Finding people with Salesforce skills on their resume is easy. But finding the right people to reach your business goals is hard.
One reason for that is the fact that hiring managers often are not familiar enough with the workings of Salesforce to assess a candidate’s technical skills. Another reason is that the right person has to also have the soft skills, experience, and future plans that align with the needs and strategy of your business.
You want to be sure to get a good fit to avert the disruption and expense that result from having to replace someone who leaves or that has to be let go due to not being able to deliver everything the job requires. Here’s how to do it.
1. Define your goals
To find the right people, you need to know the skills gaps you need to fill. Before you even start looking at resumes, you have to clarify the Salesforce challenges you need to overcome to meet your business goals. On that basis, you can establish your own expectations and identify which Salesforces skills and experience are needed for the role and determine what type of addition to your team makes the most sense for your needs and budget :a full-time permanent hire, a temporary consultant, or a long-term fractional administrator.
2. Consider a consultant
If you only need someone for a few months or even for an ongoing project that can be completed by a skilled person with multiple clients, it would be more efficient to engage a consultant than to hire someone on a permanent basis. That option not only translates into substantial cost savings on salary and benefits but can also save you time to hire.
The consulting agency would have already completed vetting and assessing the admin to match background and skills with the needs you have specified for your business. If you approve the admin and the contract rate, you can onboard the individual the next day with absolute confidence. But if you’re in it for the long-haul and need more than a fractional administrator, arriving at the same level of confidence requires that you continue with the steps below.
3. Look at experience rather than credentials
Salesforce admins typically can boast of numerous Trailhead badges and certifications. However, knowing something for the test is not the same as working through real business problems. That’s why you want to look for someone who has demonstrated such capability on the job by paying close attention to the experiences listed on the admin’s resume and LinkedIn profile.
4. Ascertain career alignment
This does not mean you have to look for someone who has been there, done that in exactly the same kind of role before but for someone who shows enough knowledge of Salesforce to be able to be effective in the role they have to fill at your company – even if it’s different from one they’ve held before.
In fact, the admin may specifically be looking for a position that’s different from the one they’ve held because they intend to take their career in a different direction. That’s something to find out in conversations that can elicit not just what they’ve done but what they want to be doing to advance their careers in their next role.
5. Offer an assessment assignment
You don’t have to just take the admin’s word for it that they have mastered particular Salesforce skills. Offer the candidate a test assignment that would prove their capability and analytical skills, as well as how they approach a problem. When you do that, it’s a good practice to offer some compensation for the task. That reflects well on company culture, showing that you value people’s time and don’t just make them jump through hoops because you can.
6. Talk shop
If they did well enough on the assignment, you want a final check on their fit and communication skills. Have someone familiar with Salesforce talk with them about how their tasks fit into the larger goals in marketing, sales, finance, or revenue operations to see that they have the ability to understand and respond to business concerns.
In addition, you want them to speak about how they’ve handled mistakes and what their approach to overcoming difficulties is to be sure they won’t just hit a wall when things go wrong but will work at it. Finally, it’s important to have them communicate their personal career goals and what they wish to be exposed to on the job to be certain they would be happy at your company and not want to leave too soon because they find the position too limiting.
7. Make the right offer to the right person
Congratulations, you found someone who meets all your requirements. The final challenge then is to make an offer that the candidate is likely to accept. While you would know your costs upfront when engaging a consulting company to find your talent, that doesn’t happen when working with individuals. Expectations vary widely, depending on level experience, location, flexibility for remote work, benefits on offer, and other factors. Do your homework to find out what range is appropriate for both your job and the individual requirements.
Also bear in mind that while someone with more extensive experience may appear to be the better choice, that individual’s compensation expectations may be above what you’ve budgeted for the role. While it’s tempting to seek out the person with the most credentials, you need to focus on the skills that fit our business goals. As Stephen Covey would say, have the end – including budget – in mind when you start your search.
That’s it. It takes seven steps to make a full-time hire or only two if you rely on an agency for your matching, vetting, testing, and pricing.
Related: How to Pivot Your Strategic Goals Mid-Year
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