If you’re tired of onboarding checklists getting lost in spreadsheets or your team having no clue where customers stand, this is for you. Charm claims to make customer onboarding trackable, transparent, and less of a headache. But getting it right takes more than just switching tools. Here’s how to actually use Charm to keep your customer onboarding on track—without wasting time on busywork or fancy dashboards you’ll never check.
Why Charm? (And What To Watch Out For)
Charm promises to help teams manage onboarding steps, track progress, and spot bottlenecks. In theory, it centralizes everything so you’re not chasing updates across email, Slack, and ticketing tools. In practice, it’s only as good as the process you build.
What works: - It’s flexible enough for most onboarding flows. - Statuses, tasks, and notes are all in one place. - The timeline/history helps you backtrack and see what actually happened.
What doesn’t: - If your process is a mess, Charm won’t magically fix it. - Too many custom fields or automations = confusion. - Teams that never update statuses will still leave you in the dark.
Bottom line: Use Charm to make your onboarding process more visible, not more complicated.
Step 1: Map Out a Realistic Onboarding Process (Before You Touch Charm)
Don’t start by building out workflows in Charm. First, get your actual steps on paper—literally or in a doc. Talk to the folks who do onboarding, not just managers. Ask what steps happen every time, which ones get skipped, and what usually falls through the cracks.
Checklist: - List every step from “customer signs” to “customer is fully live.” - Identify who owns each step. (Sales? CS? Support?) - Note what you actually track today—and what you wish you did.
Pro tip: If you can’t describe your onboarding in 7–10 steps, it’s probably too complex. Trim the fat.
Step 2: Set Up Clear Stages and Statuses in Charm
Once you’ve got your steps, translate them into clear, simple stages inside Charm. Don’t go wild with dozens of statuses. The more you add, the less likely your team will use them.
Best practices: - Use broad stages like “Kickoff Scheduled,” “In Progress,” “Waiting on Customer,” “Complete.” - Only add custom statuses if you’ll actually use them to trigger action. - Map each step from your earlier list to a Charm task, not a status. Statuses = big picture; tasks = details.
What to ignore: - Every possible edge case (“Waiting on Legal” or “Paused for Holidays”) doesn’t need its own status. Use notes or tags for the rare stuff.
Step 3: Build a Simple, Repeatable Task Template
Templates in Charm can save you a ton of time—but only if you keep them lean. The goal is to have a standard set of tasks that works for 90% of customers.
How to do it: - In Charm, create a template for each main customer type or onboarding flow. - Include only the steps that are truly required for success. - Add deadlines or timeframes for each task if you can actually stick to them (don’t just set random due dates you’ll ignore).
What works: - Short, actionable tasks like “Send welcome email” or “Configure integrations.” - Assigning owners to each task so nothing falls through the cracks.
What doesn’t: - Templates with 30+ steps—nobody will finish them. - Tasks that are just reminders to “Check in” with no clear purpose.
Step 4: Make Ownership and Updates Non-Negotiable
Charm can show you exactly where things stand—if your team actually updates it. This is the biggest place onboarding tracking falls apart.
How to avoid the black hole: - Assign a clear owner for each onboarding (not “the team,” but an actual person). - Make updating status/tasks part of your process—ideally, tie it to customer calls or key handoffs. - Set up a regular review (weekly, biweekly) where you check Charm and chase stuck onboardings.
Pro tip: If folks aren’t keeping things up to date, find out why. Maybe tasks aren’t clear, or the tool’s too clunky. Fix the process, not just the symptoms.
Step 5: Use Notes and Attachments—But Don’t Overdo It
Charm lets you log notes, attach files, and keep a record of conversations. This is handy for handoffs, but don’t treat it like a dumping ground.
Best practices: - Use notes for key updates: customer blockers, important decisions, or anything someone else might need to know. - Don’t paste giant email threads—summarize instead. - Keep file attachments relevant (signed contracts, kickoff docs), not every random screenshot.
What to skip: - Using notes as a chat replacement. Keep it focused on context you’ll actually need later. - Attaching files you can’t legally or ethically store (be careful with personal data).
Step 6: Set Up Useful (Not Annoying) Notifications
Charm can send alerts when tasks are due or statuses change. This is great—until it’s not.
How to use notifications well: - Pick a few key triggers (e.g., onboarding stuck for 3+ days, task overdue). - Send alerts to the right person, not everyone. - Don’t blast the whole team for every minor update.
What to avoid: - Email or Slack overload. If people start ignoring alerts, they’re useless. - “FYI” notifications nobody acts on—ditch them.
Step 7: Review and Refine—Don’t Set and Forget
Onboarding is never “done.” What worked last quarter might not work now, especially as your product or team changes.
How to keep improving: - Every few months, look at your Charm data: Where do customers get stuck? Which tasks never get done? What updates are always missing? - Talk to the team—what’s working, what’s a pain? - Adjust your templates and process accordingly. Delete steps nobody uses.
Pro tip: Less is more. A tight, focused process that’s actually used beats a perfect flowchart that lives in a wiki.
What About Reports and Dashboards?
Charm offers reporting features, but don’t get obsessed with dashboards unless you’ll actually use them to solve real problems.
Worth doing: - Track time-to-complete for onboarding—this helps spot bottlenecks. - Identify which steps cause the most delays.
Skip it if: - You’re just tracking numbers for the sake of it. - Nobody on your team looks at the charts.
Stick to reports that help you spot real risks or coach your team. Ignore vanity metrics.
Common Pitfalls (And How To Dodge Them)
Even with the right tools, onboarding can go sideways. Here’s what to watch out for:
- Process too complicated: If your team dreads updating Charm, simplify your steps.
- No clear owner: Every onboarding needs a single point person.
- Too much automation: Automations should save time, not add confusion.
- Poor data hygiene: Outdated statuses and unchecked tasks = garbage in, garbage out.
If you spot these, fix them fast. The longer you let a messy process sit, the worse it’ll get.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Getting onboarding right is about clarity, not complexity. Charm can help, but only if you use it to make your process visible and actionable. Start simple. Check in with your team. Tweak as you go. The best onboarding processes are the ones your team actually follows—so build yours to be useful, not impressive.
Now, go clean up those checklists—and finally get a handle on where your customers really stand.