Head of Customer Success Interview Scorecard

Who this scorecard is for

For hiring managers, VPs, and recruiters assessing senior customer success leaders for enterprise or high-growth SaaS companies. Use it to structure interviews, calibrate scores, and compare candidates on consistent, outcome-oriented criteria.

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See what the Head of Customer Success Interview Scorecard looks like before you download it.

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How to use and calibrate

• Pick the level (Junior, Mid, Senior, or Staff) and adjust anchor examples accordingly.
• Use the quick checklist during the call; fill the rubric within 30 minutes after.
• Or use ZYTHR to transcribe the interview and automatically fill in the scorecard live.
• Run monthly calibration with sample candidate answers to align expectations.
• Average across interviewers; avoid single-signal decisions.

Detailed rubric with anchor behaviors

Customer Retention & Growth

• 1–2: Misses renewal targets repeatedly and responds to churn only after it occurs.
• 3: Meets renewal targets and resolves escalations to stabilize churn.
• 4: Consistently exceeds renewal and expansion targets through proactive programs.
• 5: Drives sustained NRR improvement with scalable retention and expansion engines.

Strategy & Roadmap

• 1–2: Lacks a coherent CS strategy or cannot connect CS activities to business outcomes.
• 3: Defines a practical roadmap aligned to key company metrics.
• 4: Builds a multi-quarter CS strategy that anticipates customer needs and scales operations.
• 5: Creates visionary, measurable CS strategy that shifts company trajectory and competitive positioning.

Team Leadership & Development

• 1–2: Fails to hire, retain, or coach CS staff; high team turnover.
• 3: Hires competent reps, provides regular coaching, and manages performance.
• 4: Builds a high-performing structure with career paths, low turnover, and strong managers.
• 5: Develops leaders, scales org design, and creates bench strength for rapid growth.

Customer Experience & Operations

• 1–2: Operational chaos or inconsistent onboarding and support processes.
• 3: Implements reliable onboarding, playbooks, and case management practices.
• 4: Optimizes workflows and tooling to improve time-to-value and CS productivity.
• 5: Designs end-to-end customer journeys and automations that scale experience quality.

Metrics, Analytics & Forecasting

• 1–2: Cannot produce or interpret core CS metrics; forecasts are unreliable.
• 3: Tracks retention, churn, and expansion with basic dashboards and accurate short-term forecasts.
• 4: Uses cohort analysis, leading indicators, and predictive models to drive decisions.
• 5: Builds advanced analytics and forecasting that inform strategy and reliably predict revenue impact.

Cross-Functional Influence

• 1–2: Rarely partners with Sales, Product, or Marketing and cannot gain alignment.
• 3: Collaborates with peers to resolve customer issues and supports go-to-market motions.
• 4: Influences product and sales priorities; negotiates cross-team tradeoffs effectively.
• 5: Drives cross-functional initiatives that materially improve product adoption and revenue.

Product Feedback & Voice of Customer

• 1–2: Does not capture or communicate customer insights to product teams.
• 3: Collects and routes customer feedback to product and tracks some outcomes.
• 4: Systematically prioritizes customer feedback and influences roadmap decisions.
• 5: Integrates voice of customer into product strategy and proves impact on usage and retention.

Scoring and weighting

Default weights (adjust per role):

Final score = weighted average across dimensions. Require at least two “4+” signals for Senior+ roles.

Complete Examples

Head of Customer Success Scorecard — Great Candidate

Head of Customer Success Scorecard — Good Candidate

Head of Customer Success Scorecard — No-Fit Candidate

Recruiter FAQs about this scorecard