Today, Salesforce was named one of the Best Workplaces in Ireland by Great Place to Work. This is our sixth consecutive year on this list. Earlier this week, we were also named one of the Best Workplaces for Women in Ireland for the third year in a row. I want to extend a huge thank you to our entire team in Ireland who have built something very special.

While we are proud of this continuity – after all, building a great workplace is a marathon, not a sprint – I believe it’s fair to say that this past year was unlike any we’ve seen before and required us to pivot and adapt in so many ways. This was a challenge, but we showed great resilience as a team. Thanks to our fantastic employees who are living our core values of Trust, Innovation, Customer Success, and Equality every day, we were able to navigate through the crisis, find a new balance, and maintain an engaging work experience for all. Here’s how we did it. 

Open and honest conversation keep us connected

When COVID-19 developed into a global pandemic last year, our employees’ health and wellbeing was our number one priority. We closed our physical offices and enabled our people to shelter in place and work from home. As a technology company born in the cloud, we were able to transition our work swiftly in many instances. Other changes proved to be more challenging. For example, how would we stay connected while apart? How could we build trust and transparency while dealing with uncertainty? 

We introduced weekly, company-wide All Hands calls and monthly calls for our employees in Ireland. As always, open communication and maintaining our sense of community was key. Global and local leadership used these calls to share practical updates from office closing to health advice and we used it to talk about what many of us felt – uncertainty, fear, the challenges of parenting, or of living situations. We wanted to let everyone know that it is okay to ask for help, to bring up challenges with their manager, and be open about their experiences and feelings.

Through honest, regular, and consistent communication, we stay connected and aligned, and we establish trust. Even through hectic times, our employees are on board and fully support the steps we take and are willing to challenge us when they see areas where we can improve and make changes. This allows us to move quickly and navigate the challenges of this crisis. 

Providing great benefits and flexibility

Parents or caregivers, living alone or sharing a flat with roommates – every single one of our employees has a unique situation with different challenges and needs. Early on during the pandemic, we started sending monthly wellbeing surveys to help us understand our employees’ needs. This helped us to quickly update and expand our benefits to better support our employees, and will also guide our way forward. 

The majority of our employees around the world have told us that they prefer working flexibly - meaning they want to come to the office only a few times per month - but also that 80% of employees want to maintain a connection to a physical space. So while everyone’s situation is different, these deep insights into what works well for our employees have helped guide our approach to re-opening. With our Work From Anywhere strategy for flexible working, we’re combining the strength of our values, our platform, and our people to reimagine the way we work for the better. 

Colleagues supporting each other

Many of our employees went above and beyond to connect with our customers, partners, and to support each other. A great example of this is our B-Well Together, Dublin series. At the onset of the pandemic, we started hosting weekly wellbeing breaks to provide wellbeing tips and resources. We were very impressed to see so many of our colleagues step up and share their own wellbeing tips, habits, and practices with their colleagues on video calls.

With great ideas, endless energy, and the occasional dash of good fun, our employees in Ireland created a range of wellbeing sessions that energised and inspired our Dublin community.

This feeling of community is what sets Salesforce Ireland apart. Our people bring our culture to life as they show up every day, ready to go above and beyond for our customers and for each other. Receiving this recognition is great feedback that we are on the right track and this would not have been possible without our most valuable asset — our employees! 

Join us! Learn more about life at Salesforce Ireland.