Determining Force.com Headcount Requirements

Q. How Do I Determine Force.com Headcount Requirements?

A.  The Force.com platform is experiencing significant momentum. Read on to see how businesses are leveraging Force.com Developers and best practices for hiring qualified professionals:

Step 1: Developer Types

The scope of work will dictate the type of Developer required. Below are 3 general categories of Force.com Development:

1. CRM Enhancement: Enhance Salesforce.com (SFDC) CRM beyond native functionality via VisualForce, Apex and Java coding.
2. App Development : Replace legacy applications or build entirely new functionality with apps on the Force.com platform.
3. SFDC Integrations: Build sophisticated integrations between SFDC and other systems.

Step 2: Project scope

Factors to consider when determining hiring requirements:

1. Roadmap: How many projects are in the pipeline?
2. Complexity: Are goals fairly robust or do they involve only minor enhancements?
3. Integrations: If planning to integrate SFDC with other systems, is there an existing pre-built connector? How many integrations are you considering? Do you have onsite integration specialists with whom the SFDC Integration Developer may interface with?

Step 3: Hiring Employees vs Contractors

Based upon your answers above, the following should offer some direction around your specific needs:

CRM Enhancement: You may want to evaluate your existing resources first. Do you have an experienced SFDC Admin/Analyst to ensure your SFDC deployment is properly optimized? This is an important step prior to adding "bells and whistles" via a Developer. Your project roadmap will help to dictate whether a Developer is required on a short-term project basis, or full-time.

Building New Apps: Unless you have an aggressive roadmap, it may make financial sense to utilize Force.com Developers on a project basis. For those with a rich pipeline of apps to create, a full-time resource(s) often makes sense.

SFDC Integrations: Given the nature of these one-time projects, a project-based Developer is typically the most economical solution.

In summary, Force.com Developer hiring guidelines are based upon a combination of factors listed above. If you would like guidance based upon your individual situation, please feel free to contact Hire On-Demand directly for a free, site-specific evaluation.

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