Salesforce is the world’s most popular cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform. According to a report by the IDC, an incredible 3.3 million jobs and $859 billion new business revenue will be created from 2016 to 2022. But this success is creating challenges and opportunities in equal measure.
Salesforce currently has a 20 percent market share with more and more companies turning to its platforms and applications. The problem is that the demand for skills is outstripping supply. The ecosystem is continuously growing and creating a wealth of opportunities for individuals that are equipped with the right skills.
PREPARING YOUR WORKPLACE FOR AN ERA OF LIFELONG LEARNING
Traditional roles are disappearing from the employment landscape, and words such as automation are beginning to make many employees feel nervous. But, on the flip side of this all-too-familiar narrative, workers with Salesforce expertise are arming themselves with invaluable skills that are highly transferable between multiple industries.
The catch-22 situation for businesses is the costs of professional development in your employees could be counterproductive if they will inevitably get poached by another company. However, those that are heavily invested into the Salesforce Universe will find themselves with no other choice. Arguably, developing and looking after your staff, so they don’t leave is a nice problem to have.
From a young age, we are told to get a good education. We were promised that it would help pave the way to success in our chosen career and secure a more satisfying job. However, this is just the beginning of your journey. To thrive and survive in a digital age, you will need to commit to a mindset of lifelong learning in continuous improvement to both your personal and professional development.
For many businesses, this will require a dramatic shift in it corporate culture. By actively encouraging their staff to learn new skills, it will ultimately increase their bottom line. But it will come at a cost and involve giving their employees both the time and space to learn. The Salesforce ecosystem is innovating faster than the talent being produced. As a result, organizations and individuals need to unite and tackle this challenge head-on to prepare for a new reality.
EQUIPPING WORKERS WITH THE RIGHT SKILLS
The Salesforce universe is vast. There is a long list of skills required to fill roles such as sales admin, business analysts, consultants to sales, and service managers. Companies will need to develop their own training development plans to reskill and upskill their employees effectively.
The increased popularity of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) has made it incredibly easy to enrol staff on interactive step-by-step courses on niche subjects. The usual suspects, Udemy, Coursera, and Udacity, are all increasingly focussed on helping businesses navigate around the digital disruption on the horizon.
However, Salesforce has created a global community of lifelong learners via its own free online learning platform called Trailhead. Specially curated courses are removing the barrier of entry and enabling all to learn, regardless of their skill level.
The online learning tool promises to take every visitor from a low level of technical knowledge and into a Salesforce role within only six months. Anyone that is looking to start a new career path can choose a specially designed learning route. These free courses will guide them towards critical roles such as salesforce administrators, marketers, and coders.
A recent campaign is also aiming to help 250,000 learners get accredited to Salesforce admin status by 2022 across Europe. All too often, we only get to read about the negative aspects of transformational change. But there are free courses available right now that can enable anyone to pursue a new career where there is a shortage of applicants. What are you waiting for?
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
Organizations and employees are all sharing the same concerns about how they should be preparing to achieve success in a very different future. The good news is that everybody is in this together and the talent shortage is even bigger than Salesforce.
For those looking for a few pointers or reassurance, the future of jobs report by the World Economic Forum advised, “Companies are seeking to harness new and emerging technologies to reach higher levels of efficiency of production and consumption, and to expand into new markets, and compete on new products for a global consumer base composed increasingly of digital natives.”
Your future success remains in your hands. Everyone has the opportunity to take control and teach themselves the skills that will help them begin a new career in the Salesforce ecosystem.