Learn About the Salesforce Admin Role

Learning Objectives

Describe what a Salesforce admin does. List the skills that Salesforce admins use in their work. Explain how Salesforce business users can empower their admins.

What Is a Salesforce Admin?

  • Salesforce Administrators (“Admins”) are an operational role that:
    • Works with stakeholders to define processes and customize the Salesforce Platform
    • Helps their company’s users get the most out of Salesforce by making the platform work for specific user needs
    • Brings innovation by automating business processes, creating reports and dashboards, training users on Salesforce, and staying on top of platform updates

Required Skills

  • Technical skills
    • Automation: create/maintain processes to facilitate completion of repetitive tasks
    • User Management: create/assign users, work with permissions/licenses, delegate users, etc
    • Data Management: direct how data is stored, collected, reviewed, used
    • Security: protect the business by making sure the right users work with the right data
    • Reporting: create and manage access to visual representations of data
    • Change Management: guide users through updates or changes to previous processes. Encourage adoption of new features.
    • Troubleshooting: Investigate and resolve org and user issues
  • Nontechnical skills
    • Problem Solving
    • Leadership
    • Business Analysis
    • Project Management
    • Communication
    • Business Knowledge

Key Activities

  • Daily Activities
    • Business Needs Analysis: Analyze processes along with stakeholders/users to make informed decisions that increase business efficiency and ensure users have the best experience possible.
    • Research: Look for the best tools/features to use for business needs. Get familiar with new functionality/features as they become available in Salesforce. Stay current on platform updates and evaluate how those updates affect current processes/functionality.
    • Salesforce Platform Management: Improve processes to make the platform work efficiently given ongoing changes to business processes and platform capabilities
    • Case Management: Handle cases that their users create
      • Examples
        • Password reset requests
        • Permission set assignments
        • Requests for new automated processes, etc.
      • Use their cases as a to-do list and make sure all business users' needs are met by staying on top of the queue.
    • Training: Develop training for users after they have implemented platform solutions and processes.
    • Implementation: Work with stakeholders to prioritize projects, set up the solution correctly, and monitor adoption.

Salesforce Users Can Empower Their Admins

  • Recognize that the admin is the Salesforce expert: When stakeholders request new features, they should seek out the admin’s advice and acknowledge the admin’s expertise.
  • Allow time for strategic planning: Admins receive a high volume of messages and emails. Organizations should make sure that admins have time in their busy days for strategic planning, so they can generate new ideas/processes that benefit the company in the long run.
    • Strategic planning is where real business efficiency comes from.

Resources