How do you structure a growing Success team?

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Miranda Balcar
Miranda Balcar Member Posts: 21 Navigator
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edited April 2023 in Root

Hi all!

I'd like some insight into Success team structures. We've seen a lot of changes at my company recently, and I want to make sure we're set up well.

I'm currently the Director of Success at EverCheck with a team of 5 mid-market and SMB CSMs as well as 3 enterprise CSMs. We recently joined with our sister company, CE Broker, and today we're announcing an acquisition, both of which have their own Success teams coming under me now.

What's a healthy structure in terms of supervisors/leads/managers or other supporting staff on Success teams of 15+ people?

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  • Michelle Wideman
    Michelle Wideman Member Posts: 54 Navigator
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    @Miranda Balcar, in emerging regions I've typically had one leader that was over the entire team that would be a mix of smb, mid-market, and enterprise CSMs. As the team grows I'd put a regional leader in place(EMEA, NA, APAC) that would have a manager of smb, mid-market, and enterprise CSMs reporting up to them. Until the team is large enough to justify a manager over each team, I've typically had one manager over smb and mid-market and a different leader over enterprise CSMs. For start-ups I try to keep the manager to individual contributor ratios smaller, for you're hiring people quickly and folks need more TLC, also the managers usually have to handle strategic projects as well. As you grow, the managers can handle more individual contributors given the team is more senior and you start to build out an operations team that can take on special projects.

  • Miranda Balcar
    Miranda Balcar Member Posts: 21 Navigator
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    That's really helpful @Michelle Wideman. I was contemplating a "team lead" over mid-market & SMB and a different one over enterprise. Then, I'll likely need 2 additional team leads over our two newer product lines until we segment out those customers.

    An operations team seems like a good step at this point!

  • Chad Horenfeldt
    Chad Horenfeldt Member Posts: 57 Expert
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    There are other factors too. How will roles change? What does growth look like? What tech is needed? It’s a good opportunity to review your overall approach and ensure that you’ve considered the roles and responsibilities. For example, have you considered digital customer success? Adding more CSMs / leads may not be the answer. Happy to chat further. 

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