In case you have not heard, Salesforce is retiring the Classic user experience for their next generation which they are calling ‘Lightning’. A lot has been said around Lightning and when and how to upgrade as well as the benefits to upgrading but what do business leaders really need to know.
If you have not moved to Lightning you should make plans to do so before October 12, 2019. Lightning is not a 1 to 1 with the Class Salesforce.com. Some Classic features have been retired, some rethought and Lightning Salesforce.com brings a host of new features.
Consider the move to Lightning a catalyst to reinvigorate your Salesforce.com initiative. It is a great time to:
- Get rid of fields that are not being used.
- Define key processes
- Reset expectations
- Retrain your staff and managers.
Be sure to review the new features Lightning brings to the table. While there are hundreds, the three we have found to have the greatest impact on users are:
- Profile Specific Homepages– For the first time, Salesforce allows admins to define a homepage specific to each user profile. Doing so has really given the user a specific place to see and do all their work. Think command central for sales or service or managers.
- Kanban View – On each tab, you traditionally defined a view which was displayed in a table that looked like Excel. You can now select to have that view grouped by categories made up of cards. The cards allow you to more quickly see where things are and the Kanban view also allows you to move cards between categories.
- Paths – For the first time you can set up a path for data entry. On opportunities, a path allows an organization to define a sales path. This sales path is linked to Opportunity Stages. For each stage, you can now define directions or tips as well as what fields are important. All of which guides the user increases adoption and help with reporting. These Paths can be set up on any object to help facilitate a process.
If you made the move on your own you may want to have a partner review your current setup. We are finding that companies that simply switch over to Lightning are not taking advantage of all the new features Lightning has to offer.
With a smart and thoughtful approach to moving to Salesforce.com new Lightning experience, we have seen first hand how it has impacted user and managerial adoption. If you need help moving to Lightning or reviewing your recent move to Lightning let us know. We would love to hear from you.
