How To Find Your Passion at Work, According to an EdTech Customer Success Manager

All children deserve to be seen and feel empowered throughout their learning journey, regardless of their ethnic and socioeconomic background. That’s why Renaissance is harnessing the power of innovative technology to foster a more equitable, inclusive educational experience for educators and students alike. The company’s commitment to helping students unlock their full potential — inside and outside the classroom — began more than 35 years ago. 

In 1986, educator Judi Paul created Accelerated Reader to keep her students motivated and engaged over the summer break. The program was successfully piloted at a grade school in Wisconsin, gaining further traction through word of mouth. Today, Paul’s grassroots effort has evolved into an impressive portfolio: Renaissance solutions are used in over one-third of U.S. schools and in more than 100 countries across six continents.

It’s a mission that comes with great responsibility, but employees like Brianna Logan are proud to rise to the challenge and accelerate learning for all. Logan, Strategic Customer Success Manager (CSM) for Renaissance, has been in her role for two years, supporting 40 school districts across the U.S. with implementing and using their Renaissance programs and services. Logan’s responsibilities exemplify an exciting intersection between technology and education, including working with Renaissance’s support and engineering teams to solve urgent tickets, hosting quarterly business review meetings with district leaders, and keeping schools in lockstep with product updates.

She also regularly hosts meetings with her colleagues in sales, product, engineering, and professional development to address customers’ questions and issues. And she monitors customers’ usage data to update their sentiment score in the customer relationship management (CRM) system.

“The most rewarding thing about my work is the ability to make an impact in education by helping school district leaders meet their technology needs,” she tells Fairygodboss. “Growing up, I’ve always been passionate about education, but I didn’t want to be a teacher. Being a CSM allows me to make an impact despite not having classroom experience — I converse with school district leaders daily, gaining an insight into the educational challenges they’re experiencing.”

The most challenging aspect of her work is navigating a myriad of customers’ needs simultaneously. That’s why she works hard to stay organized and prioritize her accounts effectively, she says. Here, we caught up with her to gain a window into her day-to-day duties, why she values Renaissance’s culture, and her career advice for industry newcomers and women striving to serve as leaders. 

How have you found your passion, purpose, and voice at work?

I’ve found my passion, purpose, and voice at work through my involvement with Valuing Inclusion and Black Excellence (RVIBE), our Employee Resource Group (ERG) for Black Employees, and serving on the Inclusion Council. RVIBE has allowed me to create an inclusive environment for Black employees by providing the opportunity to collaborate with other ERGs across Renaissance to host internal DEI events and professional development workshops for RVIBE members.

The Inclusion Council has allowed me to create an inclusive, engaging, and fun culture for employees across the company by providing me with the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues on the Council to host virtual DEI events, strategize and build out initiatives to help employees form connections outside of the virtual workplace, and engage in discussion about how we can continue to ensure that Renaissance remains a great place to work.

What advice do you have for others who are looking for their passion or voice at work? Are there any resources (books, podcasts, etc.), you would recommend to women looking to find their passion or authentic voice in the workplace?

My advice to others looking for their passion or voice at work would be to network, network, network! Whether you’ve been at your company for a long time or are a fresh hire, we can all learn something new from each other. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your colleagues and ask questions about each other’s roles, career background, or favorite hobbies. These conversation starters are a great way to help you connect and create a community in the workplace.

If anyone is interested in finding their passion and voice in the STEM field, I recommend listening to Dr. Natoshia Anderson’s podcast, STEMing in Stilettos. This podcast aims to uplift women of color in STEM by helping them gain confidence, skills, and knowledge to advance in their careers. I met Dr. Anderson earlier this year in March, and she gave an amazing presentation to women in RVIBE on navigating imposter syndrome in the workplace. 

Let’s talk about Renaissance Learning’s culture. What’s your favorite aspect of it, and how does the organization help you succeed?

I appreciate that Renaissance’s culture is warm and inviting; I can speak to this from different avenues — RVIBE, Inclusion Council, my CSM team, and other groups. Overall, in my experience, I’ve never been afraid to speak up because my colleagues and manager have set that open-door tone that we’re free to talk about anything with each other. We have respectful and knowledgeable conversations, but also fun ones, which creates a sense of community. 

What people, resources, and tools do you rely on to attain work-life balance?

I rely on my CSM colleagues and ERGs, RVIBE, and Alliance for Mental Wellness to attain work-life balance. I also use Calm, a meditation app that provides employees at Renaissance with mindfulness resources.

What advice do you have for someone new to your industry?

Customer success in edtech might seem scary at first, especially if you’re like me and don’t have prior teaching or principal experience. However, if you value teamwork, have strong relationship-building and organization skills, and are willing to learn, you’ll succeed. If you have prior teaching or principal experience, that’s a plus. 

If you’re interested in becoming a customer success manager, start taking LinkedIn Learning courses focused on customer success to learn sales and customer success terminology. Also, reach out to customer success managers at companies you’re interested in working at to learn more about their daily responsibilities and determine if they would be the right fit for you. 

Overall, what’s the most memorable piece of career advice you’ve ever received?

The most memorable piece of career advice I’ve ever received is never stop learning. I’m constantly improving my skills to become a better CSM through completing LinkedIn courses and courses at Renaissance to further enhance my knowledge of our product suite.

What is your No. 1 piece of advice for women who are moving into or want to move into leadership roles?

Find a sponsor. Network with women who are already in leadership roles at your company, tell them about your career aspirations and ask them to be your sponsor. If they’re unable to be your sponsor, ask if they can help you find one on the team.

Each day, employees like Brianna help drive educational equity. Her insights showcase just one aspect of the Renaissance ecosystem. If you’re ready to make a positive impact and join an organization dedicated to the service of learning, explore all of Renaissance’s current openings to find your best career match.

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