Slowly becoming one of the worst places I've ever worked
Pros
The salary is good, at least in my role. As many have mentioned, Salesforce is still seen as a destination company and a market leader - so experience here looks good on a resume. I've met some great people here who have stimulated and challenged me - also made some great friends personally.
Cons
I mean...it's hard to know where to start but I'll try to do my best. First, a lot of people talk about career and promotions - and how there's little to know transparency about the process, nepotism is rampant and the like. The company knows this, which is why ES has done away with giving performance reviews. Now, instead of being clear on what exactly you need to do to move up the chain, they're putting this on you. The result is that many people get promoted solely for political/favoritism , and people who actually have technical skills can get lost if there is no one mentoring them on how to play the game. And as other people have mentioned, employees do get rated by their managers every year, but they never see the results of their evaluation. The typical ES response to this will be "Salesforce is not for everyone" - but this should not take the place of transparency around the promotion process, especially in a company that touts itself on being transparent in every other way. The whole situation is a really messed up way of dealing with the fact that there are too many talented and driven people here. Work life balance, especially in regional roles, is nonexistent. During a regional rotation, I was actually paid less than my San Francisco salary per our mobility policies, but I was expected to lead projects in San Francisco AND the regional location. The result was 15-18 hour days, 6 days per week. Even though I discussed the concerns I had with my manager, their response was the typical "Maybe Salesforce just isn't for you." The situation did finally get better after I sought legal advice, and realized that this type of working structure was actually illegal per the local environment. However, it was clear that the escalation was seen as politically incorrect, and the regional rotation quickly became a dead end with no career growth or development. I was lucky enough to find a team in San Francisco that was willing to take me as a way out, but I share this as a cautionary tale for anyone considering taking on a similar role. Make sure you have a good local attorney, as many teams at Salesforce are predatory, and see the rotational experience as a way to get you to take on more for less money - they will retaliate against you if you try to escalate concerns about your work environment (and on the other side, try getting anyone in San Francisco to take a call before 8am or after 5pm, and people will act like you're crazy - it's a complete double standard). Salesforce is going to start offering more and more roles like this outside of San Francisco to reduce costs, so be sure you know what you're getting yourself into and how you'll be supported if you take one of these on. Operations are a complete mess with many groups doing the same thing, each one trying to assert themselves. Ever since I've been here, there seems to be a focus on wellness, though this gets rebranded time and again as different initiatives. The end result is that people are super driven from 8-5, but cut corners so they can make it to that 5:30pm yoga class. I'm not saying people should work 24/7, but this is an example of how Salesforce and its culture often embody mixed messages (grow grow grow but make sure you have a balance). The result is a lot of groups who say "This isn't my problem/I'm not owning it/Find someone else to talk to." In a matrixed environment, this becomes really frustrating - especially as the company has gotten so much bigger. Ultimately, the Company is becoming larger and more bureaucratic - many employees are not receiving raises this year because the company wants to focus on bottom line growth at the expense of its people. At some point over the last 10 years, my day became 100% focused on managing the politics as opposed to creating value and focusing on work I enjoy. Because of this, I've decided to leave Salesforce after a long ride. It's bittersweet, but kind of like that song - "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here"; the writing is on the wall in terms of where this company is going - the culture has is getting more and more eroded with the growth. As a final word of warning, I will just encourage all potential candidates to take Salesforce marketing with a grain of salt. Salesforce is one of the only companies I know of that has an internal marketing team who is tasked with trying to tell you how you should feel about the company. Yes, it's true - they have done a lot of great things, but usually the motivation behind it is much more about showing how this initiative is part of the Salesforce brand, as opposed to genuinely providing assistance to someone or some organization that needs help.
