How Salesforce Admins Can Thrive in The Current Environment

As Salesforce Administrators, we like to think of ourselves as the ultimate problem solvers—spending our days tackling problems too complex for the average Salesforce user and being the hero for our organization.

But now, like everyone else, we find ourselves in uncharted waters. The adjustment to working remotely can be difficult. Even if you're organized, focused, and motivated, there are distractions and other challenges that can get in the way of productivity. For us Admins, that’s something we can’t afford when we have a team of users counting on us. 

So in the true Ohana spirit, here are some tips for Admins to empower their users and stay productive during this time.

When you’re in the office, it’s easy to convey when you’re available and when you’re not. If you have your headphones in or are busily typing away on your laptop, it’s probably not the best time to talk. But when you’re working remotely, it’s not always as straightforward. So it’s important to be clear about what communication channels you prefer (Slack, Chatter, email, etc.) for which type of questions. You could also consider holding virtual office hours during which you block out an hour or two a day for users to ask you questions or share ideas.

Another thing to pay special attention to now is how you support users who are new to your organization—or new to Salesforce altogether. Since they don’t have the luxury of meeting with you in person, go out of your way to introduce yourself, send a “getting started” email, and help them in areas where they may be struggling.

For more on this topic, I recommend checking out this blog post from Salesforce, which includes helpful communication tips and other suggestions for working from home.

As companies all over are dealing with unprecedented challenges right now, many are seeing their business slow down or initiatives being placed on hold. If you are an Admin at one of these companies, you may have more time on your hands than you are used to.

One way I’ve used some of my extra time (besides writing blog posts) is to clean up my Salesforce org. This is something Admins typically don’t get a chance to come around to very often, but can make your job a lot easier in the long run. 

Unused or unassigned roles, profiles, record types, fields, objects, and apps can make the simplest of Salesforce configuration requests overly complicated. Identifying and removing this data can make your org run a lot smoother, and make it easier for your users to do their jobs. Think of it as spring cleaning for your org!

However, before you do any of this, be sure to back everything up so you don’t delete data that might be needed in the future for business or compliance reasons. If you don’t currently have a backup and recovery solution in place, why not see OwnBackup in action?

If you’re finding that you are storing a lot of data in Salesforce that’s not needed for day-to-day operations, you could also consider archiving that data. That way, instead of permanently deleting it, you’re simply relocating it and freeing up space in your org. OwnBackup Archiver is a great solution for this as well. I use both solutions (backup and archiver) and they have saved me on more than one occasion.

Let’s say you’re doing a great job keeping the lines of communication open with your users. And you just did a deep clean of your Salesforce org. But you still have an extra hour in the work day, given that your daily commute has gone from a one-hour drive to a five-second walk.

For me, this time has been a great opportunity for professional development. Trailhead, Salesforce’s learning experience platform, is an incredible resource for Admins and users to grow within the Salesforce ecosystem. Why not get a new certification, or brush up on a new skill? If you’re not sure where to start, I suggest joining the Certification Days community group which has some great certification resources and tips.

There’s also a helpful Trailhead module titled “Cybersecurity Threat Prevention and Response” that contains information on how to build a disaster recovery plan along with other trails related to the current situation. 

One of the things I like most about being a Salesforce Admin is being a part of the amazing Trailblazer community. It’s one of the most fun, helpful, supportive groups out there, and right now, we need to support each other more than ever.

At OwnBackup, we are doing our part by continuing to run virtual lunch and learns, where we are giving attendees $20 eGiftCards to support local restaurants. We’re also giving away eGiftCards for every demo request that comes in through our website.