Salesforce boasts a great exterior perception, but the real deal is less than glamorous. The sad thing is once you’re hired, if you do want to go elsewhere, other employers wonder what’s wrong with you because of the positive perception Salesforce has. I’ve listed several reasons why I have not recommended Salesforce to my network below.
Corporate monster: The company tries to stifle employee concerns with surface-level actions like weekly team-lead meetings regarding employee worries, but nothing changes. All that happens is generic and blanket corporate messages funneled back to concerned employees. It takes years to adjust concerns about quota (ie: why is my Oklahoma quota the same as a Bay Area quota? Which, by the way, is still not resolved).
Non-promotions: The company touts “rapid promotion” within the sales path, but the honest truth is that the first three to five years (ie: SR, EBR, and ESB AE) are just doormat positions with little additional salary that take longer than promised to get through.
Resentment: Additionally, it is a widely known fact internally that the company hires overqualified individuals at a lower level title than they deserve. This creates a consistent stream of resentment throughout the organization.
General work/life balance: For SRs (Sales Reps), our stack ranking is a joke. It leads people to act so immorally and just creates more junk for other people to deal with and waste time on. Since we are stack ranked, everyone is afraid to take a vacation since that means their numbers will be behind others that take no vacation. The department tried to alter the policy saying that reps that take at least 4 days off PTO will not have to worry about that month effecting their promotion, but does not adjust their actual quota for the month (meaning your paycheck still suffers). Lovely.
Go to Box or Netsuite, or another great startup-like company that will value you. I’ve recommended other companies over the one I’m currently working for time and again. That alone should speak volumes.
