Unlike onboarding a new employee, the client onboarding process is often an all hands on deck situation with everyone playing a vital and distinct role. But how do you know which person will ultimately be responsible for which onboarding task? Take a look at these four essential client onboarding roles as a guide for an organized, fast, and easy onboarding process.
Executive Sponsor
The executive sponsor is on the customer-side of the sale. They’re the check-signers. They might not be directly involved with the onboarding, but it’s important for them to be kept in the know. Here’s why:
- They know where their money is going.
- Expectations are clear.
- They can update other important figures about the onboarding process.
Lead Project Manager
The lead project manager is on the seller’s side. They’re a part of the B2B company selling the product or service to the customer. This person assigns out tasks and leads the app owner and their users through the onboarding process. This is also the main point of contact for the roles on the customer side.
It’s important to have one person for this role. Otherwise, it can be confusing and sometimes tedious to get questions answered when there are multiple points of contact. There can be other project managers to help the lead project manager. However, it’s still important to have one point of contact––hence, the lead project manager.
The lead project manager is also referred to as a customer experience manager, onboarding manager, or implementation manager. The two latter terms are usually in cases for bigger companies who have designated client onboarding roles.
App Owner
Sometimes for smaller companies, the application owner can also be the executive sponsor. The app owner is the person in charge of the onboarding on the customer side. This person is also in charge of making sure the users of the new software or product have access to the onboarding process.
IT
Someone who’s familiar with technology on the customer’s side is important especially for integrations. This person should be familiar with domain authentication and the ins and outs of any software related to the customer. It’s always better to involve someone who knows the technology than try to look it up on Google.
An IT person can have an immaculate difference especially if you have an onboarding software. Most client onboarding softwares have integrations that help speed up manual processes. With that, some also have an open API, which allows for the integration of any software. It also means it’s a more complicated process that’s best done with an IT person.
When it comes to who’s involved in onboarding clients, it’s actually very simple. Most companies already have these employees––it’s just a matter of bringing them together.
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