18 years after its founding, Salesforce remains an innovative<\/a> organization. Over 10,000 employees fill its San Francisco offices. And from its workers to its customers and partners, Salesforce devotees exude drive, happiness, benevolence, and a solidarity and togetherness unique to the Salesforce culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the sort of organic, grassroots brand loyalty that most organizations can only dream of. So how exactly did Salesforce create such a thriving, healthy ecosystem of compassionate, involved, and loyal users?<\/p>\n\n\n\n During his time at Oracle in the 1990s, founder and CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, consistently cultivated a passion for philanthropy. After a sabbatical on Hawaii\u2019s Big Island in 1997, he realized he didn\u2019t need to sacrifice his love for business and work in order to do good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s no reason why your business, your personal philanthropy, and your corporate philanthropy can\u2019t be integrated,\u201d he says. \u201cOn the contrary: If you can get all the wood behind one arrow, that\u2019s how you\u2019re going to increase your impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n [bctt tweet=”Salesforce donates 1% of its software, 1% of its equity, and 1% of its employees\u2019 time to give back to communities worldwide.” username=”Workato”]<\/p>\n\n\n\n When founding Salesforce two years later in 1999, that vision carried over. The Salesforce founders sought to establish an institutional philanthropic philosophy as a core part of their corporate DNA. A key component of that philosophy is the 1\/1\/1 model. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As an organization, Salesforce donates 1% of its software, 1% of its equity, and 1% of its employees\u2019 time to give back to communities worldwide. This unique social responsibility model has repeatedly earned them the distinction of \u201cThe World\u2019s Most Innovative Company\u201d from Forbes Magazine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2017, Fortune ranked Salesforce 20th on a list of the world\u2019s most admired companies. It also topped a list of workplaces that give back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Salesforce does more than just contribute to charity; the organization has worked hard to create a company culture that transcends the workings of the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Enter the Salesforce Ohana community. Drawing inspiration from the Hawaiian concept of family\u2014which includes both blood relatives, adopted members, and intentionally chosen connections\u2014the Ohana community is a close-knit group of Salesforce devotees, both inside and outside the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Salesforce describes Ohana as: \u201ca deep-seated support group we nurture inside our company. And it doesn’t stop at our employees \u2014 it extends to our partners, customers, and members of the communities that we call home. We collaborate, take care of one another, have fun together, and work to leave the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To do so, the Ohana community seeks to embody its nine core values:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to build a community around a product, it\u2019s crucial that the community spirit you\u2019re trying to build permeates internally. Salesforce Ohana does this incredibly well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The company institutes practical initiatives to reflect each value listed above. Equality for All, for example, spawned Ohana Groups\u2014nine employee resource groups that provide communities for underrepresented identities and their allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Equally important is that the company leadership leads by example, another thing Benioff has made sure of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor us in the Office of Equality, the number one priority where I spent [a quarter of my time] would be empowering our Ohana Groups,\u201d Benioff comments. \u201cOur Ohana Groups are the backbone and the muscle and the fiber that carries the company\u2019s equality culture forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees who want to feel the Salesforce Ohana spirit even have a dedicated physical place to do so. The Ohana Floor in Salesforce Tower is more than just a symbol of the company\u2019s dedication to growing its community\u2014it actively enables that community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With a fully open floor plan, the top floor of the building is completely devoid of sterile offices or conference rooms. Instead, the floor is a gathering place that hosts community-building, value-nurturing events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have gathered folks together a couple of times over the last few months inside the company to have an open space for people to express and process how they\u2019re feeling and for people to listen to them, see them, and respect them in a way that is nonpartisan and in a way that respects all views,\u201d says Benioff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t have to build an entire floor dedicated to your community in order for your employees to feel invested. Salesforce Ohana uses smaller traditions as well to help keep the sense of community alive. Every Friday, for example, community members don Hawaiian shirts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sam B., a Business Development Representative at the company, explains why: \u201cWe’re remembering the early days of Salesforce.com when the company was just a few people and a bunch of servers in an apartment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We’re reminding our teammates that even today, it’s possible to work hard and have fun at the same time. At the end of the day, they’re just shirts\u2014but the shirts represent a history that I’m proud to support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n Employee rituals and internal support groups are only one aspect of a thriving community. Any strong brand community must tap into its greatest advocates: your customers<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Because Ohana includes intentional family, it extends to Salesforce customers. \u201cWhile not everyone embraces the concept actively, they are still all part of Salesforce Ohana, and the family will step up and step in to help anyone in need,\u201d says Sharon Klardie, Workato’s Salesforce Evangelist and a Salesforce MVP from New Hampshire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Klardie explains that, in her mind, Ohana is embodied by selfless acts of kindness between total strangers. \u201cI think of Salesforce Ohana as people who don\u2019t know you at all lending a hand when a member of the community loses their house,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This description certainly hits home for Nana Gregg, a Salesforce user who lost her home to a tornado in 2015. \u201cWithin a few hours of the destruction of our home, a community came together,\u201d she recalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA community that spans oceans and borders. People I\u2019d never met in real life. People who speak different languages. While we were still standing in front of our ruined home in the rain, trying to figure out what to do next, the Ohana were putting out a call to action to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the Ohana spirit isn\u2019t limited to grand gestures of charity; it also plays out in smaller, more localized events within the Salesforce user community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFor example, lots of customers meet informally every weekend with other local Salesforce users to teach and to learn,\u201d notes Klardie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Salesforce also runs a robust customer support community<\/a> known as the Trailblazer<\/a> community, where users can browse informational articles for self-help, seek assistance from others, and share best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In building their community, Salesforce successfully leveraged these two motivators. A great example is their Most Valuable Professional (MVP) program. Every year, Salesforce experts have the chance to be nominated as MVPs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This designation brings with it a lot of responsibility\u2014MVPs must demonstrably contribute to the community every year in order to have their status renewed\u2014but also quite a few perks, like community recognition, premier product support, and networking events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, most MVPs aren’t in it solely for the perks, but they’re Salesforce’s way of thanking those dedicated users for their work and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The key takeaway here is that to inspire your customers to invest in your community, you need to invest in them first. Instead of approaching them as outsiders or only customers, you need to see them as partners in community-building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you approach them as valued equals\u2014and reward them for their voluntary participation in building your brand\u2014they’ll be more likely to contribute consistently.<\/p>\n\n\nBack To The Beginning: Dreaming Up the 1\/1\/1 Model<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Start from the Inside: Building The Salesforce Ohana Community Internally<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSpreading the Spirit: Customers Are Salesforce Ohana, Too<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
So how does a company build such a powerful, engaged community?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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