Seasoned Skillets: Hannah Anderson, Implementation Manager

‘Seasoned Skillets’  is our series designed to showcase the Skilljar team behind the business. These folks (aka Skillets) are developing, designing, writing, calling, measuring, analyzing, and more to propel Skilljar forward as a market leader in the customer education industry. Next up, Hannah!

How did you hear about Skilljar?

I heard about Skilljar through Linkedin, and I was interested because I could visualize how the software would directly impact my role in Customer Success. Because training is such a vital part of successfully onboarding customers, I was curious to learn how using an LMS could benefit customers and take my daily conversations with them from tactical to strategic.

I had also seen firsthand the need for customer training programs in past customer-facing roles. I was intrigued to see an entire company dedicated to taking daily, hour-long, redundant product training out of the picture, and enabling customers to learn at their own pace.

What does your role here entail?

My role as an Implementation Manager is to be the customer’s main point of contact for all things Skilljar; to make sure we get their program up-and-running successfully. I consider the implementation process a partnership with each customer where we take a close look at each phase of implementation from the very beginning to ensure they are set up for success. When questions come up, my role is to provide guidance, best practices, and recommendations that align with each customers’  business objectives and goals

What advice would you give someone getting into SaaS implementation?

My advice is to learn about a variety of SaaS products to understand what the SaaS consumer buying process entails. This background enables you to guide your customers to value as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The key is to be curious and willing to learn. With Saas companies, customers look to the CS team to show results, so our job is to know our product well and guide them on how to achieve their goals.

What makes someone successful in Customer Success at Skilljar?

What makes me successful as an implementation manager at Skilljar is knowing the intricacies of our product and how other customers use our product, based on their use cases and the goals they strive to achieve. I use this knowledge daily to provide insights that help my customers understand what has been successful for others.

In addition to knowing the Skilljar product, I am truly a trusted partner to my customers. Their success is my success and I want to make sure that I am providing strategic guidance and can eliminate any potential roadblocks on their way to success.  

Skilljar is a fast-paced, rapidly changing place. What’s your advice for navigating (and excelling) in the startup environment?

My advice is to be flexible, ask questions, and absorb as much as you can from others around you. Everyone comes from a different background and the quickest way to grow is by observing and asking questions.  

At a start-up, your role is constantly evolving so be prepared to hit the ground running. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback and provide feedback to others. Take initiative, document everything, and iterate on the processes in place to find more successful paths forward for you and your team. You will often wear many different hats and that is a great opportunity to grow and expand your skill set.

Favorite Skilljar perk?

Our weekly catered lunches! The food is always wonderful and It is nice to have lunch with different teams who you don’t interact with on a daily basis. These lunches are also a great opportunity to reconvene as a company and share wins/losses, lessons learned, etc.

How do you manage your work/life balance?

One thing that is truly amazing about Skilljar is how respectful the company is around maintaining a healthy work/life balance. I do my best to leave at a consistent time each day so I can maintain a healthy routine with my home life, in particular, taking my puppy out for a long afternoon walks. Everyone knows each other's hours and are respectful in communication outside of those hours. Of course, there are those occasions where I need to stay later than normal, but those days are never missed by my teammates who jump in to ask where they can help out.

Favorite place to visit in Seattle?

A few hours north of Seattle are the gorgeous San Juan Islands. You can escape city life and take in the incredible scenery that the Pacific Northwest has to offer. With kayaking, fishing, and hiking, there is never a dull moment out there.

If you were going to offer a course online, what would it be about?

If I were to offer a course online, it would be about shellfish farming! My family runs a shellfish farm in the San Juan Islands so I have learned a lot about the oyster farming in the last few years. The focus has been how to start from scratch and turn tidelands into a bustling aquaculture farm that is focused on community, environmental stewardship, and, of course, delicious oysters, clams, and mussels.

Interested in joining Hannah at Skilljar? Click below to check out our available job opportunities.  

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