‘I Love My Job’: From Being Trusted to Manage My Work to Being Empowered to Follow My Passions

Welcome to I Love My Job, the series where we hear from women who really love their jobs. In this edition, we sat down with Heidi Atwood, a Customer Success Manager at Cornerstone OnDemand.

Atwood joined Cornerstone in August 2021 as a former customer. This move “was based on my experience as a customer, which made me want to come work for Cornerstone,” she explains. And Atwood isn’t alone in her path to Cornerstone — she notes that many others came to Cornerstone as former customers. They, like Atwood, were drawn by what she describes as Cornerstone’s surprisingly “strong culture of collaboration and sharing.”

“People come from a lot of different backgrounds,” Atwood explains, “so, they’re bringing in different perspectives and different usages of the platform. And everyone is so willing and really eager to share what they know. They understand that no one person can know everything about our products, and no one is expected to be the be-all end-all expert.”

As Atwood has witnessed firsthand at Cornerstone, whenever you need support, resources, knowledge, or experience, you’ll always find someone ready to help you! “I love the fact that our culture is really encouraging of collaboration and helps us be more effective in working with our customers and giving them that same sense of support,” she says.

In the video below, Atwood tells us more about why she loves working at Cornerstone OnDemand. We also provide lightly edited highlights from the video discussion in the following article.

In case you have trouble watching this video, please click here to watch it on YouTube.

What do you find most exciting about your work?

My Customer Success Manager role is really rewarding and exciting because I get to share what I've learned through my own hands-on experience in my former job and work directly with people who are doing what I used to do. So, I can utilize a lot of empathy with those individuals.

I know what it's like to manage this very robust, complex system and help customers be successful at what they're doing. I help them look like superstars to their leadership and within their company. The role of working with a learning management system often utilizes underappreciated skills, so I really love the fact that we can help our customers feel like they're knocking it out of the park when they're working on learning projects.

What is your favorite thing about Cornerstone OnDemand?

I am empowered to put time toward work that I'm really passionate about. For me, that means I got involved in our employee resource groups (ERGs) right out of the gate when I joined Cornerstone. I quickly found an opportunity to become the chair of an employee resource group, and I've been involved with our LGBTQ+ resource group for a little over a year now. 

It's very exciting for me because Cornerstone is at a really dynamic point in the evolution of their culture. We are a global company. We have employees from so many different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences, and we're working on embedding that perspective of belonging in everything that we do. 

I love that there was really no hesitation from my manager when I asked about the opportunity to work with the plus employee resource group — he was totally behind it. It's not viewed as taking time away from my work responsibilities. Instead, it's really another aspect of our work to support employees and lead programs that will benefit everyone in the company. So, I'm very grateful that I've been given this opportunity, and it's made working at Cornerstone a happier experience for me.

How does Cornerstone OnDemand support you?

Working at Cornerstone, we are supported in managing an effective work-life balance. I really appreciate that we don't have the type of environment that demands constant 24/7 connectivity or the expectation to be a workaholic. 

We are expected to be passionate about our work, and we're expected to be productive and professional in what we do; however, we're shown trust in making those decisions. To me, that trust is shown in the fact that we're given an unlimited PTO policy.

What advice do you have for other women looking to work at Cornerstone OnDemand?

Just go for it. We have a wide variety of roles available, and there are strong female role models in practically every pillar of the organization: they’re on our leadership team, they're shaping our product, and they're working in design, engineering, and communications. If you're looking for someone to look up to, they're everywhere at Cornerstone. So, definitely take a look at what we have to offer!

Fairygodboss is proud to work with Cornerstone OnDemand. Find a job there today!

Check out other posts in the ‘I Love My Job’ series:

• ‘I Love My Job’: My Company Supported Me From Being a Recent Grad to Becoming a Boomerang Employee

• ‘I Love My Job’: This Innovator’s Decisions ‘Help to Influence the Entire Financial Industry'

• ‘I Love My Job’: At My Company, ‘You Can Carry Your Career Wherever You Go'

• ‘I Love My Job’: Work-Life Balance, Inclusivity, and a ‘Physically and Psychologically Safe’ Culture

• ‘I Love My Job’: I’m Empowered to Build My ‘Own Career Path’ and Experience ‘Tremendous Growth'