October 22, 2024

"What's in it for me?"

Malin Skoglund

VP, Customer Success

A Discussion on Change Management from Planhat Open

At Planhat Open, we hosted a group of leaders to discuss Change Management in Customer Success. The main theme? "What's in it for me?"—a question that became central to our discussions.

In this article, we’ll unpack some of the most important takeaways from these sessions— how to drive effective change and align incentives to make change stick.

Why Change Management Matters

Change in Customer Success isn’t just about adopting new processes—it’s about aligning behaviors with business outcomes. This involves intentional planning, clear communication, and crafting systems that motivate people to adopt change.

The challenge for CS leaders? Getting people to embrace the change you need for your organization to grow. And to do that, you need to answer: What’s in it for them?

Key Lessons:
1. Motivating Change Through Recognition and Compensation

As one participant pointed out, “everyone is coin-operated.” People are motivated by two main factors: recognition and money. Customer success leaders need to align compensation plans with what employees can control—rewarding the behaviors that drive outcomes, such as retention, onboarding success, and product upsells.

  • Align incentives with control: Compensation should reflect tasks the team can directly influence. For example, one CSM was incentivized with 20% of the ARR saved from cancellations—motivating them to achieve a 40-60% save rate.

  • Reward desired behaviors: Small incentives—whether competitions or rewards like merchandise—can encourage team members to adopt new behaviors, such as logging activities or improving handoffs.

Takeaway: People will support change when they see how it benefits them personally and professionally.

2. Start Small, Build Success

Launching a change initiative can be overwhelming, so the group emphasized starting small and scaling gradually. This aligns with the idea of “scaffolded adoption,” where leaders focus on success within a small group of early adopters before rolling out changes more broadly.

  • Tiger team strategy: Begin with a small, flexible team. These early adopters not only validate the new process but also evangelize its success to others.

  • Scaffold your rollout: Roll out the change in phases—focusing on 30/60/90-day goals or smaller milestones to build momentum.

Takeaway: Success breeds success. By starting with a focused rollout, you can build a track record that convinces the broader team to follow suit.

3. Intentional Communication and C-Suite Buy-In

Change doesn’t happen in isolation—it requires alignment across departments and buy-in from leadership. Leaders need to clearly communicate the purpose of change and how it aligns with business objectives.

  • 'What’s in It for me' campaign: This strategy focuses on "selling the change" to internal teams, communicating the benefits in clear terms with each department.

  • C-suite support is key: Leadership must set expectations and provide open forums—like office hours—to address questions and ensure alignment.

  • Cross-department collaboration: Leverage tools like Planhat to bridge the gap between departments, helping sales, marketing, and customer success teams stay aligned.

Takeaway: Clear communication and leadership alignment create the foundation for smooth change management. Leaders must demonstrate how the change helps everyone succeed, not just the company.

4. Use Strengths to Drive Adoption

One of the most compelling stories from the session was about leveraging individual strengths. One guest shared how they assigned a retention specialist to handle high-risk accounts. This specialist, motivated by their compensation structure, saved 40-60% of customers at risk of cancellation.

Takeaway: Identifying and utilizing your team’s strengths can make a world of difference when driving change. Assigning the right people to the right roles, and rewarding them accordingly, ensures change initiatives stay on track.

5. The Role of KPIs and Gamification in Change Management

To sustain change, teams need measurable goals and systems that reward progress. Gamifying key initiatives—through competitions or checklists—can make the process more engaging.

  • Define clear KPIs: Establish KPIs that are directly linked to the desired change, ensuring each team member understands how their success is measured.

  • Celebrate milestones: Publicly recognizing milestones, whether internally or with customers, reinforces positive behaviors.

Takeaway: Measurement and celebration create momentum. Teams need to see progress and feel recognized along the way to stay motivated.

Final Thoughts: Change Is a Leadership Responsibility

Our discussion highlighted that successful change doesn’t happen by accident. Leaders must take an intentional approach, creating systems, incentives, and structures that align with business goals and team motivations. As one participant put it, “Things don’t happen by chance; they happen because you make sure they happen.”

Malin Skoglund

VP, Customer Success

Malin Skoglund has 15 years of experience as a sales and customer success SaaS leader. She's scaled businesses from earlier stages all the way through IPO, across different countries and continents. She's built and ran 100+ member global organizations. Malin is a commercial no-nonsense leader who has a knack for building and managing high performing teams.

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