4 Tips to Keep Your Salesforce Instance Organized

Everyone can use a little help to keep their Salesforce org neat, organized, and healthy. Whether you are a brand new Salesforce user, an experienced admin, or somewhere in between, chances are you have questions on how to ensure that everything in your org is running smoothly. The good news is that you are not alone and we’re here to help!

While there are many components to a “healthy org,” they all boil down to four key factors: data security, data quality, streamlined processes, and automation. Let’s start by breaking each of those down. If you want to delve even deeper into your org health, download our Healthy Org Workbook, which has many activities, exercises and videos to help you along.

1. Data Security Tips in Salesforce

It’s an unfortunate reality that data breaches are becoming much more commonplace. This is especially troubling because, for most organizations, data is the most valuable commodity. At Salesforce, our number one value is trust—this means that not only do we prioritize our customers’ data, but we also want to give our customers the tools to safeguard THEIR customers’ data as well. Build up your data security by:

1. Limiting permissions: give your users only the permissions they need to do their jobs. This principle means fewer points of access to your most sensitive data.
2. Using layered security mechanisms: this means tools like two-factor authentication and firewalls. There are many options to choose from and you can learn more about them in this trail on Trailhead.
3. Educating your users: unfortunately, users are the primary target of malware and phishing. Ensure that your users are aware of risks and understand how to mitigate them.

Review Your User Permissions Periodically

2. Monitor and Manage Data Quality to Keep Your Salesforce Instance Organized

Maintaining quality data is one of the top concerns for most administrators. The more data you have, the more likely it is that you will encounter duplicates, faulty information, or missing pieces. Data quality issues can come up due to a variety of factors–user error, no preventative automated safeguards, or a lack of data hygiene processes. Help your data stay “clean” by:

1. Understanding your data: you can’t identify “bad” data if you don’t know what that means for your org. Consider what it means for your data to be accurate, complete, and consistent.
2. Training users: once you understand what your data should look like, train all your users to identify those same qualities and stick to a standardized process.
3. Using Salesforce tools: There are many features in Salesforce designed to help with data quality. Consider using validation rules, page layouts, and help text to steer your users in the right direction.

3. Streamline Your Processes in Salesforce

Once you’ve secured and cleaned up your data, you can start shaping your org to work exactly how you imagined. A streamlined org means that every user has the tools that they need to do their job and every admin understands how to maintain and support those tools. This may seem like an unattainable idea, but you can start streamlining your org in three easy steps.

1. Make it easy to enter information: this goes back to training and enabling users on data entry and maintenance. Again, using tools like customized page layouts or in-app guidance will make Salesforce both accessible and useful to all users.
2. Make it easy to find information: if you have a lot of data in your org, it can quickly become difficult to navigate. Mitigate this problem by building in simplifying tools. For example, create list views to quickly access just the records that you need, customize search results to include only relevant fields, or utilize compact layouts to show the most important information right at the top of a page.
3. Talk to end users: the most effective streamlining tactic is understanding exactly what your end users need from their org. Gather this information by talking to your end users, asking them what is helpful, what are some common pain points, and what kind of support they need. This can act as a starter blueprint for every admin.

4. Set Up Automation so You Don’t Have to Work Weekends

Now that you have your data cleaned, organized, and streamlined, let’s take a closer look at automation. You have enough work to do without having to go through repetitive, manual tasks. Instead, you can create automated processes that run in the background and leave you to do more important work. Some tips are:

1. Understand when to automate: sometimes not knowing what to automate is a major obstacle. The best candidates for automation are tasks that are repetitive, have consistent logic or parameters, and are applicable to multiple users.
2. Map your processes: you can’t automate if you don’t understand how something works. Once you’ve identified what you’d like to automate, map the process from start to finish to understand how each step can be handled with an automation tool.
3. Use Salesforce tools: there are many robust automation tools in Salesforce. You may start simple with a workflow rule or an approval process. Design more intelligent logic with Process Builder. If you’re ready to get more advanced, check out Flow!

Map Your Business Process Before Mirroring it in Salesforce

Keeping your Salesforce org healthy should always be a top priority. Looking for more tools to clean up and optimize? Check out our new Healthy Org Workbook! It provides hands-on activities, templates, videos and lots of resources to promote a healthier Salesforce org.

About the Author
Natalie Vaynberg is a success content specialist, focused on building resources for nonprofit and education customers, including webinars, workbooks, and blogs. She has been with Salesforce.org for three years and prior to that worked in the higher education space. Having been a Salesforce user, Natalie is passionate about helping our customers succeed.