6\.**[CSM to CSE+ Account Transition Process](/handbook/customer-success/csm/segment/cse/csm-to-cse-handover/)**
- Standardized process for transitioning accounts from dedicated CSM to CSE+ pooled support.
@@ -81,8 +77,6 @@ At GitLab, we take customer success seriously, and our Customer Success Engineer
- Maintains customer success continuity during engagement model changes.
-[CSM to CSE+ Account Transition Process](/handbook/customer-success/csm/segment/cse/csm-to-cse-handover/)
### **CSE Operating Rhythm**
The [CSE operating rhythm](/handbook/customer-success/csm/segment/cse/cse-operating-rhythm/) outlines procedures CSEs use to engage with customers as well as how account owners can request CSE engagement outside of the normal operating rhythm during the customer lifecycle.
-**Cadence:** one per account per rolling 90 days (the first quarter of CSE Assigned operation is used to complete the initial full-pass across the entire book).
-**Mandatory sections:** one TL;DR sentence, then an executive overview covering — account basics (product/tier/seats/renewal date), usage summary, support, customer interactions, risk assessment, and proposed next steps.
- Health assessments are **internal-facing only** — they are not customer-facing.
- The output lives in the **Gainsight Timeline** as a Health Update entry — it is not automatically a CTA.
-**Mandatory sections:** one TL;DR sentence, then an executive overview covering account basics (product/tier/seats/renewal date), usage summary, support, customer interactions, risk assessment, and proposed next steps.
- Health assessments are **internal-facing only**, they are not customer-facing.
- The output lives in the **Gainsight Timeline** as a Health Update entry, it is not automatically a CTA.
-**Suggested method:** run an automated data pull (today via [this script](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/customer-success/csmerm/customer-success-engineering/scale-cse/-/tree/main/CSE%20Health%20Assessment?ref_type=heads)), review and augment with your own account knowledge gained from customer interactions and AE/RM catch-ups, then post the TL;DR + executive summary as a Health Update in Gainsight.
-**If usage data isn't in Gainsight:** check whether the instance is set to "Production," ask the customer directly if needed, and use engagement frequency, interactions, and support tickets as signal in the meantime; loop in `#gainsight-users` if something looks technically broken.
-**If usage data isn't in Gainsight:** check whether the instance is set to "Production," ask the customer directly if needed, and use engagement frequency, interactions, and support tickets as signal in the meantime. Reach out in `#gainsight-users` if something looks technically broken.
## CTAs
- CTAs are **not a performance metric** — they exist to structure work and give portfolio visibility.
- CTAs are **not a performance metric**. They exist to structure work and give portfolio visibility.
- A CTA is only opened when a health assessment surfaces follow-up work, or a customer requests guidance on a specific topic. A healthy account with no follow-up needs no CTA.
- Use the **Lifecycle CTA** type for adoption follow-up: one per account per quarter, with each health-assessment follow-up item as a task inside it (not a separate CTA per item). Close with documented outcomes (topics covered, recommendations with links, customer's next actions).
- Use the **Escalation CTA** type for escalations, following the [CSM escalation process](/handbook/customer-success/csm/escalations/):
1. Risk surfaces — health assessment or signal identifies an issue.
2. Immediate flag — notify AE/RM and CSE manager; don't wait.
3. Open Escalation CTA — track in Gainsight following the CSM escalation process.
4. End-to-end ownership — the assigned CSE manages through resolution, with the account team in the loop throughout.
1. Risk surfaces: health assessment or signal identifies an issue.
2. Immediate flag: notify AE/RM and CSE manager; don't wait.
3. Open Escalation CTA: track in Gainsight following the CSM escalation process.
4. End-to-end ownership: the assigned CSE manages through resolution, with the account team in the loop throughout.
- Customer-introduction CTAs are recommended, not mandatory.
## CTA types at a glance
@@ -33,9 +31,9 @@ Beyond Lifecycle and Escalation above, a few other CTA types show up on assigned
| **Escalation** | CSE (via SFDC case) | Customer in a challenging situation — tracked in Gainsight under the At-Risk CTA type |
| **Escalation** | CSE (via SFDC case) | Customer in a challenging situation. Tracked in Gainsight under the At-Risk CTA type |
| **At-Risk / Save Play** | CSE | Renewal risk: a Red Review save-play assignment, low adoption, exec change, or budget-risk signals. If an Escalation CTA already exists for the account, add to it rather than opening a parallel Save Play |
| **Activity** | CSE | Personal follow-up items and reminders — internal-only, not part of portfolio reporting |
| **Activity** | CSE | Personal follow-up items and reminders. Internal-only, not part of portfolio reporting |
| **DAP** | System | Auto-created on a new DAP commitment or near-zero credit burn; CSE owns activation on assigned accounts alongside AE/RM |
| **Onboarding** | System | Auto-created for net-new First Order accounts; CSE is the primary technical contact through kickoff |
| **Digital Journey** | System | Created from a Calendly or digital-touchpoint trigger; review if it lands on an assigned account and escalate to a CSE-led CTA if needed |
@@ -7,26 +7,27 @@ Customer interactions and motion differentiation.
## Customer engagement
CSEs engage customers directly when their work requires it, to validate signals, gather context not available in product data, or advance a risk or enablement action, with the account team kept in the loop. The CSE's health assessment adds to what the account team already knows; it does not duplicate or contradict their account activity.
CSEs engage customers directly when their work requires it, to validate signals, gather context not available in product data, or advance a risk or enablement action, with the account team kept in the loop. The CSE's health assessment adds to what the account team already knows.
An **engagement** is a bounded, topic-scoped body of work with a customer, for example answering a technical question, working through an adoption topic, or resolving a technical issue (but not a break/fix situation, this is for the support team). It typically takes 1-3 interactions (calls, emails, or working sessions), not an ongoing relationship. This is distinct from the mandatory quarterly customer touch below: a touch keeps the account warm, an engagement is a discrete piece of work. CSE Assigned accounts are capped at **three engagements per account per quarter**.
CSEs should not join persistent Slack channels that include customers. Engagements are bounded and topic-scoped by design. A standing customer Slack channel creates an unbounded, always-on relationship that works against that model and blurs the line with Success Tiers coverage. Use email or scheduled calls instead.
> **When a customer does not engage:** the health assessment still proceeds using available data (usage signals, Gainsight history, AE/SA context). Outreach attempts are logged, sentiment is captured, and "lack of customer engagement" is used as the CTA closure reason where applicable. A customer's failure to engage is itself a risk signal in the health assessment.
## CSE Assigned vs. Success Tiers
CSE Assigned and Success Tiers are complementary, not competing. CSE Assigned is a risk-focused, quarterly motion included in the customer's contract. Success Tiers are a paid, high-touch offering. When a customer requests more depth than CSE Assigned delivers, that is a Success Tiers opportunity for the AE — not a scope expansion for the CSE.
CSE Assigned and Success Tiers are complementary, not competing. CSE Assigned is a risk-focused, quarterly motion included in the customer's contract. Success Tiers are a paid, high-touch offering. When a customer requests more depth than CSE Assigned delivers, that is a Success Tiers opportunity for the AE, not a scope expansion for the CSE.
@@ -5,32 +5,32 @@ description: "How CSEs prioritize their book of accounts and structure quarterly
How to prioritize, plan, and deliver each quarter.
> **Coordination with the account team:** CSEs keep a regular catch-up going with their aligned AEs/RMs, at whatever frequency the working relationship needs — no fixed cadence is prescribed for that sync. The only two things mandated on a quarterly (rolling 90-day) basis are the **health assessment** itself and **at least one customer touch**.
> **Coordination with the account team:** CSEs keep a regular catch-up going with their aligned AEs/RMs, at whatever frequency the working relationship needs. No fixed cadence is prescribed for that sync. The only two things mandated on a quarterly (rolling 90-day) basis are the **health assessment** itself and **at least one customer touch**.
## Prioritizing the book of business
Not all ~50 accounts require the same urgency. At the start of each quarter, CSEs stack-rank their book using the following signals, in order of weight. Prioritization determines sequence — every account receives a health assessment by quarter end.
Not all ~50 accounts require the same urgency. At the start of each quarter, CSEs stack-rank their book using the following signals, in order of weight. Prioritization determines sequence. Every account receives a health assessment every 90 days.
1.**Forecast churn or contraction** — any account flagged in Gainsight or by the AE/RM as at risk moves to the top of the queue.
2.**Highest ARR** — larger accounts carry greater retention risk and more impact on results.
3.**Near-term renewals** — accounts renewing within 90 days need a health assessment completed before the renewal conversation.
4.**Worrying adoption patterns** — low or declining usage, no active users on key features, or stalled implementations.
5.**No prior engagement** — accounts with no health assessment on record are prioritized over recently touched accounts.
1.**Forecast churn or contraction**: any account flagged in Gainsight or by the AE/RM as at risk moves to the top of the queue.
2.**Highest ARR**: larger accounts carry greater retention risk and more impact on results.
3.**Near-term renewals**: accounts renewing within 90 days need a health assessment completed before the renewal conversation.
4.**Worrying adoption patterns**: low or declining usage, no active users on key features, or stalled implementations.
5.**No prior engagement**: accounts with no health assessment on record are prioritized over recently touched accounts.
## Quarterly delivery milestones
Target: one health assessment per account per rolling 90 days, with 100% book coverage by end of quarter. A repeatable monthly cycle:
1.**Plan** — select the month's account cohort from the priority stack-rank.
2.**Health Assessment** — run assessments on the cohort; identify risks, adoption gaps, and accounts needing account-team attention.
3.**Align with the account team** — share findings with RM/AE (and SA as relevant) to align on risk, renewals, and which accounts need joint attention. No fixed cadence is prescribed for this — CSEs are expected to keep a regular catch-up going with their aligned AEs/RMs, at whatever frequency the working relationship needs.
4.**Act & Escalate** — open CTAs for follow-up work; escalate risk immediately to the account team and CSE manager.
5.**Report Back** — share outcomes with the account team; hand off growth signals and renewal context.
1.**Plan**: select the month's account cohort from the priority stack-rank.
2.**Health Assessment**: run assessments on the cohort; identify risks, adoption gaps, and accounts needing account-team attention.
3.**Align with the account team**: share findings with RM/AE (and SA as relevant) to align on risk, renewals, and which accounts need joint attention. No fixed cadence is prescribed for this. CSEs are expected to keep a regular catch-up going with their aligned AEs/RMs, at whatever frequency the working relationship needs.
4.**Act & Escalate**: open CTAs for follow-up work; escalate risk immediately to the account team and CSE manager.
5.**Report Back**: share outcomes with the account team; hand off growth signals and renewal context.
### Quarter-level coverage targets
Suggested coverage split across a quarter — 50 accounts total, target 100% by end of Month 3:
Suggested coverage split across a quarter: 50 accounts total, target 100% by end of Month 3:
-**Month 1 — Triage & Top Priority (~20 accounts):** stack-rank the full book of 50; triage highest-ARR accounts for churn/contraction risk immediately; run health assessments on the top-priority cohort; open CTAs for follow-up; escalate risk immediately; share findings and flag growth signals to the account team.
-**Month 2 — Mid-Tier & CTA Execution (~20 accounts):** select the Month 2 cohort, incorporating context from Month 1; complete health assessments for mid-tier accounts; execute on open CTAs from Month 1; update the account team on portfolio health and emerging growth signals.
-**Month 3 — Full Coverage & Close (~10 accounts):** select the final cohort, confirming renewal-risk accounts and quarter-end priorities; complete health assessments for remaining accounts; close open CTAs, logging "lack of customer engagement" where applicable; hand off renewal-risk accounts with full context; confirm all 50 accounts have a Gainsight Timeline entry for the quarter.
-**Month 1 - Triage & Top Priority (~20 accounts):** stack-rank the full book of 50; triage highest-ARR accounts for churn/contraction risk immediately; run health assessments on the top-priority cohort; open CTAs for follow-up; escalate risk immediately; share findings and flag growth signals to the account team.
-**Month 2 - Mid-Tier & CTA Execution (~20 accounts):** select the Month 2 cohort, incorporating context from Month 1; complete health assessments for mid-tier accounts; execute on open CTAs from Month 1; update the account team on portfolio health and emerging growth signals.
-**Month 3 - Full Coverage & Close (~10 accounts):** select the final cohort, confirming renewal-risk accounts and quarter-end priorities; complete health assessments for remaining accounts; close open CTAs, logging "lack of customer engagement" where applicable; hand off renewal-risk accounts with full context; confirm all 50 accounts have a Gainsight Timeline entry for the quarter.
- Customer needs a large rollout with milestones, project structure, and implementation ownership.
> **Out of scope for this page:** work item #24 also proposes transition RACIs for CSMA→CSE and CSE→CSMA moves. These are not included here — this page is scoped to the CSE Assigned motion only, and the existing [CSM to CSE+ Account Transition Process](/handbook/customer-success/csm/segment/cse/csm-to-cse-handover/) page already covers that transition.
## Open decisions
These are still undecided by the workgroup and are not yet settled guidance:
- Should assigned-CSE proactive outreach always require RM/AE alignment first, or can CSE initiate outreach directly in defined cases?
- What's the exact trigger for handing off to PS?
- What's the exact trigger for recommending named CSMA coverage?
- How is "growth motion" defined, and how is that definition shared with the wider team?
