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Everything you need to know about attracting and retaining the best Salesforce talent in 2020

Everything you need to know about attracting and retaining the best Salesforce talent in 2020

I’ve been recruiting Salesforce talent for companies of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 500s, for quite a few years now! 2019 has seen demand like never before as more businesses have adopted the world’s No.1 CRM, outweighing the supply many times over. According to Indeed, Salesforce Developer jobs have seen a 129% increase this year. This demand has meant some companies have badly struggled to attract talent, while others have had the very best banging on their door, and worse still, some organizations have lost their star Salesforce professionals to competitors.

If you’re planning on hiring Salesforce talent next year, here are my tops tips for attracting, selecting and retaining the very best.

How to attract top Salesforce talent

It’s all about the interview. And interviewing is basically just Sales. You need to sell your company’s employer proposition hard to every candidate you see because these professionals have plenty of options. The whole candidate experience needs to be streamlined into a slick operation – remember, the Salesforce world is relatively small. It’s true that if someone has a good experience, they will tell one person, but if they have a bad experience, they will tell six! If your interview and recruitment process has too many steps or takes longer than others, you will lose the best candidates along the way to your competition. Efficiency is everything, so ensure that the relevant decision makers are available and up to speed on exactly who they are talking to, so that fast, effective evaluations can be made.

Most of my clients are able to select someone to offer within 1-2 interviews, so if you would like any advice on streamlining your recruitment process or the sales element of interviewing, please contact me.

How to select the best

A number of hiring managers miss out on some amazing talent because they limit themselves on their options when they don’t need to. Here are three points I advise my clients they keep in mind:

1. Be realistic about skills and experience

Salesforce releases new products, features and upgrades faster than people can learn them. For example, seeking Salesforce Developers with Lightning Web Components (LWC) experience is fine, but it’s important to note that it was only released at the end of last year, so many of the best people haven’t had the chance to work with it yet! You could be missing out on some great talent (who can learn it on the job quickly anyway) by having a long wish list or by being too picky.

2. Hire for competencies and values

The things you can’t teach, such as work ethic, integrity and communication skills, are just as important as your desired technical criteria. If a candidate meets 60%+ of your wish list but demonstrates a high level of integrity and is poised, polished, and would be great in front of your business users, then those attributes should hold weight.

3. Hire from underrepresented groups

Make sure you’re tapping into all the talent pools out there, particularly racial minorities, veterans, or people with disabilities. Many excellent organizations are hosting Salesforce bootcamps for underrepresented groups, producing individuals who have had a fast-tracked Salesforce training, and who often come with previous work experience and many transferrable skills. Don’t miss out.

Once you’ve narrowed down your selections, do your research and follow up on references. Salesforce makes it easy to verify people’s certifications here.

How to retain your Salesforce talent

The extreme demand for the best Salesforce professionals naturally results in a higher turnover rate. On average, I see them move every 2-3 years, though it’s becoming increasingly common for talent to jump ship after just one. If we accept the often-quoted ballpark figure that an employee leaving costs approximately 20% of their salary, then you can see how this can add up quickly, particularly if you have a large team. It’s therefore vital to create a working environment that helps with retention. And while not everyone can hand out the employee perks of a Google or a Facebook, there are some simple benefits you can offer:

1. Flexible working

People choose careers in Salesforce BECAUSE of the flexible working – Salesforce themselves promotes this! You don’t have to offer 100% remote roles, but if you’re interviewing a stellar candidate and they want to work from home one day a week, that’s a pretty reasonable request in this day and age. So, embrace flexibility!

2. A learning culture

Create a culture on your team that promotes taking risks and trying things outside of the box without judgement or repercussion. Let people experiment, learn and grow (within reason) and offer them consistent, constructive feedback. Creating a learning culture fosters loyalty and a sense of comradery that will keep your employees around longer than any benefit or salary ever will!

3. Keep your compensation competitive

Though salary is not the main driver for some, it is still important. Do your research on how much Salesforce professionals are being paid elsewhere and make sure you are competitive, whether that’s in salary, bonus or benefits. Try to ensure that your salary bandings account for Salesforce professionals, for example, a Salesforce Administrator might otherwise be classed as Admin Support; or a Salesforce Developer as a general IT Programmer.

Here is a salary guide based on some of our 2019 Salesforce placements, which I hope will help.

If you need advice on salaries or any other aspect of hiring or retaining Salesforce talent in 2020, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Posted over 4 years ago

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