Find the Right Balance Between Your Career and Family

Salesforce invests a lot into the wellbeing of their employees, and a heavy emphasis is placed on finding and maintaining a proper work/life balance. I caught up with some employees from across the business to discuss how they’ve availed of Salesforce’s employee benefits; particularly when it comes to parental leave, flexible hours, and remote working.

Their testimonies affirm that regardless of age, gender, or role, Salesforce enables its employees to do the best work of their career by supporting them in every aspect of their lives.

Justin Smyth, Director, Success Specialist: I'm in my Koa Year (10 years) at Salesforce, and in my third role at the company. I have two children; one of which has special needs. Over the years, I've found that Salesforce empowers all of it's employees to make the most of the great opportunities to expand their knowledge and to grow their career here, and I have definitely benefited from this. It’s been a stressful yet rewarding journey supporting the phenomenal and extraordinary growth of this company, and I'm very grateful with how it has enabled me to also take the time I need to support some challenging family demands.

Thankfully, I’ve always had very supportive leaders along the way to help keep me sane and maintain a balance between work and life. My biggest advice is that your calendar is actually your friend, so use it to prioritise the important life events first, and commit to them. As clichéd as it may sound, this is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace is everything, in the long run, so try to have some fun along the way!

Elaine Boyle, Executive Assistant, Marketing: Becoming a mother for the first time brings its challenges and fears from being wary of telling the job you are pregnant, trying to do a good job while pregnant (even though fatigue can take over sometimes) and then becoming a mother... Salesforce gave me a great time, flexibility and support through this time and I am grateful for then and for now. Management especially was always on hand to help me if and when I needed it. That is still the case today. I have an amazing team!

I came back from maternity leave to a few changes within my role and management and salesforce were always there to check in on me and make sure my family came first. Balancing work life and home life is extremely valued here. Flexibility is key for me for my home life, as I do all drop-offs and collections for my daughter due to the line of work my husband is in. I am able to manage home life and spend time with my daughter in the evenings as well as work and (hopefully) do a good job!

Pip White, SVP of EMEA ESMB, Emerging & ECS Sales: As a working mother to a young family in a very complex European team, it’s extremely important for me that I find the balance between both work and home life. I have a very good support system at home, my husband is a property developer and has the flexibility to be at home when I am travelling and I also have a great support system at work.

The leadership team at Salesforce are very pragmatic and supportive of helping me to balance all aspects of both my professional and personal life. I always make sure that if I am travelling for work and if I am away from my family, it’s for the right reasons. I am very transparent about that. Salesforce enables me to have a successful career, and have a family; I don’t feel that I have to choose between one or the other.

Darragh Madden, Senior Manager, Solution Engineering: This year I had the opportunity to take the second half of my paternity leave. My daughter was 11 months old and my wife was going back to work after her own maternity leave. These 6 weeks were incredibly important to our family, as it meant I could support my wife during her tough transition back to work and I got to spend an amazing 6 weeks with my daughter. Professionally, I can’t overstate the importance of this benefit.

To have the support to step back from my role at Salesforce and disconnect from work to focus on my family during this time is absolutely phenomenal. I arrived back to work in June completely energised and massively appreciative of the time I got to spend with my daughter and my family.

Arsenio Otero, COO of International: Finding equilibrium between my work and my personal life is as difficult as it sounds, so I prefer the more holistic approach of 'integration' when it comes to work and personal life. It's not always about choosing one over the over however, it's about being creative when it comes to marrying the two worlds. For example, one of the biggest challenges of my international role is the travel required to manage my global team. Instead of focusing on the fact that I can't always be at home, however, I look at the opportunity; and I have my family visit for the weekend when I am in Dublin, London, or Buenos Aires for work.

Another way I blend work and home life is by using Quip, Google Hangouts, and Calendar with my family. We chat, share updates on our days, and share travel plans with each other so we can sync regularly, even when I'm abroad. I am quite strict with my time allocation when I have to be. I always spend one full week per month at home in Madrid, so I can prioritise time with my family, and I am very grateful for how supportive the team is with this.

Daniela Culkeen, Manager, EMEA Recruiting: Having just enrolled my child in a creche upon return from nine months of maternity leave, I must admit that the transition has been seamless. Typically, this change could be quite stressful, however, I have been very calm and comfortable returning to work because I know how flexible I can be if needed. A new baby is a huge life change, but Salesforce supports my needs to juggle my career with home life.

My manager is extremely supportive, as are the team, and they are making this a very easy transition for me. This is my first week back, and for the next month I’m working four days a week to ease myself back in; which is great! I also plan on joining ParentForce here in Dublin, where parents like me can get support and connect with one another. I love the idea and am happy that this resource is available to me.

Fintan Lillis, Senior Director, Digital Marketing EMEA: Mobility and flexibility have always been really important to me as a member of the Salesforce Ohana. I joined the company early in my career, and at that time I relished the opportunity to move between jobs and grow my career rapidly. I also physically moved location - transferring between Ireland and the UK; keeping up that trajectory and enhancing my career growth opportunities. Later, when flexibility grew ever more important as a new parent, I was one of the first beneficiaries of our parental leave policy. I took paid time off to spend with my new family, and we took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to satisfy our travel-bug!

Now, as a parent of two young boys and the leader of a team stretching across four countries in EMEA, flexibility in balancing both sides of my life is more important than ever to me. Our company's culture of embracing part-time work, flexible working hours and working remotely across teams, means I get to dedicate myself to my work and get valuable time with my wife and kids. I can also empower my team to find the right balance for themselves too.

Yvonne Butler, Supervisor, Workplace Services: As a working mum, it’s important for me to always try to plan things in advance. Being organised with this helps me achieve a realistic work/life balance, although I do prefer the more holistic term, ‘work/life blending’. It’s important to think about your values and to set some priorities based on those values; setting time aside each night to spend with my daughter will take priority over working late or going to a work social event. Being transparent with my manager and team ensures alignment, trust and sets expectations on this.

What has helped me to succeed in my career as a working mum in Salesforce, is the amount of support and flexibility that I have to get things done, and I can work from home when I need to. With all of the amazing benefits Salesforce has to support working parents, it really proves that I can pursue a career while also raising a family.
 

It’s often assumed that you must choose between a career and a family, especially as a woman. However, Salesforce’s ethos when it comes to enabling its employees to balance work life and personal life is what truly establishes it as Europe’s #1 Best Workplace for two years running, and is why anyone looking to build a career in tech should strongly consider a career at Salesforce.