Salesforce Admins: Why You Should Use Trailhead – Jenny’s Admin Tip #28

When it comes to the features that Admins can learn in Salesforce it would seem the possibilities are endless. Never is this more true when it comes to the Salesforce Spring, Summer and Winter Releases, which as you know are full of new features that are yet to be explored by Salesforce users. So, it is always a good idea to try and stay on top of what can be done as an Admin in the Salesforce platform.

Yet, for new Admins taking on Salesforce, these new releases on top of learning the Salesforce basics, can actually be quite daunting. I’ve been an admin for over a year now and I still find some aspects of my day-to-day role quite daunting, for example, I highlighted how scary it can be to tackle Formula Functions for the first time in Jenny’s Admin Tip #27.

However, like the ‘Taking on Formula Function‘ posts and many of my other posts reveal, if you come across a problem, you’ll also find that there is a solution out there to help you overcome it. And that solution generally falls into the category of training i.e training yourself to learn how to use that particular feature.

That’s why the fantastic Trailhead is is a must for all Admins whether they are new to the platform or not.

So what is Trailhead?

In short, Trailhead has been around for a while now and it basically enables those who are new to Salesforce or those who want to dive deeper into the Platform to learn the features that Salesforce offer in a free, fun and interactive way.

So why you should use Trailhead?

You learn new features.

• Trailhead consist of four Trails; Admin Trail – Beginner: Customising Salesforce; Admin Trail – Intermediate: Solve Common Business Needs; Developer Trail – Beginner: Build Apps on Salesforce1 and lastly Developer Trail – Intermediate: Integration and Mobile Tools. Each Trail consists of modules packed full of interactive tutorials, challenges and information. So there are plenty of subjects to sink you teeth into.
• The beauty of Trailhead is that there are no constraints about which Trail you choose. You can blaze your own Trails by following a learning path or you can choose your own Trail at your own pace. So if you want to challenge your Admin brain, why not take a stroll down the Developer path? Who knows what goodies you might find?

You can challenge yourself.

• Trailhead is full of new features that you may have not come across before. Within each Trails, there are sections that provide an overview of a feature. Once you have learned that feature e.g Data Security, you will then be challenged with either a series of questions or some sort of configuration. Perfect if you are feeling a little rusty in certain areas!
• As mentioned above, there will be some sort of config involved, so you will need to sign up to a Developer Org. You will be asked to sign into your developer org before you attempt a challenge. So sign up here if you haven’t already.
• Aim for high scores and collect your badges! Each challenge enables you to collect points, however you need to get all the answer correct on your first attempt to gain the maximum points. Each attempt after that will decrease the amounts of points you can gain. What’s more, when you have finished a module you will be given a shiny Trailhead badge, nice!

Get involved and start interacting.

• The Success Community, Twitter and more are buzzing with Trailhead chatter. This is a great opportunity to communicate with you peers and experts to brag about you Trailhead score, your badges, or even ask/answer question about Trailhead.

Refresh your memory.

• Even if you are an experienced Admin, the Admin Trail – Beginners, is still a great place to start when taking on Trailhead. Why? Well not only does it provide you with the Salesforce Admin basics (which you may have forgotten along the way), but it allows you to gain an insight into any new features that may have been released post basic training days.

These are just a few reasons why you should stand out and start learning in-demand Salesforce skills!

Wow. What more could we ask for, Chris Duarte? I know I’m looking forward to seeing what else Trailhead has to offer in the future 🙂

Good luck, have fun and I’ll see you all in the Salesforce Success Community.

Jenny