A new year is almost upon us. And with that being the case, this may well be the time of year when you as a Salesforce Admin put some work in to formulate goals and aspirations for the year that is to come. Along with many other Salesforce professionals, I will be formulating my own goals and aspirations for 2023 over the coming days and weeks. I have goals around certifications, learning and events for 2023, you’ll hear a bit more about that at some point via social media (make sure to check out Twitter and LinkedIn for them when I share them). That leads me to the theme of this post, my last of the year, here we’ll focus on my encouragement to Salesforce Admins to go out and learn Flow in 2023, along with my reasons why I think that 2023 is the year to go out and do it.
The aim of this post is to provide some encouragement to the #AwesomeAdmins out there who haven’t begun to learn Flow yet to go out and do so. I’ll not only outline my reasons for this encouragement, I’ll also provide some tips on how Admins can really get into Flows. Hopefully this post will serve as a beneficial resource across the wider Trailblazer Community. Let’s get into it shall we?
Why Should Admins Learn Flow in 2023?
I honestly believe that there are a number of reasons why Admins should go out and learn in 2023. We’ll cover those reasons here in this post. If you’re reading this post and have your own reasons to share, then I’d love to hear them in the comments below, or online via Social Media when I share this post out via my social media handles. Hopefully these reasons will serve as a little bit of an inspiration to go and learn Flow, or to dive in with it a little more than you already have. Now, to the first reason on the list.
#1: The Current Retirement Timeline for Workflow Rules and Process Builder
The first reason on my list is the current timeline for the eventual retirement of Workflow Rules and Process Builder. At the time of writing, the retirement plan is in full swing with Workflow Rules being blocked for creation in Winter ’23 and the migration tool for Process Builder coming with the upcoming Spring ’23 which is due to roll out before the end of February next year.
The eventual retirement of Workflow Rules and Process Builder is currently set to take place sometime in 2025. That gives Salesforce Admins around two years to not only learn Flow, but to migrate their existing Processes and Workflow Rules into Flow Builder.
Flow can come with a steep learning curve, and for many an Admin it can take months, if not years, to become an expert Flow Builder. So Admins would benefit from learning Flow now.
#2: Learning Flow Now, Will Prevent Bigger Challenges in 2024/2025
Stemming from my first point, beginning to learn Flow now will be of no doubt a major benefit instead of waiting to do it in 2024 and 2025 when we approach the tailend of the retirement timeline. Granted, part of me thinks that when we get to 2025 that we will either see the timeline get extended or that we’ll have more of a soft retirement due to the technical debt that will have no doubt built up since the announcement of the retirement of Workflow Rules and Process Builder was announced back in 2021, but Admins should endeavour to ensure that automation in their orgs meets current best practice standards and requirements from Salesforce. I say that because at some point, Salesforce will most likely limit or end of life support on Workflow Rules and Process Builder in favour of Flow. So Admins will be doing themselves, and their companies a favour by pivoting to Flow now and building up their knowledge on Flow Builder. This will help them carve out a migration strategy and benefit from the power of Flow.
#3: It Has Never Been Easier to Go Out and Learn Flow
It’s not a big secret that Flow can come with a substantial learning curve. That learning curve is one of the biggest factors behind the hesitancy on the part of some Admins out there to go out and learn Flow. However, in 2023 there has not been an easier time to go out and learn Flow. You have a load of amazing sessions that have been delivered throughout the Trailblazer Community, there are a number of courses that have been put together and distributed amongst the Salesforce ecosystem, and then there is the badges and superbadges available on Trailhead. Outside of the learning material, you have Flow itself. As someone who has been using Flow for a number of years now, I don’t think Flow has been in a stronger place than it is right now. The high level of quality available in Flow Builder right now makes it even easier to go out and teach yourself Flow. Back when the retirement of Workflow Rules and Process Builder was first announced it was much more difficult to go and learn Flow. Now, because of the abundance of great Flow content and the vast improvement of Trailhead badges, Salesforce Admins are in a great place to go out and learn Flow. So why not spend some time over the next year to learn Flow and get ahead of the retirement coming in 2025.
Learning Resources for Getting Started with Flow in 2023
So now that I’ve outlined my reasons for why you should learn Flow in 2023. Let’s pivot the conversation now to resources to help you get started with Flow. I have some resources available at the end of this post as well, but this section will cover a slightly wider selection of learning resources to help you get started with Flow as a Salesforce Admin over the course of 2023. I’ll offer those resources out as a simple list of content. I’ll break down the list into three categories, Trailhead, Courses and Other Content.
If you have any resources that you would like to share of your own, please feel free to do so in the comments attached to this post.
Do you have any other resources that you would add to this list? If so, please feel free to share them in the comments for this post.
Closing Remarks
So that’s my three reasons why you should go out and learn Flow this coming year. There’s probably more I could add to a longer list to be fair, but I think these three reasons are a good sampling. What do you think? Are you interested in learnining more about Flow in 2023? If so, let me know in the comments section how I can be of any help in that regard. If you think there are any reasons I missed, let me know in the comments as well. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. I’ll be back with another post next week covering the upcoming Spring ’23 release that is due to roll out over the course of Januaruy and February next year. Until then, I want to wish you a very Happy New Year and I look forward to hopefully connecting with you (maybe in-person) sometime in 2023.
Resources
We have three resources to link to this awesome post … all of which cover the direction of travel for Flow and best practices when it comes to using this powerful tool for declarative automation on the Salesforce platform. Please do go and check them out.
What’s Happening with Workflow Rules and Process Builder?
We all know that Workflow Rules and Process Builder are on the path to retirement. This might have you a little concerned as an Admin if you’re a little out of the loop. Well never fear, in this post from Jennifer Lee you will get the details you need to know about the future of Workflow Rules and Process Builder on the Salesforce platform.
The Ultimate Guide to Flow Best Practices and Standards
Flow can be a bit of a minefield if you are just starting out. There is debate what the best practices are, debates on one Flow per object or many Flows per object … this blog by Adam White at Salesforce should prove insightful to help you understand just some of the best practices and standards when it comes to using Salesforce Flow.
Expert Corner: Plan for the Future of Your Automations w/ Diana Jaffe
Join Leeanne Rimel as she chats with Director of Product Management for Flow, Diana Jaffe in this edition of Expert Corner. Here, Leeanne and Diana chat about admins can plan for future automation success by leveraging Flow in their Salesforce orgs. If you’re new to Flow, this will be a video you surely want to watch.
