The humans behind your technology are your greatest keys to success, and one of the best ways to ensure a successful CRM project is to place a superb Salesforce administrator at the helm.
Choosing the right people to help roll out new technology can be a difficult task, especially for an enterprise software project. In the Salesforce.org space you’re also navigating important work in education, human services and more. Your CRM administrator is a vital part of your team and your organization’s mission. This integral team member needs to be a unicorn, with the technical aptitude to support your CRM as well as the soft skills to adeptly navigate all parts of your organization from your staff to the people you serve.
Jeanne Jobes, one of our awesome Consultants at Elevation Solutions, and Elise Hastings, our wonderful Business Development Manager, shared a few of the best qualities to look for as you choose your stellar admin!
Mission Driven.
Whether it’s educating students, organizing volunteers, or serving those in need, your mission is the driving force behind everything you do. Your CRM administrator needs to have energy, passion and drive for your mission as they touch all aspects of your organization.
It also takes awhile to get up to speed with any organization’s CRM. As an administrator works and grows within your organization, they will become more and more valuable. Your admin understands all your processes and will be able to build trust with your staff and your constituents. Salesforce administrators are in high demand across sectors. Passion for your mission will help drive your administrator’s desire to stay and grow with your organization.
Technical & Process Driven.
If an administrator doesn’t understand your processes and your CRM structure, there can be serious damage done inadvertently that will need to be corrected at time and expense to your organization. A Salesforce Administrator Certificate is a good way to know that your administrator is knowledgeable and comfortable with the software. If you hire someone without a certificate or choose an admin from your existing staff, allocate a good amount of time in those first few months for learning through Salesforce Trailheads. The goal would be for the admin to achieve their Nonprofit Cloud and/or Education Cloud certification within the first six months of being the admin.
Someone who has a database background also transfers very well to a Salesforce environment. Understanding a little bit of code and familiarity with other databases can go a long way when working with Salesforce.
Cross Functional. Nobody puts “Admin” in a Corner!
Sometimes it can be easiest to send your CRM Admin to the IT corner and forget to include them in necessary cross functional roles. CRM Admins need to work across your organization to make sure that your CRM is meeting your needs. Your admin should be comfortable working in this cross functional role and should be able to communicate effectively with all levels of the organization. For instance, sometimes they might need to sit in recruiting and marketing meetings to discuss automating emails, or they might need to observe how a student interacts with your online forms.
Your CRM admin should have insight for how to support operations across different parts of your organization. It’s important to understand your admin’s strategic value so you can make sure they are best equipped to optimize your CRM!
Empathetic & Enjoys Helping Others.
When hiring a CRM admin it might be tempting to focus on the technical skills and overlook the soft skills. Your admin should be comfortable sitting with users, understanding their work, and speaking up for them when necessary. Your admin will play a key role in training your staff and communicating CRM processes. Understanding the user perspective to develop training as well as demonstrating solid customer service skills makes a big difference. Communicating functionality, being honest about what the CRM can and can’t do, and answering requests are going to take up a lot of your admin’s time. The person in the administrator role should be ready and able to navigate that responsibility.
Problem Solver Extraordinaire!
Your admin will be the “go to” person as you develop new programs and new processes that need to be captured in your CRM. The team member in this role should be excited and energized to solve new problems as your organization grows and changes. A strong grasp of the technology will help your admin understand how to solve problems effectively, but a healthy dose of curiosity and love of solving new problems will keep them excited to continue developing your CRM.
Understand that your CRM Admin doesn’t necessarily have to be one person, and it may be best to support your processes with a couple of administrators depending on your org size and your salesforce environment.
Do you have more questions on how to select your perfect admin? Elevation Solutions is here to help! Tell us a little about your organization and we can give you a better idea of how to select your admin as well as empower your team to use the Salesforce platform to its full potential.
