AMA: Checkr Director, Revenue Operations, Lauren Davis on Stakeholder Management

We’ve structured our RevOps team so that we have horizontal functions like systems and data/analytics that support all GTM teams and then we have vertically-aligned functions, such as Sales Operations and Marketing Operations, that go deep in the teams they support. This allows us to flex resourcing to the parts of the business that are the most critical at the moment while also ensuring all teams are supported and streamlining communications. The vertically-aligned functions are the connective ...Read More

I often remind people that some friction between teams is by design. For example, you want GTM thinking about how to grow and scale and you want finance thinking about how to do it efficiently. These are critical checks and balances to have in place. However, that can often lead to tense relationships.  When trying to mend a partnership, I focus on a few things to build trust: Time to reflect and calm down. This is crucial to do before anything. If the relationship is tense, it's likely felt on ...Read More

I start by identifying my key stakeholders and operating cadence to ensure that I’m meeting with critical stakeholders and team members regularly, and we have the necessary forums for appropriate communication. I revisit this regularly - whenever there’s a shift in scope, a reorg, new hires, or at a minimum once a quarter. This serves two purposes: 1) it ensures I’m meeting with the right people and 2) it forces me to clean up my calendar and prioritize the important meetings.  When building out ...Read More

For projects and initiatives, start by defining stakeholders and the level of involvement they need to have. I’m a big fan of the RACI framework. Understanding who needs to be aligned and how is the first step in driving alignment.  Having one Accountable individual, or Directly Responsible Individual (DRI), also helps streamline communication. They should be responsible for identifying what are the key updates, who needs to know, and how to message it. More often than not, I’ve seen misalignmen ...Read More

I’m not sure if this is in regards to a wide gap between how you communicate vs. the stakeholder, or a wide gap in how multiple stakeholders who you manage communicate.  On the first topic, seek out others in the business who communicate well with the particular stakeholder. Don’t be afraid to address it with them directly too. If you don't have someone else to learn from, trial and error works too. Sometimes I see people try the same type of communication over and over, even if it's not working ...Read More