Teamwork at Salesforce

     Although I have never actually witnessed the environment of Salesforce, I was able to get some insight into how teams operate within Salesforce and why employees love the company so much. Each of the employees I interviewed within the company mentioned the collaborative nature of Salesforce. The office space consists of multiple large tables that different teams use as desks. According to Salesforce employee Hope D’Orsi, “This allows for clear communication between team members and helps to increase productivity. When I start to get sidetracked I look to my right and to my left and see how hard working my teammates are and find the motivation to continue my work”. I found this office layout to be incredibly interesting as I know I am personally someone who thrives off of other people’s energy and am motivated by those around me. 

     One interesting thing about Salesforce is that they do not hire interns. Instead they hire people for full time positions right out of college. I believe that this is neither good nor bad but does bring up some concerns. In terms of benefiting the students, I do think it would be an amazing learning experience for younger students to be able to interact with Salesforce employees in a professional setting. An internship program could also benefit Salesforce employees as it would allow them to take on leadership roles regardless of their position within the company. For example, someone like Hope D’Orsi who has only been working at Salesforce for six short months may benefit from teaching interns about the company as it would give her more confidence in her role within the company. That being said, I think one of the reasons that Salesforce teams are so close is due to the fact that they do not have interns. They form relationships with their colleagues by working with them for months or years on end, not just a couple weeks in the summer (like an internship). I also think that the lack of interns allows for Salesforce to spend their time training full time employees, not just interns who may or may not want a full time position. 

     Overall, I know that my assessment of team work at Salesforce may be biased as I have only interviewed three employees, however, from what I was told in my interviewees, I genuinely believe that Salesforce is a company that values teamwork. The value that Salesforce places on teamwork helps to create more successful and passionate employees.