5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring Salesforce Developers
Hiring Salesforce developers is increasingly becoming a challenging task. There is a high demand for Salesforce expertise but not enough talent.
As a result, employers are fiercely competing with each other to attract and retain top talent. This has also driven up the costs of hiring skilled developers.
To speed up hiring, some employers make the mistake of recruiting unskilled or culturally unfit individuals. This results in a waste of time and resources.
To help you avoid these common hiring pitfalls, we’ve compiled this blog post. It outlines 5 of these common mistakes and also includes tips on how you can avoid them. Let’s dive in.
1. Hiring a full-time developer right away
This is the most common mistake businesses make hiring a Salesforce developer. Although it may seem like a logical choice, you must define the project’s scope before making this decision.
When to hire full-time Salesforce developers?
- If you already have an in-house Salesforce team and need additional resources for the long term
- If your business deals with sensitive information, hiring full-time (on-site) developers is recommended. You can closely monitor their access to computers, networks, and other resources.
When to hire Salesforce developers on contract?
- When you want to implement Salesforce but lack the in-house technical expertise
- When you want to save time on hiring and leverage the expertise of an experienced team
For more information, refer to this comprehensive blog outlining whether to hire Salesforce developers full-time or on contract basis.
2. Emphasizing certifications over skillset
While certifications are important, they don’t reflect a candidate’s real-world experience. You should instead assess the relevancy of a candidate’s experience to your business needs.
For instance, say you’re a non-profit organization looking to implement Salesforce. You’d want to hire a developer specializing in Salesforce’s non-profit cloud. They should also have experience working at non-profit organizations.
Additionally, you can check their portfolio to understand past projects and the outcomes achieved.
3. Not evaluating soft skills
Another common mistake businesses make is not adequately evaluating a candidate’s soft skills. While technical proficiency and experience are important, soft skills are increasingly becoming important.
Developers with strong technical and soft skills will excel at their responsibilities. They will build effective solutions and collaborate with team members and other stakeholders.
If you’re hiring for a client-facing role, a soft-skilled developer will effectively communicate with clients, understand their needs, and establish trust. This can bring a lot of repeat business and referrals, which can be incredibly valuable for your company’s growth.
4. Limitations in the hiring process
Businesses that are new to hiring don’t have full-proof recruitment processes. As a result, they may not receive enough applications, or they may hire an unqualified candidate.
To avoid this, you’d want to post an effective job description that clearly outlines the developer’s day-to-day role.
You may also seek help from a recruitment consultant to evaluate a candidate’s technical skillset.
Additionally, research the typical pay of Salesforce developers in your region and offer a competitive package.
5. Not considering cultural fit
Another common hiring mistake is not giving enough consideration to cultural fit. A candidate with values similar to your organization will integrate well with your culture and excel at their responsibilities.
You can ask behavioral questions to determine if a candidate aligns with your organizational values. Here are some questions you can ask if your values include customer success, innovation, and transparency.
1) When working on a project, how do you measure success? And how do you ensure that the project outcome aligns with the needs and expectations of the client?
2) How do you stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the Salesforce ecosystem?
3) Tell me about a time when you received feedback on your work that you didn’t agree with. How did you respond, and what did you learn from the experience?
Conclusion
Hiring a Salesforce developer is challenging, but by avoiding the above-mentioned pitfalls, you’ll certainly find a skilled candidate.
To speed up the hiring process, you can leverage the expertise of experienced development teams by partnering with Salesforce consulting companies. These companies provide resources like Salesforce developers, administrators, QA’s, business analysts, architects, and project managers on a contract basis.
You have to tell them the roles you’re hiring for, and these firms share profiles of their in-house developers. You can interview them and select the ones that fit your project or team.
