Most teams spend months planning a Salesforce Lightning migration. They map out the timeline, align on goals, and get leadership on board. Then hiring comes up, and the momentum stalls. The right professionals are harder to find than expected, the project waits, and a well-planned upgrade starts to slip. And with the Salesforce economy expected to create more than 11 million net new jobs by 2028, competition for that talent is only growing.¹
This guide covers who to hire, when to bring them in, and how to choose the right staffing model so your Salesforce Lightning migration stays on track.
Who to Hire and When for a Salesforce Lightning migration
A Salesforce Lightning migration often means rethinking how the platform is built, how users work within it, and how data connects across the system. Because the work touches several areas at once, different stages of the project call for different skills.
Not every migration will require all of these roles. The size and complexity of your upgrade should guide the hiring decisions. That said, understanding the full range of skills involved helps you plan for what your specific project may need.
Planning and Architecture
Start with a Salesforce Architect. This person defines the system structure and makes sure the upgrade aligns with your broader CRM goals. If the project involves significant customization, Salesforce Lightning Developers should be brought in at this stage as well.
Build and Configuration
Once the plan is set, Developers take the lead on component builds, interface updates, and performance improvements. Admin support becomes important here too, particularly for managing workflows and automation.
Integration and Data
As systems connect, the work becomes more complex. Data needs to move cleanly, and integrations must hold up under real conditions. Integration Specialists help make sure your Lightning environment works smoothly alongside the other tools your business depends on.
Testing and Rollout
This is where QA professionals catch issues before users encounter them, and where admin or change management support helps guide the team through the transition. Treating this stage as secondary is one of the most common ways a technically sound upgrade stumbles at the finish line.
Common Hiring Mistakes in a Salesforce Lightning migration
Even with a solid plan, certain hiring patterns tend to create problems during a Salesforce Lightning migration.
Waiting too long to bring in support is the most frequent one. When teams delay hiring until gaps become obvious, the project is already behind. Instead of moving forward with a clear plan, the team ends up reacting to problems as they come up.
Treating Lightning as a simple front-end update is another common misstep. The framework affects workflows, automation, integrations, and overall system behavior. Those deeper needs rarely announce themselves early, but they almost always surface later when they are harder and more expensive to address.
Leaning too heavily on general Salesforce experience can also create uneven progress. Broad platform knowledge is a useful foundation, but a Salesforce Lightning migration requires more specific skills around components, page customization, and platform behavior. Without that, some areas of the project move forward while others stall.
Underinvesting in testing and user adoption is the final mistake worth flagging. A system that performs well technically can still struggle in practice if users are not prepared for the change.
Choosing the Right Staffing Model
Knowing who you need is only part of the decision. How you bring talent in matters just as much.
Contract talent works well when timing is tight and you need specific expertise for a defined phase of work. Direct hires make more sense when your team needs long-term support to manage and improve the Salesforce environment after the upgrade is complete.
Many organizations find that a hybrid approach fits best. Contract professionals can carry the project through critical stages, while internal team members provide continuity and day-to-day ownership over time. The right model depends on your timeline, your internal capacity, and what your Salesforce environment will need once the Salesforce Lightning migration is done.
Read more on: Direct-Hire vs Contract: What Works Best?
Find the Right Talent with Raso360
At Raso360, we help organizations find skilled Salesforce professionals for every stage of a Salesforce Lightning migration, from architects and developers to integration specialists and QA professionals. Whether you need contract support for a critical phase or a full-time hire to strengthen your team long term, we connect you with pre-vetted talent that fits your needs.
Connect with us today to get started.
Reference
1. Salesforce. “New IDC Study Details ‘AI Boost’ to Salesforce Economy Revenue and Job Growth.” Salesforce, 14 Dec. 2023, https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/ai-jobs-revenue/
