The Do’s and Don’ts for Onboarding Salesforce Users
Need to get your staff up and running on Salesforce? There’s a lot of advice out there when it comes to onboarding best practices. We’re adding to that advice with our own list of do’s and don’ts. Let’s start with the “don’ts”…
Don’ts
Don’t use stale presentations
Do you like presentations with tons of text and no pictures? Of course not! People are visual and learn better when presented with graphical information, so make sure your presentation and learning materials are colorful and creative.
Don’t show demos only
Simply watching demos leaves no room for practice, which is vital at the initial stage. Remember this Benjamin Franklin quote? “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” The combination of presentations, live demos, and active participation can make people more interested in using Salesforce.
Don’t think you can get by with a simple Google search 
Not all information presented in Google is actually true or helpful. The best source of trusted and reliable information is the Salesforce Help and Training Portal and Trailhead.
Don’t hold long training sessions
The ability to concentrate for long periods of time is difficult. Keep your sessions short and spaced out over a period of time rather than trying to cram everything into one long day.
Don’t try to learn everything about everything
Salesforce is a gigantic platform with lots of tools, features, applications and extensions. It’s not possible to learn everything there is to know in a day, a week, or even a month. Keep in mind, however, that your employees don’t have to know everything. The training should be based on the parts of Salesforce that will be utilized most by the team.
Do’s
Do create a learning database
The key to success in learning is good documentation. 
You need to create a database of Salesforce resources that can be accessed by any team member at any time. You can record demos and presentations for further learning. Salesforce is constantly evolving and developing, so be aware that your notes and database should be regularly updated.
Do allocate enough time
Whether you’re onboarding an entire team or a single new employee, make sure you allocate enough time. It generally takes anywhere from 2 to 4 months for new users to get a good grasp of Salesforce. A good practice is to meet from time to time and discuss any difficulties users are currently facing.
Do focus on the basic essentials
Engage your staff in learning the basic essentials. These will differ for each department, so it’s very important to plan your training according to specific user needs.
Do know when it’s time to get some help
If your company is having trouble finding someone within the organization to handle the training, you can always hire Salesforce experts. If you have already implemented Salesforce and feel that your team needs extra training or you’re just at the stage of launching your CRM, let us know if we can help!
