When the organization I work for began talking about using Salesforce, my first inclination was to try to get ahead of the game and learn something about the global giant in cloud-hosted business applications. Where I had some familiarity with the platform from the past, my knowledge was far from current and I wanted to be able to at least be able to converse about the platform at a basic level.

As I explored how to learn Salesforce, I was quickly directed to Trailhead a platform in itself for learning the product. Trailhead uses gamification, a process to deliver learning while making it fun and awarding digital tokens or badges along the way, - and microlearning, a method of taking complex information and breaking it down into smaller components for ease of learning and retention, to help make sense of the vast landscape that is Salesforce. If gamification and microlearning are new terms to you, click on the links above for great overviews of them from my friends at Evolve Solutions Group.

Trailhead is available to anyone for free – yes, free. Not only does it remove the barrier to entry on learning Salesforce but it serves as a great marketing tool for it to boot.

Thus my learning journey began. Trailhead offers various modules that present a topic in multiple units. At the end of each unit is a short quiz where you can earn points. Upon passing all of the unit quizzes you earn a badge for the module. Groupings of modules around a topic area are called a trail. There’s also projects where you can develop applications in a Salesforce sandbox site, which is also free. There are also trailmixes which are user-generated groupings of modules that are created by Salesforce staff as well as fellow learners. The more badges and points you earn qualify you for various ranks – as shown above, I am an Expeditioner as I have earned over 50 badges and 35,000 points.

Modules offered on Trailhead begin with learning how to best use Trailhead itself, and then go from high-level to detailed on the overall Salesforce platform and its components. There are also modules on softer skills, including project management, leadership and other topics such as Accessibility. Where there is also a Salesforce connection to what is presented, anyone can learn or be refreshed on a variety of business skills on Trailhead.

As I completed modules and projects and earned points and badges, I realizes the 2 major benefits to using Trailhead.

Learning product capabilities – Where I may not end up being a Salesforce developer, I will definitely leading products and applications built on the platform. Over my career I have found understanding the code and how an application is developed as an advantage to best leveraging the capabilities of any technology. For example, I will be working with Salesforce’s Experience Cloud, a product where a customer portal can be developed and managed. Knowing what you can do with it, how you can do it and in the case of Experience Cloud how user licenses are managed has been beneficial to me and my team in how we can best leverage it. Outside of Experience Cloud I have learned how it fits into the overall Salesforce ecosystem.

Killing time – This is something I did not see coming, where I am using Trailhead when I have a little time to spare. Yes, Trailhead in some regards has replaced Solitaire as a simple prop to occupy my time! Whether I have spare minutes while waiting for my kiddos sports practices to finish or just want a good yet productive diversion in the workday, Trailhead has been beneficial in that regard. Plus it has allowed me to explore other modules and trails and their related Salesforce products I may not have otherwise known about. It’s time better spent than trying to stack virtual playing cards in order.

In addition to this usage, a nice feature of the Trailhead platform is connecting with others, similar to how you can in LinkedIn or other social media platforms. Click here to view my Trailhead profile and I welcome you to connect with me.

Deconstructing Trailhead

No matter your field, keeping your skills sharp is imperative, especially in this global remote working economy. Where Salesforce has the dominant position in the cloud business application market and can as a result dictate how people use and are educated on its platform, they have chosen a unique approach to learning. Much time and investment goes into something like this, but I feel this is money well spent and my guess is that Salesforce does as well. Not only am I learning what I can do on the platform, but I am learning apps and functionality that need to be licensed which directly impact the revenue of Salesforce. More vendors and companies can learn from this approach of leveraging microlearning and gamification to their advantage.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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