How Salesforce Admins Are Evolving to Run the Agentic Enterprise

Today on the Salesforce Admins Podcast, we talk to Rebecca Saar, Senior Director of Admin Relations at Salesforce. Join us as we chat about governance, productivity, and why Salesforce Admins are more essential than ever in the agentic enterprise. You should subscribe for the full episode, but here are a few takeaways from our conversation with Rebecca Saar. Admins are becoming the guardians of trust As AI becomes an ever bigger part of our day-to-day lives, I wanted to bring Rebecca Saar on the pod to talk about what changes and what stays the same. One thing she emphasizes is that admins are here to look at the big picture for their organizations. While it might be easier to build the solution, you still need to figure out what to build in the first place. "It's a shift in mindset and understanding where the work is happening," Rebecca says, "because we now can leverage these super powerful tools." Skills like gathering requirements, talking with stakeholders, and bridging the gap between departments are only going to be amplified by AI—not replaced. Admins act as translators across systems and teams Admins are a crucial intermediary for their organization, connecting the dots between multiple departments to understand what's really going on with a business process. In other words, admins are the ones who understand who to talk to in order to get something done. In my experience as an admin, each business unit only knows their own siloed data. They know where it comes from and who they ship it off to, but they don't know if there are better options, or where there might be a snag in the process. That's where admins need to step in and find a solution that individual business units might not be able to figure out on their own. Strong foundations still matter in an AI world Despite new tools, core admin skills remain essential. In a way, we've moved from problem solver to sense maker. You might not have to spend as much time figuring out who has what permissions, but you'll still be called on to have a conversation about how it should be handled. Just like with everything else, AI can save time on the busywork so you can focus on what matters. At the end of the day, it's even more important to lean into the foundational admin skills to find solutions that work for everyone in your organization. Make sure to listen to the full episode for more from Rebecca Saar about what's coming at TDX, and don't forget to subscribe to the Salesforce Admins Podcast so you never miss an episode. Podcast swag Salesforce Admins on the Trailhead Store Learn more Salesforce Admins Blog Post: How the Salesforce Administrator Role Is Evolving in the Agentic AI Era Salesforce Admins Blog Post: The Next-Gen Admin: In Conversation With Ishrat Bhatti Salesforce Admins Blog Post: The Next-Gen Admin: In Conversation With Tony Nguyen Salesforce Admins Podcast Episode: Why Agentforce Is a Game Changer for Small Businesses Admin Trailblazers Group Admin Trailblazers Community Group Social Rebecca on LinkedIn Salesforce Admins on LinkedIn Salesforce Admins on X Mike on Bluesky social Mike on Threads Mike on X Full show transcript Mike: This week on the Salesforce Admins podcast, I sit down with Rebecca Saar, the Senior Director of Admin Relations for Salesforce, to talk about how the admin role is changing as AI and agents become really part of our everyday life. Now, we're going to dig into why Salesforce admins are becoming the guardians of trust, how strong fundamentals still matter, and where human judgment fits in when automation gets smarter. I like to think this is a very thoughtful conversation about governance, productivity, and why Salesforce admins are more essential than ever. So with that, let's get Rebecca on the podcast. So Rebecca, welcome to the podcast. Rebecca: Hi, Mike. Thanks for having me. Mike: It's been a while. Last time you were on, we did an entire episode in German because international podcasts are fun. Rebecca: Yeah. What a ride. How many years ago was that? Mike: Just a few. It's like one or two in Salesforce admin years, which translate differently to the rest of the world. Rebecca: Right. And then I also say we've had a pandemic in between, so that has made time fly. Mike: Yep. Rebecca: And I think that was a pre-pandemic thing. Mike: It was. 100% pre-pandemic. Yep, absolutely. And then since then, you've been on stage quite a few times for the admin keynote. And doing a whole bunch of stuff with the admin relations team. You and I have both been on stage too. Rebecca: I know. Yes, we have been championing admins since 2014? Mike: Since forever. Rebecca: Yes. Dedicating over a decade and celebrating that big decade 10-year anniversary was a couple of years ago. And that was a big highlight for me, being able to share that with everyone on stage at Dreamforce. But yeah, since last time I was on the pod, I have now become the lead of admin relations and kind of leading this amazing...