Playbook for: Customer Success Manager — Acme Co., Makati

Time window: Last 12 months Inputs: 30 / 60 / 90-day culture checks Outcomes: retention, early exits, PIP

Export-ready: 1-page PDF / brief

Role context & success profile

Snapshot of environment, expectations, and the culture pattern of successful hires.

Environment: client-facing CSM role supporting SaaS accounts with mixed time zones and periodic scope change.
Core success path: stabilise onboarding in the first 30 days, own a defined book of business by 60 days, and lead proactive risk management by 90 days.
Typical risks: night-shift fatigue, over-committing for clients, and lack of clear ownership on ambiguous work.

Top culture predictors of success

Ownership + Client obsession: consistently closing loops, protecting client time, and surfacing risks early.
Learning agility under ambiguity: rapidly understanding new products and processes without heavy hand-holding.
Team first: clean handovers, respectful escalation, and information sharing across CS, Support, and Sales.
Reliability on critical shifts: dependable attendance, coverage, and SLA delivery on night / peak queues.

These signals come from manager culture feedback and are validated against 90-day outcomes and PIP / retention patterns.

Playbook contents

What will appear in the PDF / brief for hiring teams.

Included sections

Role context summary — environment, expectations, and common risk areas.
Top culture predictors of success — short bullets with how they map to outcomes.
Recommended interview questions — grouped by pillar, with tags (manager-sourced, risk-derived).
Common failure modes & probe prompts — how to test for known red flags during interviews.

Interview questions (sample)

“Tell me about a time you took over a failing account without being asked. What did you do in the first 30 days?” Ownership • Manager-sourced
“Give an example where a client request conflicted with policy or capacity. How did you handle it?” Client obsession • Policy-aligned

Failure modes (sample)

Candidates who cannot describe saying “no” to a client or pushing back on unrealistic requests often burn out or create downstream issues. Probe: boundary-setting and policy alignment

Export & share

Make this playbook usable in your hiring workflow.

Exports include a generated timestamp and cohort definition so TA, hiring managers, and HR all work from the same, audit-ready view of culture signals for this role.