Turn customer success into a relationship engine.
Most HCM software companies have let CS quietly become an extension of support — CSMs closing tickets instead of building the relationships that turn customers into advocates for the brand.
The cost of CS-as-support
When customer success is measured like a help desk — case volume, response time, resolution rate — it behaves like one. The relationships that actually protect revenue never get built.
- Renewal risk hides behind clean support metrics — a quiet account isn't a safe one, it can be one that's already checked out.
- CSMs spend their days reacting to case queues instead of running relationship-building conversations.
- Advocacy happens by accident, if at all — there's no system for turning a happy customer into a reference, a case study, or a peer mentor.
- Expansion and renewal revenue depend on relationships nobody at the company actually owns.
- When something does go wrong, there's no relationship capital to draw on — the account's whole experience is the last ticket.
- CSMs run proactive, structured relationships with a defined cadence — not a reactive inbox.
- Advocacy is a program, not a favor: customers who succeed are systematically turned into references and peers.
- Leadership can see NPS, engagement, and advocacy trends — not just ticket counts.
- Sales gets a warm pipeline of references and testimonials instead of cold asks late in a deal cycle.
- Support tickets still get resolved — they're just no longer the entire job description.
HCM companies whose CS org operates as an extension of service
HRME2 works with human capital management software companies — payroll, HR, workforce, benefits — where customer success exists on the org chart but functions like tier-two support.
CSMs carry the "Customer Success Manager" title, but they're measured on response time and case closure, not on relationships or advocacy generated.
Customers reach their CSM when something is broken. There's no standing cadence for the conversations that build trust before something goes wrong.
Happy customers exist. There's just no program for turning them into references, speakers, case studies, or peer mentors for prospects.
NPS and expansion targets get set at the top, but the day-to-day incentives underneath the CS team never change to match.
A four-step engagement, not a slide deck
HRME2 engagements are hands-on and sequential. Each step produces a concrete artifact the CS team actually uses — not a strategy document that sits in a drive.
Assess the current CS motion
Map how CSMs actually spend their time, what's measured today, and where relationships already exist versus where the org has only ever built a support queue.
Redesign around proactive relationship-building
Rebuild the operating model — segmentation, engagement cadence, and a CSM mandate that isn't "answer tickets faster." Relationship-building becomes a scheduled, structured motion, not a hope.
Enable the CSM team
Equip CSMs with the skills, talk tracks, and workflows to run relationship-first engagements — including how to identify, cultivate, and activate advocates instead of just closing cases.
Measure advocacy outcomes
Track what actually matters: NPS movement, references and testimonials generated, peer-to-peer engagement, and revenue influenced — not just ticket volume and time-to-close.
The Ceridian XOXO customer success & advocacy program
Howard created and led Ceridian's XOXO program as SVP of Customer Success — turning a traditional HCM support relationship into a peer-to-peer advocacy engine that customers actually wanted to join.
Advocacy, systematized
Customer speakers and testimonials were generated on an ongoing basis — not chased down deal by deal.
Sales, unblocked
Reference requests that used to consume seller hours were sourced through the peer network instead.
Loyalty, measured
Participating customers ran more than 20 NPS points above Ceridian's general customer base — a gap the program tracked continuously.
Who HRME2 is working with now
Pumpkin Wellness Club
A pet wellness membership offering. HRME2's engagement with Pumpkin Wellness Club is underway — this is a current client relationship, and no outcomes are claimed here.
Three decades inside HCM & HR technology
Before founding HRME2, Howard held leadership roles across customer success, sales, marketing, and revenue at HR and HCM technology companies, including:
Tell Howard where your CS org actually stands
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- Howard Tarnoff
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