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Addressing Diversity within the UK Salesforce Market

Mahat Hussein
Sep 1, 2018 · 9 min read

The stated mission of Bring Me In is to help individuals kickstart their Salesforce career — irrespective of their race, color or creed. Coincidentally the individuals that need the most help are also under-represented within our industry. Whilst many of us acknowledge the lack diversity in the IT sector, it can feel like we are hiding away from the real issues. We need to rethink how we approach the problem both individually and collectively.

The elephants in the room

Diversity

A well know issue within the tech industry and one that drastically needs to change. The Salesforce Ecosystem is no different, more can be done and should be done. However, the Salesforce Community is uniquely placed to address this problem; the openness of the platform, initiatives such as Trailhead (free online platform) and the ability to spin up test environments are all huge positives that make it the most “learner friendly” enterprise application. I am not aware of any other enterprise application that offers any of the above.

As a consequence, in the US the #SalesforceOhana is crushing it. With organisations such as PepUp Tech and the wonderful work the Trailhead team are doing. Giving back is part of the Salesforce DNA and it’s probably why it attracts so many people that are inclined that way. So in the US the Salesforce Ohana is doing great work to address these issues. In the UK however, more could to be done.

In the past I got apprehensive when speaking about diversity, I felt that I would be embarrassing my non-ethnic colleagues (I did it again, non-ethnic instead of white) — not any more and that is partly due to me getting more experience but also the sense of belonging that I feel within the Salesforce community. One of the turning points for me personally was when Marc Benioff spoke out regarding alcohol in the work place. As a devout Muslim, I’m not into to the whole drinking thing however the number of organisations that I have worked at where drinking is an integral part of the culture is frightening and where being that guy that doesn’t go drinking, can and most probably does effect your opportunities within that organisation. Constantly thinking should I / shouldn’t I. Thankfully, those days are long gone for me. So for the CEO of large multi-national organisation to come out and openly say the “unfair for non-drinkers to see alcohol at work” signalled to me a change in attitude. Finally people other than Muslims are understanding my struggle.

Being in an organisation where others have the same struggle helps. It doesn’t make the problems go away, and I am pragmatic enough to understand that the problems wont go away just because the office has more people that look like me, but it goes a long way to feeling like you belong.

The diversity within the city of London probably hides how a big a problem this is within the UK. We think of London as this amazing city where you can meet people from all walks of life. Which is true. However, when you look at the IT workers — that same diversity doesn’t seem to hold true.

Again the Salesforce Community here in the UK is uniquely placed to address some of these issues. The recent Trailhead BAM initiative is a great example of how the learner-friendly nature of the platform can empower others to take action and make a difference.

Sean Dukes started a BAM Programme working with a local charity focused on homelessness. And here is the thing — diversity is not simply a matter of race, religion, sexual orientation or what have you. It goes beyond that. It is being able to connect with other human beings in a meaningful way. I get along with almost everybody — but I connect with the people that truly understand my struggle.

We not only need more programmes such as the one started by Sean but we also need more opportunities to be made open.

Prerequisites

A university degree is a common prerequisite for many IT roles. Whilst a university degree is important for many professions — it is not vital to succeed in the Salesforce ecosystem. I cannot recall coming across a role in the Salesforce ecosystem and thinking “oh yes, you definitely need a university degree to do that”.

I didn’t go university straight away but I went after a couple of years of working blue collar jobs. I did everything from cleaning airplanes to handing out parking tickets. My time working those blue collar jobs was just as important as my time at university. You could even argue that I learnt more working the blue collar jobs. I am thankful for having the opportunity to go university but may others don’t have the same opportunity. Does that mean they should automatically be disqualified from roles within the Salesforce Community. Of course not. Thankfully this trend is changing.

Interestingly, once an individual reaches a certain level of seniority people stop asking about what degree they hold and they focus on experience. In my case this is happening more and more. I hardly ever get asked for my degree — unless it is part of some sort of post-employment vetting process. The issue I have with this approach is that we place this obstacle in front of people at the worst possible time. If you are asking for a university degree in an entry level / junior role, then you better firmly believe that it is required to do the role and you should stay true to that conviction when vetting applications for senior roles also.

University degrees are just one example of a strict prerequisite that is in all likelihood not the best indicator as to wether somebody will excel in a particular role. Another I see all the time is having X number of years of experience, for me this is just lazy. If the role description says 6 years experience and I have 5, should I still apply ? Surely, what I did during that time when compared against all other candidates should be taken into consideration. These type of pre-requisites are incredibly frustrating for the job seeker, especially when they are under represented within your organisation.

When you are responsible for hiring into a team it can be very challenging. Having recently built a team for one of my clients, I am ashamed to say that I have fallen foul of a lot of the bad practises I have described above. I was lazy with the job description. I was lazy when reviewing applicants and allowed prejudice to cloud my judgement. I was lazy because I placed unnecessary time restrictions on the process. I was lazy because I didn’t open up the process to the underrepresented. I was lazy because the people we hired brought no diversity to the organisation.

I will do better next time.

Our Personal Prejudices

Most of us have some prejudices that effect how we interact with others. As an “ethnic minority” I am not immune to this trait, I try my upmost to not let it effect how I treat people but they are there. Like most areas in London, my neighbourhood has seen an influx of migrants from Eastern Europe over the last couple of years. The rise in anti-social behaviour within my neighbour over that last couple years is something I worry about on a daily basis — even more so now that I have two young kids. This is how prejudices start. Equating something negative to a group of people. I am conscious of this and I actively guard against this. Just because my local area has some issues, that gives me no right to brandish all others within the community. We have to actively guard against our prejudices.

Our ability to affect the problems described above also needs to be appreciated. Diversity is a huge issue that spans almost every aspect of our life and hence our ability to effect the problem in a positive manner can be low. As an individual this is the case, hence we need to work with others and form partnerships. With respect to prerequisites, whee we actually start to have some power as an individual we should shape these pre-requisites. Then there is our personal prejudices, this is area we have the most impact on. We control these, and here is the kicker — companies our made up of individuals and once everybody at all levels (more importantly at the highest level of organisations) examine and curb their own prejudices then real change can start to take place. This is what Marc Benioff and why the Salesforce Community is unique.

Beyond Badges and Certifications

Trailhead and Salesforce Certification used within the right context are extremely useful tools to asses the skills of an individual. When I started my Salesforce there was only 4/5 certifications available. Needless to say there was no Trailhead. Given everything we have discussed both can be used to help get individuals into Salesforce roles but we need more. If I am new to Salesforce, I probably have zero certifications, which immediately rules me out of 70% of the available roles because they have unnecessary pre-requisites. If I have a certification then its probably not grounded on any real-world, practical experience. Which should be a concern to any future employer. Certification without practical experience is not worth the paper its written on. Trailhead badges bridge this gap, they at least demonstrate a certain level of practical experience, but not necessarily real-world experience.

There Is No Substitute For Real-World Experience

If you are under represented and are trying to break into the Salesforce ecosystem, then how do you go about getting this experience. You have a couple of options; go do some volunteer work with not-for-profits (NFP) or the like. Or you can join one of the many schemes being run by companies such as FDM or Mason Frank. The problem with schemes such as the later either they also have “entry requirements” (i.e. Mason Frank asks for a IT experience or graduate-caliber….no idea what that means) whereas with FDM they have been know to hold trainees to ransom if they decide to leave and pursue opportunities outside. In either case, both programmes are optimised for the training provider and not for the individual. They are setup so that the training provider can make a significant ROI before the individual wises up and moves on. When it comes to volunteering, I don’t think that is fair on either party. The volunteer needs to be guided and probably needs a lot of handholding so that they can be useful to the organisation, whereas the company needs a highly-skilled resource to help out. Especially in the NFP space.

Training schemes take too long and volunteering is not ideal either. What ever happened to the Salesforce Academy, to be honest I have no idea and that would probably be another concern — the fact that all sorts of schemes pop up every now and again but don’t actually stick around to make a significant impact. Here is why I go back to the organisation in the US such as PepUp Tech which is very much part of the Salesforce Ohana. This is an organisation that has now been around for 3 years and the impact they are having is incredible. We need more companies like PepUp Tech in the UK.

Time To Up Our Game

It may seem like I am bashing on the UK and constantly comparing the US and the UK — two very different cultures and ecosystems. To a certain extent I am. But for good reason. We need to up our game. We need to collectively take the problem seriously and take action accordingly. One final data point where the partners in the US are leading the way. Silverline CRM have partnered with PepUp Tech which is incredible news and a huge step in the right direction. So what can we do in the UK to not only be on par with our friends across the pond but also surpass them.

  1. If you are a Salesforce Partner / ISV then partner with programmes such as BMI or that of Sean Dukes (I am sure there are others) and reach out so that we can offer a clear path into real-world experience
  2. Hiring Managers don’t place unnecessary prerequisites in your requirements and if you are a recruitment consultant then work with your clients and educate them. Most importantly give the hiring process the time and attention it deserves
  3. Take ownership of your work environment and work hard to keep your prejudices in check. Look after the underrepresented in your workplace, empathise with their struggle.

Finally, I would love to hear from any Salesforce Partners or Hiring Managers that would be interested in working with us long term. Just leave a comment or send me a message on Twitter and I will be in touch.


Originally published at www.bmiprogramme.com.

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