Salesforce.com is one of those innovative companies earning attention not just for its products and offerings but also for being a great place to work. At the start of the year it earned the number 7 spot on FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Get smart and learn more about what Salesforce.com can do for you.

So what sets Salesforce apart from other companies?

First…A Bit of Background on Salesforce.com

Before delving into the innovative talent management strategy of Salesforce, a brief rundown of the company.

It was created 15 years ago as a start-up that was leading the way in terms of selling software-as-a-service. It was a difficult proposition at the time, with most enterprise customers having very little understanding of how the whole thing would work.

Now, SaaS isn’t such a tough sell, but Salesforce has gone above and beyond just selling the model—they’re excelling at what they do. Their revenue for 2014 was anticipated to be somewhere in the $5 billion range.

Salesforce isn’t just known for being a great place to work and a top-performing company in the industry—it’s also a breeding ground for tech executives who go on to do great things. In fact, some of the tech industry’s best and brightest got their start at Salesforce.

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Now… How They Manage Talent

There are so many ways Salesforce is outstanding in terms of talent management, but a few of the standout components of their premise for managing and developing employees include the following:

• The corporate culture at Salesforce is defined by a sense of inclusion and collaboration. Their talent management tagline is “Salesforce.com is a team sport—and we play to win.” They’ve dubbed it the “Aloha culture,” meaning it’s defined by a spirit of not just inclusiveness but also genuineness, a sense of caring for one another, compassionate interactions, and having fun while you’re at it.
• The benefits get pretty specific at Salesforce. They’re divided into categories: compensation, philanthropy, health, and happiness. Within the realm of compensation are some of the more usual benefits such as employee stock purchase plans and uncapped commission. Philanthropy is where it really gets interesting and innovative. Employees are given six days off a year to volunteer their time, a $1,000 grant is given to any nonprofit for the completion of an employees’ six days, nonprofit donations are matched each year up to an amount of $5,000 and employees are invited to participate in organized volunteer trips around the globe. The health category of the Salesforce benefits package includes an onsite fitness and massage center, treadmill desks, meal reimbursement for new parents, and even 24/7 back-up care provided for family members and loved ones. Finally, when it comes to happiness there’s a bit of whimsy thrown in. Happiness-based benefits include free snacks and drinks, dog-friendly offices, pre-tax commuter benefits, and even benefits involving trips, concerts, and events.
• Salesforce is serious about diversity. They believe a connected workplaces requires employees from different backgrounds and beliefs, so they are incredibly transparent when it comes to sharing their diversity statistics. Not only do they focus on hiring employees from diverse gender and racial backgrounds, but also employees of all sexual orientations as well as veterans and people from globally diverse locations.

It’s interesting to see the strides Salesforce is making in terms of not just being innovative in technology but also in how they view and treat employees. As they continue to groom the tech leaders of tomorrow, we’re likely to keep seeing the impact they’re making in terms of talent management and how it’s regarded not just in the technology industry, but across all industries.

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