Setting Up for Success in 2021

By Kristen Hayer

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for being a part of The Success League over the past year, and congratulations on surviving a very tough 2020. As we roll into what will hopefully be a much better year (looking at you, 2021!) I thought I’d offer some advice on setting up your team for success in the coming year.

One thing we’ve all learned from 2020 is that working from home is no joke. I’m normally on the road a lot, so 2020 was substantially more of a work-from-home year than any other in my professional life. I learned a few things and I noticed a few things. Here’s my advice to the customer success professionals who will be working from home in 2021 and beyond (even if it is just part time): 

INVEST IN EQUIPMENT

I get it - you had to hide from your home-schooling children in a broom closet this year in order to get anything done. I can’t count the number of times my kid walked behind me in the middle of a Zoom meeting to grab something off the screeching printer for school. Or that my German Shepherd loudly alerted me to the fact that the murderer from Amazon had dropped something off on our porch. We were all winging it in 2020. However, now it’s 2021 and we can plan for this stuff. Here is the minimum for a professional work-at-home environment: 

• Reliable WIFI – you need the speed for not just you but your entire family. Schooling from home will go well into 2021. Boost your package if you need to, and ask your company to help you out if needed.
• Good Lighting – there are 2 ways to tackle this. The cheap way is to push your desk or table up against a window and face out. This provides great lighting during the day and has the added benefit of giving you a view of the outdoors. Alternately, you can get a ring light. Clip-on ring lights cost roughly $25, plug into your laptop, and make a huge difference in your appearance on camera. Well worth the investment!
• Clear Sound – do not use your built-in computer audio for sound. At best, your customer will hear every bark or scream in the background. At worst, they won’t be able to hear you at all! A wired headset that plugs into your computer provides clear audio with minimal background noise. If you think that the earmuff style makes you look silly, earbuds work just fine as long as they are wired – you can’t always count on the Bluetooth ones to stay connected. Jabra has great options under $100. 

Of course, there are plenty of other bells and whistles you can add to this setup – Krisp for limiting background noise, Zoom settings for smoothing out your skin (a personal favorite), or a nanny for keeping your kids and animals away from your workspace. The list above is just the minimum, and personally, I think it is the responsibility of your company to ensure that you have this basic set of tools. 

FIND THE BALANCE

I am still struggling with this – I’m writing this blog post at 8:45pm. That said, I did take an hour to make dinner with my kid, talk about our respective days, and text my husband (who is much better at work-life balance, and currently on a motorcycle trip). Working from home results in work-life bleed. To find balance, here are a few ideas:

• Know Your Optimal Work Times – I get my best work done early in the morning, or late at night. That is when I can focus, and that’s when I’m least interrupted. I’ve learned that if I need to get something done I need to schedule it before 9am or after 7pm. Some people only work best before noon, and anything they do after that is terrible. Other folks are night owls who work best after dark. Customer success is a daytime job, with customers who need help during standard business hours, but understanding your body clock can help you determine when to work on the deep work and side projects that are often a part of the job.
• Set Solid Start and Finish Times – Once you know your optimal work times, you can set your start and finish times. I’ve used Calendly to my advantage in this area. If you try to get a meeting with me before 8am Pacific, no way! First, I won’t have had enough coffee to have a decent conversation, and second, I want to work on my projects before I start talking to people. Tools like Calendly, that help you set limits on your calendar, also help you set good work-life boundaries.
• Close the Door – I am lucky to now have an actual home office with an actual door. That wasn’t the case for many years, so I had to develop some habits that helped me “close the door” on my day. I created a series of rituals. Every day, I would get up, shower and dress like I was going into an office, even if I was just going to the basement. Then, when I was done for the day, I would shut off my computer and shut off the lights and walk upstairs. This was my “commute”. Those rituals helped me keep myself professional, while also helping me create boundaries around my work. Recently I’ve been reading about “fake commutes” (cool idea, look it up) which is another alternative. 

Find what works for you, since this will be individual to your preferred work times, family situation, and home office setup. Developing habits in this area will help you find balance and avoid work-life bleed. 

CS Leaders, you can help your teams in a few ways. First, be sure that everyone on your team looks and sounds their best. When they don’t, ask about it and work together on alternatives like repositioning their workspace or providing them with a budget for better wifi. It is your job to make sure they have the tools they need to do their job professionally. Second, coach them on work-life balance. It might be tempting to skip this conversation because it’s kind of personal and might seem invasive, but it is an important part of mental health. I recently reviewed an article on my Reading for Success podcast about how and why to talk about mental health with your employees if you need some tips. 

By investing in your equipment and planning for balance in your schedule, you’ll be set up for success. I wish you all the best in 2021!

The Success League is a customer success consulting firm that offers online training for both Leaders and CSMs, as well as consulting services. Please visit TheSuccessLeague.io for information on our full offerings.