By Kristen Hayer
I don’t need to tell all of you that right now everyone is anxious. Personally, I’m worried about myself or my family members getting sick, about how this pandemic will change my business and the way we work, and about how my daughter will transition back to school in the fall. Others I’ve talked to are experiencing anxiety about everything from finances, jobs, and housing, to being able to feed their families, to being stuck in one place for so long or being isolated. The worst part of all is the uncertainty. Nobody is sure when or how this will end, and that ratchets up the anxiety.
Even in normal times, anxiety is a big issue. In the US, 40 million adults suffer from anxiety disorders each year. While this is a huge number, less than half of them seek and receive treatment for anxiety. If you have a 5-person team, chances are high that at least one of them suffers from anxiety, and that’s during regular times. Right now, most of them are suffering to some degree.
As a CS leader, part of your role is to watch for the signs of anxiety on your team and help your team members through this time. You can have a big impact on how well your team adjusts, and you can help them learn tactics to deal with their own anxiety in the future. Here’s what to look for and some tactics you can use to manage anxiety on your customer success team:
What to Look For
How do you know someone is suffering from anxiety? There are some pretty major symptoms if someone is having an actual anxiety attack (racing heartbeat, shortness of breath, dry mouth), but you can’t see that over Zoom. If you have built a great relationship with a team member, they might come out and tell you. Most of the time, however, you’re going to have to look for behavior changes and dig in a bit to figure out what’s going on. Watch for:
Increased sick leave (or amount of time they seem to be unavailable at home)
Drop in performance
Difficulty making decisions
Lack of focus
Changes in habits (not exercising, drinking more than normal)
Of course, some or all of these things doesn’t mean the person is anxious. These are just a few signs that should trigger you to ask questions. A few open-ended questions may surface anxiety:
How are things going at home, given the current crisis?
How is your family responding to all of these changes?
What kinds of things are you doing to take care of yourself right now?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions that seem more personal than normal. Remember, your priority is your team’s health and wellness, not your level of comfort with asking personal questions.
Tactics to Manage Anxiety
Let’s say you’ve uncovered that one of your team members is suffering from anxiety. What should you do about it?
Encourage Them to Seek Help – many people find mental health issues embarrassing or see them as a sign of weakness. Even if their anxiety is mild, your team member could benefit from talking to a therapist or even just using an app like Calm. If you have an HR team, they can provide information on the resources your company can offer, some of which may even be free. Your support may be just what they need to decide to get help.
Be Flexible – be open to adjusting their hours, or helping them design a schedule that promotes a balanced day. If they do seek counseling, allow time for therapy. A conversation about what your team member needs, and what would help them the most, will allow you to give them the kind of flexibility that will make a real difference. Create a plan, and write it down so you both feel confident in what you’ve agreed to.
Keep the Conversation Going – needs change over time, so be sure to check on the plan weekly in your one on one meetings. Ask if anything has changed in the past week, if there is anything they need to help them with work, or if their schedule needs adjustment. Additionally, reassure your team member that you’ll keep your conversations confidential. They need to know that you’re there to help and that they can trust you.
As we emerge into whatever comes next, you will have built a stronger relationship with the members of your team, and they will have learned approaches to tackle their anxiety going forward. Are you the anxious one? Try a few of these ideas yourself, and reach out to other leaders if you need to talk things through. Stay safe out there, everyone!
Looking for advice on challenges you are facing in managing and planning your teams? The Success League is a consulting firm that offers leadership coaching and training. Let our experienced team offer advice and recommendations on your customer success plan and share best practices from our arsenal. Visit our consulting page for more information. TheSuccessLeague.io
Kristen Hayer - Kristen believes that customer success is the key to driving revenue, client retention and exceptional customer experiences. Her areas of expertise include developing success goals and metrics, designing the optimal customer journey, selecting technology, training teams, and building playbooks. Prior to founding The Success League, Kristen built and led several award-winning customer success teams. Over the past 20 years, she has been a success, sales, and marketing executive, primarily working with growth-stage tech companies. Kristen has her BA from Seattle Pacific University and her MBA from the University of Washington.