Is it their disruptive CRM system, their employee referral scheme or employee benefits package that drives their success? With a 4.5+ star rating in all categories on Glassdoor, it seems Salesforce is succeeding in all departments and they are showing no signs of slowing down. Physical and mental health checks, family benefits, parental leave, private medical insurance, monthly wellness reimbursement to spend on gyms, online classes and massages are just some of the benefits on offer. One of the employee reviews stated, ‘Everything about Salesforce's benefits package is designed to support the hard work and extra mile you go at Salesforce’. So, going back to that old saying, ‘Nothing comes for free’ relates very closely to Salesforce’s strategy here; at Salesforce they expect a lot of hard work, but they will reward their employees in return.
Competitors of Salesforce then should evaluate how much investment they are pouring into their employee’s. Presumably, working at the same level as Salesforce employees but not having the same benefits package will lead to a detrimental employee burn out? Worryingly, this is what is happening in the market; smaller businesses expect the same from their employees but don’t have enough funds to support them. This must inevitably create a corrupt market. Similarly to the ‘rich get richer’ saying, in this scenario those that have the money to provide a top of the range benefits package will continue to succeed above their competitors.
On the contrary, Salesforce alongside other giants in this field had to start somewhere. So…. what made their strategy work compared to other small businesses? Did they implement employee satisfaction initiatives from the very start?
CEO at Salesforce Marc Benioff recently discussed how he believes businesses are staying private for too long. He stresses how public investors can provide oversight to businesses quite early on.
Possibly Marc Benioff’s view shows how he believes businesses should work more collaboratively and have more than one voice. Has his benefits package been created by simply listening to his employees? Marc admitted his business went into four recessions during start-up. One aspect that is continually highlighted, is Marc’s dedication to his employees. It seems he is good at putting himself in the shoes of each and every one of his employees. While discussing the benefits of meditation Marc states ‘"I am very interested in keeping a clear head so I enjoy meditation, which I've been doing for over a decade”. He has now incorporated meditation into his benefits package and people all over the world are utilizing the meditation sessions that are on offer to Salesforce employees. The lesson that can be learned here is ‘give your employees exactly what you would want’,
It seems simple doesn’t it?
BUT really how much money is required to provide a benefits package to all employees?
