Don't Just Deactivate: 3 Priorities When Your Salesforce Admin Quits
Experienced Salesforce talent can be hard to come by. With so much riding on your CRM — and your admin being the glue that held it all together — it makes sense that you might be feeling the pressure to figure out what’s next and figure it out fast.
With a little bit of planning, you can use the remaining time with your administrator to shore up your system and create a rock-solid plan for what's next.
Making the Most of Your Remaining Time
If you have time before your Salesforce administrator’s last day, you'll want to make the most of it by focusing on a few key tasks and priorities.
Start by giving your admin a list of things you want to know, then set a deadline for that deliverable that allows for time to review it together.
Included in that list should be:
A quick stock of the current state of your system documentation.
Their recommendations for how to build on that documentation before their last day.
Any projects that are in-flight and need detailing.
Immediate upcoming needs that will be the top priority for the next incoming Salesforce administrator.
If you have three weeks or only three days left with your Salesforce administrator, prioritizing your CRM needs will keep you focused on the right things.
Priority One: Schedule Knowledge Transfers
Documenting your Salesforce administrator's knowledge is important for keeping things working smoothly. Schedule knowledge transfer sessions with them as soon as possible to outline processes that aren’t already in your documentation. It’s the best way to capture what they know and what information is necessary for you to know.
You’ll probably uncover information about processes that you’re not fully aware of — after all, that’s been your Salesforce administrator’s responsibility up to now. We recommend scheduling at least two sessions before they leave, that way you’ll have enough time to dive deeper into those areas you uncover as most important.
That and breaking down sessions into manageable chunks is helpful for everyone involved.
Priority Two: Identify Deactivation Issues
Things can get confusing when you deactivate a user and unfortunately, this part is a bit trial and error. What you need to do will depend on your specific environment.
Checking in a sandbox environment for issues that will come up when you deactivate that user will let you see what breaks before it actually does. Figure out a strategy for how you're going to fix these issues, then do it in production.
If your Salesforce administrator is the connecting user for integrations, you'll want to tread carefully. If they are, who does that user need to change to now?
Heads up, Salesforce won’t say if that user is the integration user for external systems, so you'll need to coordinate with your Salesforce administrator to find out what other external systems rely on them.
If you're getting errors and don't know how to fix them, start by logging issues with the vendor. You'll want to contact their support before contacting Salesforce support. That said, if you have Salesforce Premier Support, you can call them and get through quickly 24/7 so they are your best bet.
The default workflow user will also likely need to be changed to someone else at your organization. If you have an ideal candidate ready to go, loop them in and make sure they communicate any issues they spot.
When you officially deactivate your Salesforce administrator as a user, some error messages might still come up but there are ways to minimize the pain. If you can’t solve these errors, it's time to contact Salesforce or better yet – work with a partner who can help you navigate the whole transition process.
Priority Three: Plan for the Short and Long Term
Salesforce is a robust system and can function as the one source of truth for your organization, but it’s practically impossible for something to be both robust and simple at the same time.
It can be a stressful transition. After all, there’s a lot of important stuff that your CRM touches. Hear us out though — it's also a great opportunity to evaluate your CRM strategy and consider the big picture.
How does your CRM fit into your current business processes?
Is there technical debt that’s slowing you down?
How is your system going to support your anticipated growth?
These kinds of questions are the reason you purchased the tools in the first place and can help your organization stay focused on the value they can provide.
Of course, you'll want to develop a plan to solve the immediate needs of your users first. Is there someone who can take over those duties internally? Can you shift responsibilities to them while your outgoing Salesforce administrator is still with your organization? If not, is there another candidate who can manage communication around the system?
Once you've addressed those short term needs, you'll also want to think about your long-term strategy.
It’s a great opportunity to get out of the weeds and think about the big picture. What else could provide value? Are there any blind spots that your CRM could shine a light on?
As you start thinking about how to fill the open role, consider what will help your organization reach the next level.
Is it hiring another Salesforce administrator?
Is it a Salesforce partner who can translate business goals into strategy?
Is it someone who can manage multiple Salesforce products?
What other options might suit your needs?
Just because you had a full time, internal Salesforce administrator doesn’t necessarily mean that plugging in another FTE is what will serve your business best in the long run.
With change happening anyway, now is the perfect time to think about what’s next and unlock even more of the potential Salesforce has to offer your organization.