Salesforce CRM is the source of truth for keeping all of your data as well as your business processes and workflows organized. It’s also a complex platform that requires continuous maintenance.
It takes a Salesforce expert to ensure the instance is tailored to your business needs so that your automation runs smoothly, data stays clean, and your users have the access they need to do their job.
With all of Salesforce’s advanced capabilities and customization options, most organizations using Salesforce require a skilled administrator to manage the platform.
Salesforce can be the lifeblood of your organization, so don’t cut corners when it comes to delegating administration. We increasingly see companies’ need for not just one administrator, but a unified team of admins working together to ensure full utilization of Salesforce.
Not only does a team protect your company from unexpected employee turnover, but they also bring a wide range of experience and industry knowledge.
Do you need to hire a Salesforce Administrator?
Yes, it’s recommended that organizations utilizing Salesforce have a skilled administrator on their team to manage the platform. We find that many of our clients have a random employee who fell into the role shouldering the “burden” of the platform–rather than having someone who knows how to maximize the ROI of Salesforce.
By hiring an experienced Salesforce administrator from the get-go, your organization can spend less time on daily maintenance and end-user support. Instead, you’ll be set up for success right from the start.
What does a Salesforce Admin do?
A Salesforce administrator configures and maintains an organization’s CRM, working closely with leaders and other stakeholders to set up an instance that’s optimized for their business. Their responsibilities include:
- Performing an audit when they first access the platform
- Identifying business goals and creating relevant dashboards and reports
- Maintaining the platform’s data integrity, overall health, and day-to-day end-user support
- Continuing to improve upon workflows, processes, automation, and backend architecture
The specific tasks of an administrator ultimately depend on the industry of the organization and what your organization is looking to achieve.
For example, some administrators also specialize in Service Cloud, Experience Cloud (formerly Community Cloud), or even the Nonprofit Success Pack. Although they are all Salesforce products, different platforms have different nuances. That’s why it’s best to find a Salesforce administrator who has experience that fits your particular needs.
Salesforce Admin Day-to-Day Activities
Other than creating custom views and modifying user privileges, a Salesforce administrator is also responsible for a wide range of tasks:
Helping users gain access to Salesforce
As organizational structure changes, it’s pertinent that you have someone who’s in charge of making sure everyone who has access to sensitive data on Salesforce should be there.
Example tasks:
- Whitelisting IP Addresses
- Deactivating user accounts who have departed from your company
- Unblocking user accounts/resetting passwords
Data maintenance and integrity
Maintaining data cleanliness and the overall health of your platform is critical. You want to make sure your employees are working with accurate and up-to-date data, whether reaching out to contacts or analyzing reports.
Example tasks:
- Validating, cleansing, and enriching contact data
- Creating validation rules to ensure standardization of data
- Helping end users develop reports so they yield accurate metrics
Making sure everyone has access to relevant reports
Although many people in the organization need some level of access to Salesforce, having too many reports on your employees’ dashboard can be confusing–causing a decrease in productivity. That’s why it’s important to have an administrator who can make sure everyone has the right kind of data to do their job.
Example tasks:
- Archiving old dashboards and reports that haven’t been used in the past 90 days (time frame may differ depending on needs)
- Ensuring that the data collected is relevant to stakeholders
Documenting all processes
Documenting all processes is important because it ensures everyone knows how to access and configure the reports and dashboards should your administrator choose to depart from the company.
Example tasks:
- Archiving any error logs
- Documenting best practices for future review
Staying up-to-date with Salesforce’s new releases
Like any software out there, Salesforce releases periodic updates to increase productivity. It’s important to have someone there who’s in charge of staying up-to-date with those updates.
Example tasks:
- Installing any updates
- Attending any local or national conferences to get the latest trends
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How to hire the right Salesforce Admin for you
You need to make sure your Salesforce admin is not only detail-oriented but also process-oriented. They should have excellent communication skills, as they need to clearly communicate with leadership in addition to their daily interactions with end users.
You should also have an individual who can build, improve on, and maintain a platform that your organization can scale with. We’ve seen countless organizations have to take two steps back in order to take a leap forward because their administrators were focused on “band-aiding” the problems–rather than implementing long-term solutions.
It’s also recommended to have a team that has experience within your industry. This makes it easier to address issues swiftly in addition to handling other day-to-day needs.
Salesforce isn’t just a CRM for a team to input data and track notes. As your organization grows, you can take advantage of the advanced functionalities that can be natively added to your system, such as:
- Service Cloud (for customer service teams)
- Experience Cloud (for building a community)
- Nonprofit Success Pack (for nonprofits and their constituents)
- Third-party integrations
You want to look for an individual who’s a certified Salesforce Administrator because they’re trained to maintain a live org with a skillset that can cover a wide range of ever-changing business needs.
You also want to ensure this person has experience. We have seen organizations hire a newly certified administrator to cut down on costs; however, onboarding an individual who has lived, breathed, and maintained a live org ensures that you have someone who can provide best practices and strategic direction for long-term growth.
Would you hire an inexperienced mechanic who recently finished training, or someone who has been repairing cars for years? The same idea applies here. That said, be aware a higher salary is needed to hire and retain an experienced certified administrator.
How many Salesforce Admins do you need?
Determining how many Salesforce Admins can be tricky, as it often varies based on the following factors:
- Organization size
- Business needs
- The complexity of those business needs
- Budget
However, Salesforce’s Trailblazer Community has provided this table as a point of reference:
| Number of Users | Administration Resources |
|---|---|
| 1-30 users | < 1 full-time administrator |
| 31-74 users | 1+ full-time administrator |
| 75-149 users | 1 senior administrator; 1 junior administrator |
| 140-499 users | 1 business analyst; 2-4 administrators |
| 500-750 users | 1-2 business analysts, 2-4 administrators |
| 750+ users | Depends on a variety of factors |
Dependent on budget, organizations often have a dedicated consultant who’s in charge of driving the long-term strategy of the platform. This strategist regularly reviews the business’ needs to design the appropriate business processes and workflows.
Whether your company is just beginning its Salesforce journey, an enterprise-level organization, or somewhere in between, you need someone skilled with Salesforce to drive platform strategy. Many organizations choose to outsource their admin team to reduce costs while still gaining this expert insight.
Outsourcing Salesforce Administration
Hiring an in-house administrator can be a costly endeavor. You need to take into account the complete cost of hiring a fully burdened employee.
This includes time for recruitment, onboarding, salaries, benefits, insurance, equipment, and much more. Many organizations have found it beneficial to outsource their Salesforce needs.
For example, EBQ’s model is cost-effective while providing value and security. Our clients are assigned an experienced team dedicated to their organizations for a fraction of the cost of hiring just one administrator internally. This team includes:
- Consultant: In charge of making sure the customers are happy with their Salesforce team. They’ll meet with clients regularly to get candid feedback and to discuss strategy and goals within the platform.
- Solutions Architect: Similar to a project manager, they’re in charge of driving the projects and keeping the team aligned with the clients’ goals, including the overall design, vision, and delegating tasks to the other team members.
- Senior Consultant: They’re in charge of tackling the complex action items the Solutions Architect may have for the team.
- Salesforce Administrator: They’re in charge of performing day-to-day tasks, maintaining the health of the customer’s platform, and supporting the Senior Consultant as their backup.
Because of this team structure, our model provides peace of mind for any expected or unexpected life events, such as vacations, sick leave, or individuals who put in their two weeks’ notice. When these life events happen, another member of the team can take over without interruption to your business: no missed meetings, no missed milestones, and no delay in end-user support.
All of our team members have multiple Salesforce certifications, most are cross-platform certified, and everyone has hands-on experience supporting multiple organizations in your industry—which means your dedicated team is trained to help you get full utility out of your Salesforce.
If you’d like to learn more about what EBQ’s administration services could do for you, request a consultation with one of our specialists.
Wrapping up
Hiring the right team of experienced experts can not only help you get the most out of the platform, but can also help set you up for success from the start.
Having the team of experts gives your organization a wide range of perspectives as to how to truly get full utility from Salesforce.
If you’re ready to get the most out of Salesforce, explore our Salesforce services page to learn how you can spend less time managing your platform and more time growing your business.
