Internal transfers are impossible; salaries can be low and politics plague the company. - Anonymous employee Salesforce Employee Review

1.0
20 Sept 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The facilities budget is apparently huge. They have some of the most expensive real estate and they definitely didn't skimp on interior design. "Cool" company to work for, being in San Francisco and all. Their bread and butter product (salesforce automation) doesn't seem to be dying down anytime soon.

Cons

After three years here I had wanted to transfer to another department. I applied, and before it hit the hiring manager's mailbox, it hit my manager's mailbox first. How does that make any sense? The form I filled out said I would not have to contact my manager unless I was seriously being considered for the position. After my manager found out, he did whatever he could to make my job difficult and I eventually left on my own terms. Salaries are OK if you can get your manager to vouch for you. Many times folks are lowballed and get stuck at lower salaries for their level and they don't even know it. Happened to me and it happened to a few people I knew. It can be easy to negotiate upwards in these cases as long as you can show strong performance and navigate the company politically. As long as your directors are your best friends you will make great money. Promotions on the other hand are another beast. Some people I knew got promoted for no reason (other than being an SVP's best friend). As a high performer, it makes it very difficult because you work hard only to have other people get promoted because they can talk better than you, or go to more happy hours than you.

Explore other reviews about Salesforce

4.0
9 July 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I've spent over 8 years with Salesforce in various management and individual contributor roles, all customer or partner facing. Some of the pros: - vibrant, fast paced culture - smart, fun, aggressive colleagues - management is focused on latest tech trends and staying or becoming a leader for many of them - by and large, customers and partners are very positive about the technology - good benefits and perqs - hip urban culture at HQ - a chart-your-own-course mentality that rewards those who aggressively seek out the job they want and pursue it, or sometimes even create it

Cons

After my long tenure and many Dreamforce conferences, I'm nearly fried. To say the culture is fast paced and the focus is always changing is an understatement. The reason Salesforce always seems on top, and chasing the latest trend, and in the press, is because employees are expected to run harder, carry more, cheer loudly, and pivot constantly. It's the world's biggest startup in behavior. But at the same time, with the recent influx of top career sales leaders from Oracle and what appears to be a board-level mandate for doubling revenue, employees are being asked to do even more with even less, fill higher quotas with smaller territories, less help, and the big company bureaucracy is rearing it's ugly head. Worse still is the politics. When you hire a bunch of smart, aggressive people, and put them in an environment of outsized expectations, throw in a bunch of re-orgs and changing management, and sprinkle with uncertainty and constantly changing priorities, you inevitably get people back stabbing each other and throwing others under the bus to appear smarter and more worthy of promotion. The few at the top will get very, very rich. The rest will lose the sense of personal ownership and start to wonder why they've given up health and family

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Salesforce Response
1y
It's not often that you get the opportunity to respond to a review 10 years in but your comprehensive and thoughtful review has managed to hold on as one of our most popular even a decade in :) It’s exciting to see that the things we love most about the Salesforce of today — super smart colleagues, being at the forefront of tech trends and establishing ourselves as leaders in the space, great benefits and perks to name a few — haven’t changed in the past 10 years. We acknowledge the challenges you faced, such as the pace, shifting priorities, and internal politics. Your advice on maintaining our foundational vision while avoiding big-company bureaucracy is helpful as we continue to grow as the #1 AI CRM. Salesforce is committed to balancing growth with employee well-being and staying true to our core values. We appreciate your insights and dedication over the years. Thanks again for your feedback!
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