Every professional working with Salesforce has experienced org terrors. Whether these are unexpected issues that sneak up on you, or some form of malpractice that has gone unnoticed for too long, it can cause a huge scare. Just like a scene from a horror film, these issues will creep up on you, and there needs to be some proactive, heroic action to resolve them.
From zombies and unwelcome intruders, to ghosts and devils, we’ll explain how to get rid of the witches’ brew of problems in your org.
1. Inactive Users
“Like zombies in a late-night horror show, shuffling hordes of inactive users can wreak havoc on your Salesforce implementation.”
Once a user is created, they can be made inactive, but they can never be deleted. Inactive users cause problems for Salesforce Administrators – they can still manage active users, receive system emails, consume package licenses, remain team members, and serve as the running user for important enterprise systems.
Here’s how to eliminate zombies from your Salesforce org, and de-risk release management, multiple security threats, and generally reduce technical debt:
2. User Event Monitoring
Event monitoring involves monitoring user activity to prevent and mitigate threats. It helps to pick up on subtle, yet suspicious behavior – for example, a user attempts to export a report on [object] with over X number of high-risk fields. The disgruntled salesperson (who has been let go) is a typical use case. On this occasion, they are the villains of your Salesforce org.
Salesforce Shield comes with event monitoring, which can be configured to block the action, and/or have a notification sent to the admin or Information Security personnel. Salesforce provides a CRM analytics app (pre-built dashboard) for customers, and this comes with event monitoring.
There are other options for event monitoring with Salesforce, so it’s worth checking out third-party applications:
3. Connected Platform Sync
Something strange in the neighborhood – who you gonna call? … No one!
The “something strange” in your Salesforce org could be a result of platforms integrated with your Salesforce – even those that have “pre-made”/“plug-in” connectors.
Keeping track of what integrated systems are doing is a chore, and even “pre-made”/“plug-in” connectors need your attention; left unchecked, they could cause a nasty data slime.
How should you tackle these monsters?
- Enable Setup Audit Trail for the objects that are affected most by integrated systems. You can target certain fields to be logged in the history of changes.
- Keep up to date with changes to connectors, with each release. For example, Pardot (now Account Engagement) has notified admins about upcoming sync behavior changes between Pardot and Salesforce for a key field.
4. Technical Debt
Technical debt could be compared to space junk – the pieces of machinery or debris left by humans in space; although seemingly harmless, cumulation over time is harmful and one collision would be disastrous.
As your organization evolves, debris is left lying around in your CRM and marketing automation platform. This often take the form of unused automations, bad data, and changed configuration.
This issue is like a scene in a horror film, when the protagonist realizes they are being suffocated by the rising sludge. They somehow manage to escape each time… only to be caught in the same, if not worse, situation.
5. Slow-to-Load Components
The speed that Salesforce pages load has been a topic raised time and time again.
We’re encouraged to include more “ingredients” in our Salesforce pages – but have we thought about how these ingredients are cooking into a potent witches’ brew?
In the Winter ‘23 release, there were huge advancements in the tool’s speeds with components page load prompts, but there are still components that are slow to load.
Your record detail component has a lot of Fields which can negatively affect page performance, and an overloaded system is a real nightmare for the whole org! It’s recommended that you have fewer than 60 Fields on a page layout – not exceeding this limit can help you avoid the witches!
Pages taking too long to load can also have a serious impact on user adoption. A new prompt in the Lightning App Builder will be your hero and help to identify pages with performance issues, before directing you to the new Lightning Usage App table where you can view problem pages and performance analysis.
6. Workflow Rules & Process Builders
Workflow Rules and Process Builders were once the craft of any good admin. With both automations scheduled to be retired in favor of Salesforce Flow, the good ol’ WFRs and PBs are like pumpkins one week after Halloween… the ones you forgot to clear up that are now decomposing!
7. Unhandled Flow Errors
Mystic Maz, Salesforce-consultant-cum-fortune-teller, made her debut at Dreamforce ’22. Had you sat down with Mystic Maz, you may have pulled this card:
Argh – the Devil! I, Mystic Maz, always ensure that I give a) the gentle critique of what’s gone wrong, and b) constructive advice going forward.
Isn’t this what Unhandled Flow Errors are? The devil (card) represents being seduced by the material world and physical pleasures. So, be aware of deploying a Flow without first testing – and implementing fault handling!
Should something go wrong, you will unintentionally confuse, derail, and misguide others.
Perhaps you are caged by an overabundance of luxury – the power that comes with Flow. But with great power (clicks, not code) comes great responsibility. Don’t be blinded by technology, or it will hinder your progress.
8. Dirty Data
Dirty data is the recurring nightmare that wakes you up sweating in the middle of the night. From duplicates and import errors, to invalid data (emails, addresses, etc.), these are trap doors that your users can easily fall into.
Start fixing those trap doors this Halloween so you can sleep easy:
- The 1-Hour Salesforce Data Quality Assessment Exercise
- Salesforce Duplicate Management: 5 Phase Process to Deduplicating Your Salesforce Org Data
- Mastering Data Standardization for Your Salesforce Org
- How to Measure Your Pardot Prospect Data Quality, Fast
9. Deployment Errors
Hiding behind a tree in the dark woods, deployment errors are just waiting to spring on you.
If you are unprepared to fight these deployment snags, you could render your production org unusable. However, there are a few ways you can be more prepared:
10. Ransomware
Security is becoming the word being whispered around the Salesforce ecosystem.
Like unwelcome intruders, sophisticated ransomware attacks are increasingly targeting all types of data, including data stored on SaaS platforms. New research now shows that large enterprises aren’t fully prepared to protect their data against ransomware attacks.
11. Governor Limits
Salesforce Governor Limits are usage caps enforced by Salesforce to ensure efficient processing. They allow for multiple users of the platform without impeding performance and apply to Apex and Flow.
Just ensure you don’t hit your limit – or there will be consequences!
Summary
The evil in your org may seem like it’s winning at the moment, but the story is about to change! You are an Awesome Admin after all, and the hero of this tale – so don your cape and start expelling those monsters!
