How to Successfully Train Your Team on Using Gainsight

One Wednesday afternoon—not long after our team decided to onboard Gainsight—I found myself sitting in a small, sunlit conference room, surrounded by half-empty coffee cups and perplexed faces. It was the kind of room where decisions were made and forgotten in the same breath. We were all there because of Phil, our kindly but absent-minded head of customer success, who believed fervently in Gainsight’s magical powers to transform our customer relationships. But Phil, bless his heart, was as technically inclined as a hedgehog trying to solve a Rubik's cube.

The Day We Learned Together: Embracing Curiosity

A quintessential moment occurred when Sarah, our ever-curious project manager—who had the uncanny ability to turn the mundane into an exploration—asked, "Why can't we understand the dashboard at a glance?" The journey began right there, with Sarah’s eternal question echoing in the room. It reminded us that sometimes, seemingly trivial queries springboard us into valuable learning.

Follow the Breadcrumbs (Step 1: Start with the Basics)

Our first step was remarkably simple: understand what Gainsight actually does. Like, seriously. We gathered around our screens—the glow casting a curious haze over us—and dove into the basics. Gainsight, for those unacquainted, is like having a wise butler for your customer data; it manages customer success metrics elegantly if you only stop to listen.

1. Identify Your Key Users: We identified the team members who would use Gainsight most extensively. Spoiler: it wasn’t Phil.

2. Define Clear Goals: Our mission became to engage with the tool. What did we want from it, and how did it serve our company's strategic goals? It was like plotting a route to your favorite pizza place; knowing the endpoint mattered.

3. Use Training Resources: Phil, bless him again, got us webinars and documentation. We were swamped with material, but it felt like finding a map in a jungle. Suddenly, paths became visible.

The Adventure Continues: Sustaining Momentum

Weeks later, after several spluttered coffees and intense debate sessions—where Sarah sometimes ended up with marker ink on her face from frenetically sketched diagrams—the team was not just using Gainsight, we were actively exploring it. But how did we keep this momentum alive?

Grit and Patience (Step 2: Hands-On Practice)

Interacting hands-on with Gainsight was like bulky training wheels on a kid’s bike—you wobble a lot at first.

1. Create Dummy Data: We crafted fictional customer data to play with. Believe me, assigning characteristics to imaginary people—like Mr. Wobbles, who loved technology—was amusing as much as it was instructive.

2. Daily Touch-Base Meetings: These meetings were intimate food-for-thought sessions. We swapped insights, shared frequent mishaps, and yes, applauded each other's little victories.

The New Norm: Mastery Over Time

One blustery Friday morning, Phil walked into the office with a printout of our Gainsight metrics. To our amusement, his notes were highlighted—they were precise, beautifully laid out. He grinned triumphantly, as if showing off his first-ever sculped sandcastle. It was then we realized: this journey had transformed us, knit us together.

Hear Their Feedback (Step 3: Iterate and Improve)

Listening was key. Our team took turns playing the devil’s advocate, ensuring every voice was heard, every complaint addressed.

1. Continuous Learning: We set up ongoing discussions about new features and tools within Gainsight. It wasn't just about using the software; it was about creating a culture of growth.

2. Celebrate Mastery: From Phil proudly explaining metrics to Sarah dazzling newcomers with intuitive shortcuts, everyone had their moment in the sun. Celebrating these shared achievements cemented our team spirit.

Reflecting, those sunlit afternoons of collaboration not only honed our technical skills but also rekindled the human connection at work—creating shared memories we would fondly recount in the years to come.