CSE Assigned: Operating Rhythm

How CSEs prioritize their book of accounts and structure quarterly health assessment delivery.

How to prioritize, plan, and deliver each quarter.

Coordination with the account team: CSEs keep a regular catch-up going with their aligned AEs/RMs, at whatever frequency the working relationship needs. No fixed cadence is prescribed for that sync. The only two things mandated on a quarterly (rolling 90-day) basis are the health assessment itself and at least one customer touch.

Prioritizing the book of business

Not all ~50 accounts require the same urgency. At the start of each quarter, CSEs stack-rank their book using the following signals, in order of weight. Prioritization determines sequence. Every account receives a health assessment every 90 days.

  1. Forecast churn or contraction: any account flagged in Gainsight or by the AE/RM as at risk moves to the top of the queue.
  2. Highest ARR: larger accounts carry greater retention risk and more impact on results.
  3. Near-term renewals: accounts renewing within 90 days need a health assessment completed before the renewal conversation.
  4. Worrying adoption patterns: low or declining usage, no active users on key features, or stalled implementations.
  5. No prior engagement: accounts with no health assessment on record are prioritized over recently touched accounts.

Quarterly delivery milestones

Target: one health assessment per account per rolling 90 days, with 100% book coverage by end of quarter. A repeatable monthly cycle:

  1. Plan: select the month’s account cohort from the priority stack-rank.
  2. Health Assessment: run assessments on the cohort; identify risks, adoption gaps, and accounts needing account-team attention.
  3. Align with the account team: share findings with RM/AE (and SA as relevant) to align on risk, renewals, and which accounts need joint attention. No fixed cadence is prescribed for this. CSEs are expected to keep a regular catch-up going with their aligned AEs/RMs, at whatever frequency the working relationship needs.
  4. Act & Escalate: open CTAs for follow-up work; escalate risk immediately to the account team and CSE manager.
  5. Report Back: share outcomes with the account team; hand off growth signals and renewal context.

Quarter-level coverage targets

Suggested coverage split across a quarter: 50 accounts total, target 100% by end of Month 3:

  • Month 1 - Triage & Top Priority (~20 accounts): stack-rank the full book of 50; triage highest-ARR accounts for churn/contraction risk immediately; run health assessments on the top-priority cohort; open CTAs for follow-up; escalate risk immediately; share findings and flag growth signals to the account team.
  • Month 2 - Mid-Tier & CTA Execution (~20 accounts): select the Month 2 cohort, incorporating context from Month 1; complete health assessments for mid-tier accounts; execute on open CTAs from Month 1; update the account team on portfolio health and emerging growth signals.
  • Month 3 - Full Coverage & Close (~10 accounts): select the final cohort, confirming renewal-risk accounts and quarter-end priorities; complete health assessments for remaining accounts; close open CTAs, logging “lack of customer engagement” where applicable; hand off renewal-risk accounts with full context; confirm all 50 accounts have a Gainsight Timeline entry for the quarter.