If you’ve ever felt like your Salesforce Admin to-do list is longer than your workday, you’re not alone. The SF Ben Salesforce Administrator Survey confirmed what many of us experience daily: this role isn’t just about creating users and updating fields anymore. It’s a strategic, technical, and often under-resourced position that comes with serious challenges.
Despite nearly half of admins saying they’re more satisfied in their roles than before 2020, 53% still agree that too much is expected of us. Add to that the fact that nearly 65% believe Salesforce is becoming more complex, and it’s no surprise that many of us are overwhelmed. When asked what role their team would hire first if budget allowed, the number one answer was developer – that says a lot.
Let’s take a closer look at the five most challenging tasks Salesforce Admins are facing today and why they matter.
1. Technical Debt
Technical debt tops the list, and for good reason. Over the years, most orgs will have been through a lot – including multiple admins, quick fixes, and rushed projects. This results in messy automation, outdated fields, and hidden dependencies that can break at any moment. Cleaning up technical debt is time-consuming and often thankless, but it’s essential for a healthy, scalable org.
Admins spend hours untangling old Flows, troubleshooting mysterious errors, and trying to document systems they didn’t build. Without proper change management or long-term thinking, technical debt can quickly spiral out of control.
2. Integrations
Connecting Salesforce with other systems sounds great in theory, but in practice, integrations are one of the most complex parts of an admin’s job. Whether it’s syncing with a marketing platform, ERP system, or data warehouse, each integration brings challenges with data mapping, authentication, error handling, and long-term maintenance.
Even when developers handle the technical side, admins are still responsible for understanding how the integration impacts users, reports, and automation. And when something goes wrong, guess who gets the call first?
3. Balancing Out-of-the-Box Features With Custom Solutions
Salesforce is incredibly flexible, which is both a blessing and a curse. Admins are constantly trying to decide whether to use standard functionality or build something custom. This decision isn’t always straightforward. Go custom, and you risk complexity and maintenance issues. Stick to standard, and you may fall short on business needs.
Finding the sweet spot requires deep platform knowledge, a good understanding of business goals, and often, a bit of trial and error. Getting it wrong can create long-term issues or lead to rework down the line.
4. Data Quality
Let’s be honest, no one dreams of spending their day merging duplicate records or cleaning up outdated picklist values, but poor data quality impacts everything from reporting to automation to user trust. Admins know this, but keeping data clean is a constant battle, especially without the right tools or processes in place.
What makes it more frustrating is that admins often carry the burden alone, even though data quality should be a shared responsibility across teams.
5. Engaging and Identifying the Right Stakeholders
A technically perfect solution can still fall flat if the right people aren’t involved from the start. Engaging stakeholders is one of the most overlooked but critical parts of an admin’s role. Understanding business needs, gathering feedback, and getting buy-in can be difficult, especially when decision-makers are unavailable or unaware of the platform’s capabilities.
Admins are not just system builders. We’re translators between the business and the tech, and that means we need strong communication and relationship-building skills to succeed.
Summary
Salesforce Admins are doing more than ever before. From managing integrations and fixing legacy issues to engaging stakeholders and balancing platform features, the role is far from simple. The challenges are real, but so is the opportunity to grow and make an impact.
If your daily work feels overwhelming, remember that you’re not alone. The community is full of admins facing the same hurdles. Together, we can share solutions, advocate for better support, and continue to raise the profile of this essential role.
Let us know in the comments what the top challenges you face are and how you’re tackling them.
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