Investing in Salesforce is like giving your organization a gift that keeps on giving. With tri-annual releases and a vibrant user community comes non-stop innovation and new capabilities. At 10K, it’s our mission to make sure every Salesforce customer is getting the most out of Salesforce, so this may not be the first time you’ve seen us promoting the benefits of ongoing education.
In our latest “Ask The Expert” webinar, 10K CEO Nick Hamm sat down with Trailhead SVP, Amy Regan Morehouse, to explore the seemingly endless ways organizations can use ongoing education to get more out of Salesforce. As Amy notes in this webinar, the most effective way to make ongoing education a habit (much like committing to a new workout plan) is by simply getting started today.
Click here to watch the full discussion or read on below for highlights.
Who is Amy Regan Morehouse?
Amy is currently the Senior Vice President of Trailhead Academy and Trailhead Go-To-Market and has been at Salesforce for nearly 13 years. With more than half of her Salesforce career dedicated to educating its users, Amy is an admin gone Salesforce superfan with a penchant for advancing every Trailblazer’s career.
Why Education is a Pillar for Excellent Salesforce Programs
At the beginning of the webinar, Nick explains that while ongoing education is one of the five pillars for long-term, successful Salesforce programs, he’s rarely seen customers implement education programs or goals. Given our new normal and the need to adapt quickly, Amy agrees that it’s now more important than ever to lean on ongoing education to reskill your teams.
The pandemic has also created an opportunity for every organization to provide new pathways for its members. Ongoing education is an excellent way to empower employees during uncertain times by giving them the tools and knowledge they need to enrich their careers.
Not Investing in Education is Actually Bad for Business
By not taking advantage of Salesforce’s rapid innovation, it’s kind of like buying your dream car but not getting your license to drive it. To drive this point home, Amy shares three striking statistics from Salesforce’s own CSG organization that show how companies that don’t invest in learning are seeing:
- 80% lower feature adoption
- 64% greater employee turnover
- 60% greater time to proficiency
The Framework Any Organization Can Adopt
Recognizing that it’s everyone’s goal to create a fast-track to proficiency, Amy outlines how to build a common language and framework that works organically for your organization’s unique culture and goals.
Prioritize: Be an Advocate
To drive awareness, Amy encourages taking ownership and leading by example. To most effectively vocalize the benefits and hold your teams accountable, this message needs to come from the very top of every organization. That means every leader should be practicing ongoing education themselves and promoting it company-wide.
She also encourages setting bold goals. Amy notes she’s been pleasantly surprised and thrilled to see some of their largest customers that run Centers of Excellence leading by example and becoming Rangers themselves.
You’ll also need to give your learners time and permission, may that be a lunch-and-learn or dedicating a day or week to a specific educational challenge.
Customize: Put Learners First
Consider the goals of both your organization and its learners. By syncing the two, you can curate learning journeys that will promote action.
Amy describes two camps of learners. Those who need the skills to, for example, effectively complete a project, and those who want the skills to advance their career to the next level. This is why we should put learners first through goal-oriented customization. Amy recommends checking out myTrailhead to provide the ultimate customized experience for your learners.
Engage & Reward: Create a Learning Culture
While financial rewards might be part of the equation for your organization, you should also ask what will best engage your learners so it becomes a natural part of your culture.
Amy describes an S&P type Salesforce customer that’s prioritized ongoing education via their hiring and promoting process. By asking candidates about their ongoing education and encouraging certifications, they’re able to identify the individuals who invest in themselves, and ultimately, would provide a great return for their company.
How to Skill Up With Trailhead Starting Today
Amy’s most recommended tool, of course, is Trailhead, Salesforce’s free learning platform that provides everyone with democratized access to education.
For those who are unfamiliar but ready to get started ASAP, Amy recognizes that Trailhead’s vast array of tools can be somewhat daunting, but she doesn’t want that to deter you from getting started. In fact, she confirms it’s absolutely not necessary to create a formal, sweeping education strategy.
For recommended content (Trails) catered to at-home learning, and even strategies for marketing ongoing education to your organization, check out Trailhead In A Box. Here are some of the assets you can take advantage of to launch a culture of learning:
- Virtual Collaboration Module
- Succeed From Home During COVID-19 Trail
- Playbook For Driving Virtual Engagement
- Trailhead Marketing Assets
Introducing a Trailhead challenge to your organization, per Amy’s experience, is one of the easiest strategies for customers to drive. With easily trackable results via Trail Tracker (found on the AppExchange) it’s a breeze to give ongoing education challenges to your learners. Try one of these common challenge templates, such as “Who can earn the most badges and points in 6 weeks?” or “Who can achieve the Ranger Rank by the end of the year?”
And when the challenge is complete, Amy recommends a few different rewards and modes of recognition. Examples include giving recognition via Chatter, email, or meetings, gifting a Trailblazer hoodie (or other swag), and donating to the winner’s charity of choice.
Salesforce is a powerful platform, but if you’re not using it to solve your business needs, or skilling up your employees to use it for your business needs, you’re absolutely missing out. Check out the rest of the webinar and a final Q&A with Amy and Nick below.
