Partner Program FAQ: Competencies (Consulting)

Overview and Calculation FAQs

What are the benefits of earning Competencies?

Partners will receive both internal and external exposure based on Competencies earned and appear in search filters on AppExchange. For each Competency distinction earned, partners will also receive a badge to use for marketing efforts. 

How can I track my progress towards Competencies?

The Competencies Dashboard in Partner Community gives you insight into which Competencies you have earned and what areas might need attention.  You will be able to track various metrics across projects and credentials and conduct deep dives into requirement standings. Please see the Competencies Learn page for more details.

How can I access the Competencies Dashboard?

The Competencies Dashboard can be found by visiting the Partner Community homepage, clicking the Manage dropdown, and finally selecting Scorecard.

How often is the Competencies Dashboard updated?

In general the Competencies Dashboard is updated every 24 hours, though updates can be affected if different backend sources are delayed.  If after 48 hours you still do not see a metric or achievement status update, please log a case through your Partner Community Help Portal and our team will investigate.

Please note:  Tier advancement can take up to a week to process.  If you are expecting to advance from Provisional to Select and still haven't advanced after 7 days from meeting requirements, please open a case in the Partner Community.

Are Competencies based on an individual or firm basis?

The Competencies are achieved on a global firm basis.

When do my earned Competencies expire?

Once a distinction is earned, it remains valid for the remainder of the SFDC FY, plus the following SFDC FY. Any distinctions you earn in FY27, are valid until 1/31/2028. Partner will have until this date to re-earn the credential if it lapsed or submit new projects as older projects will age out.  Please see the Competencies Learn page for more details.

What happens to the old FY26 Navigator Distinctions that had been earned?

If you previously earned a Navigator distinction in FY26, then that achievement has been mapped over to an equivalent FY27 Competencies.  These transitions have been marked as “Legacy” within the Competencies Dashboard.  FY26 Cloud Experts and FY26 Implementation Experts were mapped to FY27 Competency Experts while FY26 Specialists were mapped to FY27 Competency Accredited.  

Competencies Project Requirement FAQs

How do the project submission form product and service selections align with Competencies?

All selections within the project submission form align with FY27 Competencies.  A full list of all Products and Subproducts alignment can be found with the Project Submissions Learn Page. 

What makes a project eligible towards a Competency?

The project must have an End Date in the current or previous fiscal year.  The project must also have a validated Customer Org ID or non-core ID equivalent.  Please see the Competencies Learn page for more details.

Why do I need to fill in the customer’s org ID in the project? Where do I find my customer’s org ID?

Filling out the customer's org ID allows us to track which partner is working with which customer. This is important for us to begin generating important customer success metrics to help partners receive proactive assistance during a customer implementation, and understand best practices.  Either ask the customer to follow these steps and share their ID, or follow them using your user account within the Customer Organization: Find your Salesforce Organization ID.

There is a newly added product for this fiscal year that applies to a past completed project - Can the project be retroactively updated?

As long as the project end date is still within the current or previous fiscal year, the project can be updated.  Please submit a case via the Salesforce Help and a support agent will assist you.

Can multiple projects from the same customer count toward a Competency?

Yes, multiple projects from the same customer will count towards the project requirement for a Competency. 

Can a project count towards multiple Competencies?

Yes, a single project can count towards all Competencies in which it meets the qualifications.  

How do I know if my project qualifies for a Competency?

FY27 Competencies are aligned to Salesforce’s product suite and mirror how products are represented externally on Salesforce.com.  Please visit the Salesforce product page to learn more and verify if your project covers that product.  

Competency Credential Requirement FAQs

How do we make sure our certifications are being included in the Competency evaluation?

Please make sure your team has linked their Pearson accounts correctly.

How can I find which Credentials are required for a specific Competency?

A full list of all Products and Subproducts credential alignment can be found under the Certifications section of the Competencies Learn Page. 

What happens if I earned a Competency that previously did not have a credential, but a requirement was added during the year?

If you previously earned a Competency when the credential did not exist yet or was not yet required, your distinction will remain active for the standard valid time frame which is the remainder of the FY in which it was earned, plus the subsequent FY. In order to maintain the Competency at the end of this time period, the new credential(s) will need to be earned. 

Legacy Distinctions

What happens to the old FY26 Navigator Distinctions that had been earned?

If you previously earned a Navigator distinction in FY26, then that achievement has been mapped over to an equivalent FY27 Competencies.  These transitions have been marked as “Legacy” within the Competencies Dashboard.  FY26 Cloud Experts and FY26 Implementation Experts were mapped to FY27 Competency Experts while FY26 Specialists were mapped to FY27 Competency Accredited.