Onboarding Tips - Week 51

Week 51 | Idea 51 | Actively manage your "Longboardings"

First, credit where it is due : Thank you Kyle Heffrin for introducing us to "Longboarding" as the name for any implementations that drag on for much longer than planned ??. Anything that needs attention needs a name of its own.

Implementations that drag on for over 150% of the planned length of your onboarding journey pose a huge risk for your momentum. The customer is unhappy, hasn't gotten to value on time, doesn't have visibility into why things are running so late, loses trust in your ability to work well with them as a partner, and may churn at the first opportunity. All the energy your team put into signing that customer goes wasted, and it also causes some fear and negative sentiment in your team overall.

Here are some steps you need to take to actively manage your Longboardings:

• Create a clear portfolio view of all onboarding projects that are delayed by over 15% of your planned duration, ordered by age

• As part of your regular standup meeting for the onboarding / implementation team, ensure you are digging into the Longboardings at least once every 2 weeks, to discuss the status, risks, and how to move them forward.
• When a project crosses 15% delay from the planned duration, ensure that a leader from your team is in communication with the exec sponsor and key stakeholders on the customer side, transparently reporting about: (1) the fact that there has been a delay in your go-live, (2) what caused the delay (without blaming people), (3) how you intend to make progress from here, and (4) the updated launch date. (Ideally this should be done the moment your team realised you won't be going live on time, and that there may be X weeks of work still left - so it isn't a post facto surprise)
• If mismatched customer expectations on scope or product capabilities are leading to delays, we need to ensure a leader helps reset the expectations and resets the project plan to enable a timely go-live, and has a honest conversation to ensure the customer understands what they really bought.
• Review all status updates and other customer communication with such accounts to learn or to coach your teams on how the problem could have potentially been prevented. Talk to the sponsors and champions on the customer side, so you understand how they feel at that juncture. This also helps you show that you care about how they are feeling about the partnership.

Remember to be in a problem-solving mode rather than a "blaming" mode when you approach Longboardings. It doesn't matter what the reason is, but you haven't launched with your customer or gotten to value on time. Take responsibility, and lay down the path forward! It is fair to call out reasons for the delay, but try not to make it about the people.

Have any inputs or suggestions to manage your Longboardings better? Add a comment or DM me :)