Our sales team is responsible for signing clients, and our operations team is responsible for onboarding them. When onboarding lags, both sides blame each other. Who should own the time to onboard metric on our Company Scorecard, and how do we resolve this dispute?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When sales and operations point fingers over onboarding delays, the root issue is usually a lack of clear ownership on the Accountability Chart. In the EOS framework, we do not allow split ownership of a scorecard metric. Only one seat can own the row.

The onboarding speed metric, which tracks the number of days from contract signature to project kickoff, must be owned by the Operations Leader seat. This is because operations controls the delivery system, schedules the kickoff, and resources the team.

However, to prevent sales from dumping unqualified or unprepared clients into operations just to hit their targets, you must create a balancing metric on the scorecard. The Sales Leader should own a metric tracking handoff completion rate. This metric measures the percentage of deals passed to operations with all required client assets, signed documents, and scoping notes fully completed.

If the handoff rate drops, the Sales Leader is held accountable. If the handoff rate is green but onboarding is still slow, the Operations Leader is accountable. This structure forces both seats to collaborate while maintaining single-point accountability. Discuss this relationship during your weekly Level 10 Meeting and use the IDS process to resolve any friction between the two roles.