Talent Hub Talk

Is the Australian Salesforce market still buoyant?

In today's episode Ben shares a quick update on the market and what he has seen in the last 6-12 months. He touches on skills that have been in demand, the broader economy and the impact he has seen on the Australian Salesforce market, the growth achieved from some Salesforce partners, whether their is an appetite to sponsor visas and hopes for the next financial year.

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Andrew Davis on Salesforce DevOps success

In today's episode, we are joined by Andrew Davis, Senior Director of Methodology from Copado.

Andrew has an extremely interesting background so he talks us through what life was like before he joined the Salesforce ecosystem, how he approached securing his first role and what his early Salesforce roles entailed.

Andrew shares the reasons he first became interested in DevOps, how he has seen the space grow and why companies have a strategy even if they may not know it. He explains some of the misconceptions that still exist about DevOps and talks us through the differences between Salesforce DevOps when compared to traditional DevOps.

Finally, Andrew shares some tips for DevOps success talks through some of the challenges that are holding companies back and explains his view on teams and responsibilities.

We really enjoyed hearing all of the knowledge that Andrew shared in this episode, and we recommend following him on Linkedin and his website. If you are not already aware of Copado's tools and capabilities then we also suggest checking out copado.com.

We hope you enjoy the episode.

Stephano Rose on bootstrapping a Salesforce Consulting practice and putting Mauritius on the map

In today's episode we are delighted to be joined by Stephano Rose, the Founder of Nexavenu.

Stephano talks about his education, why he decided to study Software Engineering and some major obstacles he had to overcome when he first started his degree. He explains why he chose Accenture when he first joined the workforce and runs though the exposure he gained working in their Mauritian office, servicing European and North American clients.

Stephano then explains why he started Nexavenu and where his entrepreneurial spirit comes from. He describes the challenges he has faced since starting the business and the skills that he has had to learn along the way. Stephano talks openly about the difficulties that arise from bootstrapping a business, why he is honest with potential new employees about his expectations from them and the non glamorous side of consulting they may face, and he also shares some tips on how others may be able to get started with their own consulting business.

Finally we talk about his plans for the future, how he aims to put Mauritius on the map and further expand his business into Africa and beyond.

You can connect with Stephano on Linkedin and find his company website here.

Sharayu Sable and Emily McCowan on balancing projects and parenthood

In today's episode, we are delighted to be joined by Sharayu Sable and Emily McCowan, two experienced Salesforce Architects working with Salesforce partners based in Melbourne.

Sharayu is a Salesforce Certified Technical Architect and Emily is currently on her journey to CTA, studying and preparing for the review board. Sharayu and Emily are both parents, and as a new parent himself, Ben was keen to understand how they balance their busy work and demanding project schedules with their family life. We talk about consulting, boundaries, guilt,  prioritisation and sacrifices. 

Make sure you are following Emily on Twitter and Sharayu on LinkedIn. We hope you enjoy the episode.

Gourav Sood on life before Salesforce and his journey from 0 certs to Salesforce CTA in 3 years

In today's episode, we are excited to be joined by Gourav Sood, a Salesforce CTA and the Head of Engineering and Architecture for Ingenuity in Sydney.

Through the episode, Gourav shares why he pursued a career in IT and what the first decade of his career looked like, before he found the Salesforce ecosystem. He explains how he first came across Salesforce and what he initially thought, and then how he became much more aware and interested in the platforms capabilities later in his career when he was working in an Integration Architect role, working with Mulesoft but in a Salesforce environment. Gourav then actually joined Salesforce without having worked in a Salesforce role before, so he explains what this was like and how he was able to get up to speed quickly with the internal training programs.

Gourav talks us through how he went from no Salesforce experience and 0 certifications to Salesforce CTA within 3 years. He talks about the challenges that the CTA presented and how this journey evolved for him. Finally, Gourav talks about his new role with Ingenuity, why he chose it and what skills he hopes to build within the practice over time.

You can connect with Gourav on Linkedin for his updates and we hope you enjoy the chat.

Atif Saad on his career journey, running Salesforce practices, acquisitions and talent shortages

In today's episode we are joined by Atif Saad, the CTO and Co-Founder of SaasGuru.

Atif has been a client to Talent Hub in the past, and has a broad range of experience in the Salesforce ecosystem. He has worked for an end customer to deliver a Salesforce Program, joined a Consulting firm as their COO and helped them scale and realise a sale to a global Systems Integrator, where he then ran a large Salesforce practice and faced the challenges of team retention and attraction through the Covid period.

Now at SaasGuru Atif and his team are looking to solve the cloud skills crisis by creating the bridge between learning and certifications. 

Atif shares insight on his career and all of the things he has experienced during his time in the Salesforce ecosystem, plus what he is most excited about with SaasGuru. 
Make sure you are following Atif on Linkedin  and you can find more about SaasGuru and the work they are doing here - https://www.saasguru.co/

We hope you enjoy the episode. 

Satyashil Awadhare on his journey through the Salesforce ecosystem and embracing new challenges

In today's episode we are delighted to be joined by Satyashil Awadhare, a Salesforce Certified Technical Architect.

Satyashil talks us through his early career and how he fell into Salesforce having explored some different career paths. He explains what his first day as a 'Salesforce Expert' looked like and how his journey evolved, from Developer to Architect and then Salesforce Certified Technical Architect.

Satyashil explains what it was like when he first emigrated to Australia from India, and what the early challenges were. He talks us through when the CTA became a goal for him and what sparked the interest, as well as what it was like preparing for the Review Board as a Salesforce employee.

Having worked for Salesforce consulting business as well as Salesforce themselves, Satyashil explains the difference between a Program Architect and a Technical Architect role, and then explains what he is most excited about from his most recent move and a new experience, working on the customer side with Google in San Francisco.

Make sure you're following Satyashil on Linkedin for his updates and we hope you enjoy the chat.

Justin Gavette on growing personally and professionally in the Salesforce ecosystem, and the importance of open communication in the workplace

In today's episode we are delighted to be joined by Justin Gavette, a Salesforce Platform Manager and the Atlanta Non Profit User Group Leader.

Justin shares his career journey before Salesforce, how he moved into the Salesforce ecosystem and some advice for people that come from a non technical background, who may be looking to join the Salesforce ecosystem themselves.

Justin explains what being a member of the Salesforce ecosystem has meant for him both professionally and personally. He shares some of the challenges he faced with remote working through the pandemic and we discuss depression, social anxiety and the importance of open communication in the workplace.

Finally Justin highlights some of the initiatives that he is most passionate about and the people that have inspired him most in the Salesforce community. 

Make sure you're following Justin on Twitter (@sfdcjunkie__c) and his website www.sfdcjunkie.com for his updates and we hope you enjoy the chat.

Madhu Ramanujan and Brad Gross on the Salesforce CPQ Implementation Handbook and the role of an Architect

In today's episode we are joined by Madhu Ramanujan and Brad Gross. Madhu and Brad are both Salesforce Architects and have recently collaborated for the Salesforce CPQ Implementation Handbook, with Madhu as the Author and Brad assisting as a Technical Reviewer.

In the episode we discuss their backgrounds, where Madhu got the idea for the book and why Brad was her choice as one of the Reviewers. We delve into CPQ space, how Salesforce's CPQ offering has evolved, where projects go wrong and considerations for designing CPQ solutions. Finally, we look at the role of an Architect and how you can set yourself up for success in a new business, as well as how the role of an Architect compares when working on the customer side to working for a partner.

We'd like to thank our episode sponsors, FormAssembly for their support in bringing you this episode.

Tired of wasting time on tedious processes? Try FormAssembly—the secure, all-in-one, Salesforce-connected data collection platform. FormAssembly helps customers streamline and automate data collection processes, enabling organizations in all industries to save an average of 55 hours each week on manual data entry. Using the platform's new Workflow Builder, non-technical users can map entire data collection workflows, eliminate inefficient processes, and make better, faster decisions—all without code or help from IT.

Visit http://formassembly.com/talenthub to learn more about the #1 enterprise data collection platform for Salesforce.

PwC and FlowRepublic on developing and nurturing the next generation of CTAs

In today's episode, we're thrilled to be joined by Taryn-Lee Potgieter, Manager, PwC South Africa, Kevin Jackson, Salesforce Consultant, PwC Belgium, Sam Wadhwani, Senior Manager, PwC UK and Sebastian Wagner, CTA and Master Coach of FlowRepublic.

PwC has in recent times, worked hard to build their internal architecture capability, and as a result, has moved from zero to eight CTAs in the EMEA region. Theirs is the largest number of CTAs in one practice in the region, and so we discuss with the team the impact that the shift has had on the success that they've seen with clients, as well as the team itself.

PwC have developed their people with the support of the external training expertise of FlowRepublic and we explore the details of the initiative further, as well as the Architecture tracks currently in development to get team members CTA programme-ready.

Lastly, the PwC guests explain the value of CTAs within the business, how mentorship has played a big part in their commitment to nurturing talent, and the impact that their dedication to training has had on current team members and future hires alike.

You can check out our sponsors, FlowRepublic for details about the Elite Salesforce Academy coaching programme mentioned in this episode, and a big thank you for their support in bringing you this episode.

Make sure you're following Taryn, Kevin, Sam and Sebastian on LinkedIn for their updates and that you check out their careers pages for current opportunities. We hope you enjoy the chat!