What you’ll find in this blog:
- Prepare your organisation for 2026 with a practical Salesforce optimisation guide focused on efficiency and future readiness.
- Learn how to clean up your org, reduce technical debt and strengthen data quality and governance.
- Get your team ready for Agentforce with clear steps to prepare processes, permissions and structure for AI driven work.
- Maximise the Outlook Integration, Salesforce Inbox and Einstein Activity Capture trio to improve productivity and activity tracking.
- Discover the most valuable Winter ’26 enhancements admins should enable before year end.
- Align your Salesforce roadmap with your 2026 business goals to support growth, automation and better customer experiences.
As 2025 draws to a close, many organisations are planning their priorities for the year ahead. With the rise of the Agentic Enterprise, ongoing enhancements to Data Cloud and significant improvements across the Salesforce platform, 2026 is shaping up to be a year defined by automation, data quality and smarter user experiences.
To help you prepare, we have created a practical Salesforce readiness guide. Whether you are an admin, manager or business leader, this prep kit outlines the essential steps to ensure your organisation starts 2026 with a clean, efficient and future ready Salesforce environment.
1. Clean Up Your Org Before the New Year
A smooth 2026 starts with a tidy system. Technical debt slows down innovation and makes automation more difficult, so year end is the perfect time to reset your org.
Recommended clean up tasks:
- Deactivate unused automations
Review Process Builders, legacy workflow rules and outdated Flows. Remove or merge anything that is no longer used. - Archive old reports and dashboards
Archive or delete anything that is no longer relevant to remove clutter and improve usability. - Review page layouts and screen flows
Ensure your users only see the fields and components they need. Remove redundant sections and simplify complex screens. - Check your integration logs
Look for repeated failures, outdated connectors and integrations that are no longer used.
A lighter, clearer org is easier to support and better prepared for new AI driven features.
2. Assess Your Data Quality and Governance
2026 will be a year where AI becomes increasingly embedded in Salesforce processes. That means one thing above all: your data must be accurate, structured and trustworthy.
Key steps for strengthening data quality:
- Review duplicate rules and matching criteria
- Fill gaps in critical fields such as Industry, Lead Source and Account Type
- Remove inactive records or mark them as archived
- Implement validation rules that prevent low quality data entry
- Revisit your Data Dictionary and ensure fields have clearly defined purposes
If you are planning to adopt more automation or Data Cloud capabilities, a data quality check is essential.
3. Prepare for Agentforce and the Agentic Enterprise
Salesforce is transitioning from an assistive AI model to an agentic one. In 2026, AI will not only recommend actions but also take actions independently within defined guardrails.
To prepare your org:
- Map out processes that are consistent, rules based and repeatable
- Document approval chains and escalation pathways
- Ensure data is structured so agents can read, interpret and act on it
- Review permissions and sharing rules to ensure proper access for automated actions
Teams that prepare now will be able to adopt agentic capabilities quickly and safely once they become available.
4. Maximise Outlook, Inbox and Einstein Activity Capture
Many organisations still lose valuable insight because emails and meetings are not consistently logged. With these three tools, that problem disappears.
What each tool offers:
- Outlook Integration
View Salesforce records directly inside Outlook and sync emails manually. - Salesforce Inbox
Includes email templates, availability sharing and suggested follow ups. - Einstein Activity Capture (EAC)
Automatically logs emails and calendar events between Salesforce and Outlook or Google Workspace.
Why they matter in 2026:
- Better visibility for pipeline management
- More complete activity history on Accounts and Opportunities
- Less admin time spent on manual entry
- More accurate analytics for forecasting and performance
5. Review Winter ’26 Enhancements and Enable Key Features
Winter ’26 introduced several improvements that are worth enabling before the new year.
Highlights include:
- Improved Flow debugging for both Screen Flows and Record Triggered Flows
- Multi column sorting in List Views
- Expanded Reactive Components in Flow
- Faster identity resolution in Data Cloud
- More powerful Slack Workflow Builder features, including AI driven logic
Many of these updates reduce friction for users and simplify build work for admins.
6. Refresh Training and Upskill Your Users
A well designed system only delivers value if users understand how to make the most of it. Year end is a great time to refresh training and improve user confidence.
Suggested training activities:
- Run refresher sessions on core objects and processes
- Provide updated training materials following any layout or automation changes
- Host short lunch and learn sessions on productivity tools
- Train managers to interpret dashboards and pipeline trends more effectively
Well trained users increase adoption, reduce support tickets and make your Salesforce investment more valuable.
7. Align Salesforce Enhancements with Your 2026 Business Goals
Review next year’s company strategy and ensure Salesforce is aligned with it. Salesforce should support your plans, not react to them months later.
Consider:
- Expansion into new markets
- Improving forecasting accuracy
- Increasing customer retention or NPS
- Expected case volume changes or automation needs
Use your 2026 goals to shape your CRM roadmap and ensure the platform becomes a driver of business growth.
Final Thoughts
2026 will be a year defined by readiness, automation and data quality. By cleaning up your org, strengthening your data, preparing for agentic capabilities and upskilling your users, you will put your organisation in a strong position for the year ahead.
If you would like support reviewing your org or planning your 2026 roadmap, our team is ready to help. Just fill out the form below and one of the team will be in touch!
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If you would like support reviewing your org or planning your 2026 roadmap, our team is ready to help.
