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Tech Startups › Customer Success team › Onboarding and Implementation Specialist

Your Onboarding Specialist, explained in plain English.

An Onboarding and Implementation Specialist gets new customers set up and using your product quickly. They guide the first steps, help with set up and make sure customers reach the moment they see why they signed up.

No tech background needed. This guide explains the role in plain English: what it is, when you need it, what to expect and how to choose the right Volunteer.
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In plain English

What does a Onboarding Specialist do for you?

“

Think of someone who helps you move into a new home.

You chose the house. They help you unpack, connect the essentials and find where everything is, so it feels like home in days rather than months.

1

Speeds up the start

New customers set up and using the product sooner.

2

Guides the first steps

A clear plan for each customer's first weeks.

3

Removes early obstacles

Finds where people get stuck and fixes it.

When you need one

Signs it is time to bring one in.

If two or more of these sound familiar, add this role to your Customer Success team.

Bring one in when

  • ✓New customers take weeks to start using the product
  • ✓Set up questions take up your time
  • ✓Some customers sign up and never log in again
  • ✓Sales promises a smooth start that does not happen
  • ✓Your product needs data, settings or integrations to be set up

You can wait if

  • …Your product is simple enough that customers start without help
What they own

Four areas a Onboarding Specialist takes off your plate.

01

Welcome and kick-off

The first conversation and a plan for each new customer.

02

Set up

Accounts, settings, data and integrations ready to use.

03

First weeks checklist

The steps every customer completes to reach value.

04

Handover

A smooth transfer to the Customer Success Manager.

What to expect

Across a 60 Volunteer day term.

Volunteers give up to three hours a day, Monday to Friday, over three months or more. Daily and weekly updates keep you informed, and rapid feedback from you in the first two weeks makes the biggest difference.

1
✦

Weeks 1 and 2

Learns the product, maps the first steps a new customer takes and joins early onboarding calls. Expect daily updates and give rapid feedback.

2
▤

By mid term

A repeatable onboarding checklist and new customers started without your help.

3
★

By day 60

Faster starts for new customers, documented steps and a handover so the next Specialist can continue.

Choosing the right Volunteer

What to ask, and what to look for.

You do not need to be an expert to recruit well. Use these questions at interview and listen for the signs below.

Questions to ask

  • ?How would you plan the first two weeks for a new customer?
  • ?Tell me about a set up that went wrong. What did you learn?
  • ?How do you know a customer is ready to be handed over?
  • ?How would you write a set up guide for non technical users?

Good signs

  • ✓Organised and methodical
  • ✓Explains technical steps simply
  • ✓Follows up until the customer is live

Red flags

  • ✕Does the set up for customers without teaching them
  • ✕Skips checking what Sales promised
  • ✕Has no clear checklist or plan
Your part as a Tech Founder

Give them this, and they deliver from Day 1.

  • ✓A clear picture of what a successful first month looks like
  • ✓Access to the product and set up tools
  • ✓Introductions to new customers
  • ✓A contact in Sales for what was promised
  • ✓A signed Volunteer Agreement before they start
FAQ

Questions Tech Founders ask.

Is onboarding part of Sales or Customer Success? +
Usually Customer Success. Sales hands over the new customer and the Onboarding Specialist takes them from sign up to first value.
Do they need technical skills? +
Some products need technical set up, others do not. Describe what set up involves in your Opportunity so the right Volunteers apply.
Which plan do I need? +
Customer Success sits within the Advanced (GTM) plan. See the Customer Success team page.
How much does it cost to recruit this role? +
Volunteers give their time for experience, not pay. You subscribe to the Advanced (GTM) plan at £250 a month or £2,500 a year, which lets you recruit up to 100 Volunteer team members across Marketing, Sales and Customer Success. See the plans.
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Ready to recruit your Onboarding Specialist?

Create your company account, list an Opportunity with the matching template and start meeting Volunteers this week.