Customer Onboarding and Escalation Specialist - Grand Rapids MI

Applied Innovation is seeking a self-motivated, highly organized individual to fill a full-time opportunity in our Operations Project Management Department. The Customer Onboarding & Escalation Specialist is responsible for supporting a positive customer experience after implementation and providing structured ownership when customer issues require escalation and coordination across multiple departments. This role serves as both a proactive customer onboarding resource for large, complex, or strategic accounts and a reactive escalation owner for customer-impacting issues across the broader customer base. This is a full-time, onsite position located at 5555 Glenwood Hills Pkwy SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, with standard hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM.

Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead structured post-implementation onboarding for large, complex, or strategic customer accounts.
- Conduct 30/60/90-day customer health checks to validate successful deployment, adoption, service readiness, and customer satisfaction.
- Identify early risks, unresolved issues, training needs, process gaps, and customer concerns before they become larger escalations.
- Coordinate with Account Management, Operations, Service, Supply Chain, Billing, Contracts and other internal teams to resolve onboarding and post-onboarding issues.
- Serve as the accountable owner for customer escalations that meet defined criteria, regardless of account size. Take ownership of issues from initial escalation through final resolution.
- Develop escalation action plans, assign owners, track progress, and maintain clear communication with internal stakeholders.
- Provide timely status updates to leadership and involved teams on active escalations, risks, barriers, and resolution progress.
- Document root cause, corrective actions, lessons learned, and process improvement opportunities following escalations.
- Maintain accurate records of onboarding activity, escalation history, customer risks, and resolution outcomes.
- Partner with leadership to identify recurring trends and recommend improvements to onboarding, implementation, support, and escalation processes.

Minimum Qualifications:
To perform this position successfully, an individual must be able to perform each job duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills.
- Client-focused mindset with a professional and courteous approach.
- High attention to detail with strong organizational skills.
- Strong conflict resolution and negotiation skills.
- Dependable and able to manage multiple priorities.
- Ability to work effectively in a team-oriented environment as well as independently.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, service-driven setting.
- Proven proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Excel, and Word.
- Understanding and alignment with the organization’s core values.

Education/License/Experience Requirements:
- High School Diploma or GED required.
- 3+ years of customer service, account management, operations, or project management experience.
- Proficiency with computers and multiple software programs.

What We Offer: 
- Medical, dental, and life insurance on the 31st day of employment
- Short-term disability
- Paid vacation and holidays
- Paid volunteer time
- 401(k) retirement plan with company match program
- Onsite fitness center
- Opportunities for professional growth and advancement