HELP! (Supporting Your Salesforce Users)

Many Salesforce orgs have fewer than 500 users. In this environment, depending on the complexity of the customization and processes built within the tool, users have direct access to the administrator(s). However, in larger organizations (over 500 users), this type of support model can be daunting and impractical. As an administrator, you will be bogged down with requests, emails and phone calls from your users – reducing your productivity hours. So, how do you go about supporting your users while driving adoption? Create and enforce a support model!

Before my organization implemented any part of Salesforce, a very solid project scope was defined along with an implementation and support strategy. This is important to us because by the end of 2012, we will have approximately 1500 active users in the tool using only Sales Automation. This number will continue to grow as we add Service and Support and Marketing Automation over the next year and a half. We knew that we had to have a user support model that was scalable and effective.

The Delegated Administrator role is the key to our model. These administrators or “Champions” are selected by the regional core team and are designated super users who receive extra training and learn how to be the first point of contact for our users when there are questions, comments or concerns. Champions are also responsible for assisting with new user training and helping in communication and change management, resetting passwords and transferring records to new users when needed.

When our Champions need additional assistance or don’t have an answer to a question, I act as their point of contact. Additionally, my role as the administrator for these regions is to manage the changes that are brought to my attention, obtain the requirements and reasoning behind the change requests and vet this information with the other regional administrators to ensure consistency across regions. I work on configuration and enhancements to the tool which are related to these requests and changes which are seen during the regular Salesforce release cycle. In addition, to ensure constant communication and quick issue resolution, I host a weekly or bi-weekly call with the Champions from each region to discuss issues and address concerns that are being vocalized by the end-users.

I will admit that there are times when you or I need assistance. As a way to help with projects or configuration that is too complex (such as Visualforce pages) or where I do not have the bandwidth to complete a project, I can contact Bluewolf Beyond. The Beyond team acts as a advisory team and provides help with coding and configuration as needed. Salesforce basic support is also a resource that I can reach out to for assistance.

Here is an image of our support model:

No matter how large or small your organization, having a support model that is clearly defined and made available to your users is key to drive user adoption, across the platform. It will also make your life as an administrator much easier; allowing you to focus on becoming an Admin Hero!

How does your organization handle user support? Leave a comment below! If you found this article helpful, please spread the word and share!