Onboarding
Part of Customer onboarding for B2B accounts
Identifying stalled onboarding before the target date
Spot onboarding delays early by checking milestone dependencies, validating warning signs and assigning the next response.
A likely onboarding stall is a necessary step that has stopped advancing and now threatens the agreed first-use milestone. Check dependencies before they are overdue, verify the reason with the people doing the work and assign a response while there is still time to act. A quiet account or missed meeting is a prompt to investigate, not proof that onboarding has failed.
Look ahead from the milestone
Start with the agreed completion condition and target date. Work backwards through the steps required before a real user can complete the task. At each progress check, ask whether the next step can begin with the inputs now available. This can expose a problem earlier than a list of overdue tasks.
For example, a hypothetical approvals rollout may be waiting for a customer policy decision before configuration can be accepted. Training may remain on the calendar, but it cannot establish readiness until that decision is made. The useful signal is the unresolved dependency and its effect on the sequence.
Separate a warning from a diagnosis
Use observations as questions to investigate:
| Observation | Check before concluding there is a stall |
|---|---|
| No one has accepted a required customer task | Was it assigned to the right person, or is a decision pending elsewhere? |
| A deliverable is incomplete at a check point | Is its acceptance condition clear, and what input is missing? |
| Intended users have not tried the workflow | Is access ready, and has the task arisen yet? |
| A step takes longer than planned | Was the date feasible, and does the delay affect the milestone? |
| Repeated questions or support issues appear | Are they routine learning questions or one unresolved obstacle to first use? |
Check the source and timing of each observation. Product activity may be missing because tracking is incomplete or the customer’s task is periodic. Provider work may be complete while the customer still cannot use the workflow. Ask the relevant owner what has happened before choosing a response.
Observation vs. Diagnosis: What to Check Before Assuming a Stall
- ObservationNo one has accepted a required customer task
- Check Before Concluding StallWas it assigned to the right person, or is a decision pending elsewhere?
- ObservationA deliverable is incomplete at a checkpoint
- Check Before Concluding StallIs its acceptance condition clear, and what input is missing?
- ObservationIntended users have not tried the workflow
- Check Before Concluding StallIs access ready, and has the task arisen yet?
Act on the constraint that matters
Write a brief problem statement: the blocked step, the evidence, its effect on the first-use milestone and the decision required. Name the person or team able to resolve it. Customer success can coordinate, but a technical fault needs a technical owner and a customer policy decision needs an authorised customer owner.
Agree the next action, its owner and when both sides will receive an update. If the target remains feasible, state what must happen to keep it. If the necessary sequence no longer fits, propose a revised date or narrower first-use milestone for the customer to approve. Do not silently move the target or count a check-in as recovery.
Confirm whether progress has resumed
At the next check, inspect the blocked deliverable and whether the dependent step can now start. Close the stall only when the constraint has been resolved or an accepted revised plan has a feasible path supported by current evidence. Keep any remaining risk visible through the onboarding handoff. Broader account health and renewal risk require their own evidence and decisions.
