Hot on the heels of scooping the top honour in the 2016 Best Places to Work in Australia list in the more than 100 employees category, AdNews went undercover and asked employees at the marketing software firm for their own top reasons as to why the powerhouse was such a great joint to work in.
We know it builds its culture around the spirit of Ohana, which means “family” in Hawaiian, but what else gets the employees going?
From the marketing intern and sales strategy analyst to the training coordinator and the vice president for innovation and digital transformation (what a title), here are their top reasons:
1. Wendy Johnstone, VP marketing: “What amazed me when I joined the company was that our CEO, Marc Benioff, broadcasts his senior leadership meetings live so that all employees can attend virtually. This level of transparency is incredible and is core to our special culture. It drives openness, trust and sets the benchmark for how we communicate with each other. It's part of the magic at Salesforce."
2. Matt Bizilis, regional lead Outforce ANZ: "Outforce is all about creating an environment where people can feel safe and supported to bring their true selves to work. I am honoured to lead the program in ANZ and champion our values of inclusion and equality for our staff members who identify as LGBTI”
3. Lauren Porter, training coordinator: "I love the 1-1-1 corporate philanthropy model, completing the one millionth hour of volunteering at Salesforce was such a proud achievement for me, my business team, the Sydney office and everyone at Salesforce. Some of the activities I volunteered for this year were BizAcademy, organising people to sign up for Daffodil Day stands and helping with the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence.”
4. Zoe Brissett, marketing intern: "I participated in Salesforce’s BizAcademy program in 2014. What blew me away about BizAcademy is that Salesforce opened its doors to people with disability and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds and invited us to participate in their workplace. How many companies out there actually take this step? Not many. What I saw of Salesforce’s culture and personality inspired me deeply. Here is a company that really stands out from the crowd in not only what they say, but what they do. Everything that Salesforce represented, I wanted to be a part of.
Where am I now? A few months after BizAcademy wrapped up, I applied for an internship with the marketing team. I started this almost a year ago, and am relishing every moment of it. When you work for a company that is openly collaborative, customer focused, innovative and genuinely cares about making a difference in the community, you just can’t get enough of it."
5. Megan Petersen, principal success manager: “I have worked at Salesforce for almost eight and a half years now and I can't say thank you enough. Firstly, Salesforce has given me every opportunity to grow and develop professionally. Whether it be training on our product, training on a skill set, or bringing me together with my peers I have had every chance to develop in my role. The company has also supported me through two rounds of maternity leave. Salesforce made returning to work flexible for me as I got used to my new norm of being a working mum. They also allowed me to explore job options that would allow me to have a better work life balance so I could be available for my kids and still deliver business as usual.”
6. Chuong Vu, senior solution architect: “The culture at Salesforce is unique to many other businesses I have worked at. We all work hard in a fun environment to not only achieve the best outcomes for our customers but also to ultimately give back to the community and especially to those in need through the 1-1-1 philanthropic model. In return, we are recognised for our efforts through well-being programs, unbelievable benefits and leaders put employee culture as one of their top priorities. It is truly a place where we work hard and play even harder.”
7. Robert Wickham, regional VP for innovation and digital transformation APAC: “Innovation is a core value at Salesforce. It is part of our DNA. It is exhilarating to help customers improve their "innovation fitness" and transform their business in today's digitally disrupted marketplace. Yet, what’s more exciting is the role Salesforce is playing in Australia's shift to a Knowledge Economy, which gives us the opportunity to be part of that can impact the lives of our children and generations to come.”
8. Renata Bertram, director field marketing ANZ: “Teamwork - it's how we do it at Salesforce. It’s a great feeling to know you don’t have to do it on your own. It happens organically - we all come together to support each other. Whether it's a customer pitch, a marketing event or helping in the community you'll find lots of people pitching in and helping out. I think there's an innate sense of understanding we're better and stronger together,”
9. Paul Voges, VP customer success: "It's incredible to be working for a company that prioritises trust and customer success. It makes such a difference and allows us to be truly authentic and in-line with our personal values in every interaction we have with each other, our customers and partners. I love that our customers talk publicly about the wonderful work done by our teams. It makes me proud to be part of Salesforce."
10. Michelle Cotterell, sales strategy analyst: "One of the key reasons I work at Salesforce is because of the strong commitment to the community and my ability to integrate these initiatives with my day job. Across the last year, I've had the opportunity to work with Salesforce.org to drive our STEM education initiatives.
Last May, I ran a panel for FemmeForce with external experts on how to get more girls interested in STEM. At the end of the event, the biggest question was - what can I do? We had already started to do Hour of Code and industry exposure sessions where we bring in 20 plus kids from local schools to demystify coding and show how cool a career in technology can be. With the high level of enthusiasm the employees showed, we were sure we could do even more. We started to interview organisations to find leaders in the field and are currently supporting two quite substantially: First Robotics and Schools Plus.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
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