity benchmark (~10 Demand points per FTE) is a starting calibration — if the user's team runs leaner or richer historically, adjust the ceiling and say so.
  • Utilization above 110% for more than a quarter is the strongest predictor of ABP attrition; treat sustained red flags as retention risk, not just a scheduling nuisance.
  • The most common hidden problem is concentration risk, not raw overload — a well-loaded ABP who is the only person who knows two High-demand executives is a bigger organizational risk than a slightly over-leveraged one with a backup.
  • When workload data is thin, deliver the level-based estimate and recommend a two-week calendar/activity pull to confirm the scores before acting on any reassignment.

How to use this skill

This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.

Installing in Claude Code:

  • ~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)
  • <your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md — auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)

Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.

Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:

  1. Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
  2. Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits

For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills