Salesforce

Good people, great benefits, diverse.

The environment feels very diverse, with teams made up of people from various backgrounds and cultures. Despite the mix of personalities and work styles, teams generally manage to complement each other well and work effectively together.

Slow development/growth:

Development tends to be slow here, and you may spend several years working on just one or two significant projects, even if you actively seek out opportunities. Individual growth doesn’t seem to be a priority, and those who make the biggest impact are often the long-tenured employees who are familiar with the established systems. They’re able to handle more significant work because the company is often trying to catch up, and there’s a need to move quickly. In the early years, you’ll likely find yourself handling more routine tasks, and it might take up to five years to gain the experience needed to take on more meaningful work. This job provides a steady income, but if you're looking to grow and expand your skillset, you’ll probably need to pursue other opportunities outside of work.

Horrible developer environment:

The environment for developers is slow and unpredictable, often leading to frequent disruptions. Tasks that would take just a few minutes on your own machine can end up taking 4-6 hours on their systems, with another 6 hours required for the work to go through their pipeline. This means that, over time, you'll only be able to complete a few tasks each week. While they're making efforts to improve, there's still so much that needs to be addressed to make the environment more enjoyable to work in.

Additionally, LWC (Lightning Web Components) is not a widely transferable skill in most other companies or industries. Unless you plan to stay at this company long-term or transition into a Salesforce developer role, it’s not likely to help you much elsewhere.

Metric:

I think Salesforce is trying to improve, move faster, and be more innovative, but I feel the way they’re going about it is flawed. The decisions made at the top often end up affecting individual contributors like myself, who are pressured to focus on meeting metrics rather than completing meaningful work. The emphasis on speed and numbers misses the point that the work is still incomplete, even if the metrics look better. I understand the intent to identify under performers, but development is nuanced—sometimes things just take longer, especially in a system that’s as slow and challenging as theirs.

Management should focus on data that directly influences outcomes.

It's important to acknowledge that the company is currently behind in terms of innovation, and without a genuine commitment to change, we'll continue to play catch-up.

Innovation requires hard choices, including shedding ineffective practices and making strategic investments, even if it means short-term sacrifices—like slower growth or lower returns for investors.

Cutting budgets and laying off employees while demanding more productivity is a recipe for long-term decline.

Sometimes, slow, deliberate progress is necessary to achieve faster growth in the future. We cannot expect significant 'wins' if we continue with this unsustainable approach.