Hire Crissa Petrovic for Head of Customer Support

Hire Crissa Petrovic for Head of Customer Support

Why Hire Crissa Petrovic as Head of Customer Support

Cultivator of Stellar Customer Experiences. Builder and Scaler of Lean Customer Support Operations. Leader of teams that achieve and maintain 98% CSAT.

Professional Skills

Leadership & Management

Cross-functional Partnering Team Leadership People Management Strategic Planning Conflict Resolution Team Development Hiring & Onboarding Staffing Forecasting

Support Operations

Process Improvement Operational Efficiency CSAT Optimization Response Time Reduction Self-Service Implementation Ticket Volume Management Help Center Development

Technical Expertise

Software Administration Technical Troubleshooting HTML/CSS JavaScript PHP Python SQL RESTful APIs GraphQL

Tools & Platforms

Intercom Zendesk HubSpot Salesforce WordPress Zapier Make Jira Confluence GitHub

Customer Support Leadership Excellence

Proven Support Leadership Track Record

Throughout my career, I’ve demonstrated exceptional leadership capabilities in scaling support teams, driving operational excellence, and fostering a culture of customer-centricity. My leadership approach combines strategic vision with hands-on execution, allowing me to guide support teams toward achieving outstanding results and exceptional customer satisfaction.

Scaled support teams during accelerated ARR growth from ~$2M to ~$23M at Uscreen, while maintaining exceptional service quality and 98.9% CSAT.
Forecasted staffing needs and managed a fully remote, best-in-class team of 20+ reports, including both onshore and offshore agents.
Developed and executed the launch plan for Support through Intercom at Demostack, achieving 98% CSAT and improving response times month over month.
Drove cross-functional alignment to improve customer experience, expedite resolution of technical blockers, and enhance customer onboarding in distributed environments.
Raised CSAT to 98.9% in Q4 2021 (up almost 9% from Q4 2020) and cut down average response time by 96% in the same period.

Support Operations Excellence

Building & Scaling Efficient Support Operations

With extensive experience in SaaS environments, I’ve developed a deep understanding of what it takes to build, optimize, and scale support operations that drive business growth while maintaining exceptional customer satisfaction. My approach combines strategic thinking with practical implementation to create sustainable operational frameworks that deliver consistent results.

Implemented and administered Intercom, including automation and self-serve workflows, reducing inbound tickets by 42% through continuous improvements.
Collaborated with Dev Ops to create various in-house tools to streamline troubleshooting, resulting in a 23% reduction in troubleshooting time and 37% improvement in escalated time to resolution.
Successfully oversaw the project management of over 400 projects and drove down deliverability time by 23%.
Saved thousands in ARR through direct efforts in escalation resolution and cross-functional collaboration on key accounts.
Oversaw Help Center and educational content, leading to 10x expansion of help articles and reduced inbound tickets on recurrent topics.

Relevant Experience

Head of Customer Support

Demostack (B2B Software as a Service/SaaS)
February 2022 – June 2023

Led the customer support function for a growing B2B SaaS company, implementing systems and processes to ensure exceptional customer experiences.

Achieved 98% CSAT and improved response times month over month.
Developed and executed the launch plan for Support through Intercom, serving as the owner/administrator and managing its operational efficiency.
Improved resolution times through collaboration with Dev Ops in the creation of various in-house tools to streamline troubleshooting.
Drove cross-functional alignment to improve the customer experience, expedite resolution of technical blockers, and enhance customer onboarding.
Saved thousands in ARR through direct efforts in escalation resolution and cross-functional collaboration on key accounts.

Head of Customer Support

Uscreen (B2B Software as a Service/SaaS with a B2B2C model)
May 2019 – February 2022

Led support and professional services teams through a period of significant growth, implementing scalable processes and systems to maintain service excellence.

Responsible for two teams’ (Support and Apps Professional Services) strategy and operations, inclusive of OKRs & KPIs, and scaled them during accelerated ARR growth from ~$2M to ~$23M ARR.
Forecasted staffing needs; hired, trained, coached, and developed a fully remote best-in-class Support and App teams of both onshore and offshore agents. Managed managers and had 20+ reports.
Successfully oversaw the project management of over 400 projects, and drove down deliverability time by 23%.
Raised CSAT to 98.9% in Q4 2021 (up almost 9% from Q4 2020). Cut down average response time by 96% in Q4 2021 compared to Q4 2020.
Purchased, implemented, administered Intercom, inclusive of automations and workflows. Reduced inbound tickets by 42% through continuous improvements in self-service automations.
Oversaw the Help Center and educational content, leading to 10x expansion of help articles and reduced inbound tickets on recurrent topics.

Commonly Asked Questions

What makes you different from other customer support leaders?
My unique blend of technical expertise, leadership experience, and customer-centric approach sets me apart. I bring a rare combination of strategic vision and hands-on execution capabilities, allowing me to not only identify operational improvements but also implement them effectively. My track record of achieving 98%+ CSAT while significantly reducing response times demonstrates my ability to balance efficiency with exceptional service quality. Additionally, my background in software development gives me a technical edge when working with cross-functional teams to solve complex support challenges and create innovative solutions for customers.
How do you approach scaling support operations in high-growth environments?
Scaling support operations in high-growth environments requires a methodical approach that balances immediate needs with long-term sustainability. I start by establishing clear metrics and KPIs to measure success, then implement data-informed forecasting for resource planning. Process documentation and standardization are critical, as they enable consistent service delivery even during rapid expansion. I prioritize automation of repetitive tasks and self-service options to improve efficiency and reduce ticket volume. Throughout the scaling process, I maintain a strong focus on team development and knowledge management to ensure the organization can support growth without sacrificing quality. My experience scaling teams during accelerated ARR growth from $2M to $23M demonstrates my ability to execute this approach successfully.
How do you balance operational efficiency with customer satisfaction?
Balancing operational efficiency with customer satisfaction is about finding the sweet spot where streamlined processes actually enhance the customer experience rather than detract from it. I approach this by first deeply understanding customer needs and pain points, then designing support workflows that address these efficiently. Automation plays a key role, but I’m careful to automate the right things—routine tasks that don’t benefit from human touch—while preserving personalized service where it matters most. Regular analysis of customer feedback and operational metrics helps identify opportunities for improvement. My track record of reducing response times by 96% while simultaneously increasing CSAT by 9% demonstrates my ability to achieve this balance effectively.
What is your approach to implementing support tools and technologies?
My approach to implementing support tools and technologies is methodical and user-focused. I begin with a clear assessment of business needs and objectives to ensure the technology serves a specific purpose. Before full implementation, I conduct thorough research and testing to validate that the solution addresses the identified needs. Change management is crucial, so I develop comprehensive training programs and documentation to support team adoption. I implement in phases when possible, gathering feedback and making adjustments along the way. Post-implementation, I measure success against predefined KPIs and continuously optimize the solution. This approach has proven successful in my implementations of Intercom, where I achieved significant reductions in ticket volume through thoughtful automation and workflow design.
How do you handle cross-functional collaboration to improve customer experience?
Effective cross-functional collaboration requires strong communication skills, mutual respect, and a shared understanding of objectives. I approach this by first establishing clear goals and expectations for collaborative projects, ensuring all teams understand not just what we’re doing but why it matters for the customer. Regular, structured communication channels help maintain alignment, while documentation of decisions and action items creates accountability. I work to understand the priorities and constraints of each department, finding solutions that address collective needs rather than optimizing for a single team. Building relationships based on trust and demonstrating a willingness to understand different perspectives has been key to my success in driving cross-functional initiatives, such as when I collaborated with Dev Ops at Demostack to create tools that reduced troubleshooting time by 23% and improved the resolution time of escalated technical issues by 37%.