Talent Hub Talk

Anita Hedges on how Salesforce is able to drive sustainability and a spotlight on Net Zero Cloud

In today's episode of Talent Hub Talk, we’re joined by Anita Hedges, Social Impact Lead for Merkle in New Zealand. Anita provides insight into her early career, how she came to work with Salesforce, and what she had initially focused on.

We discuss how she came to focus on sustainability before stepping into the Social Impact Lead role and why this was important to her. Anita talks us through Net Zero Cloud, what it is, and how it can be used, as well as how she sees the market growing in this space.

As part of Anita's sustainability focus, she is also the head of the sustainability council at Merkle. She explains the changes the business has made and the impact these changes are having.

Finally, Anita describes the work that she does with not-for-profit businesses and the enjoyment she gets from working in the social impact space compared to previous roles.

We hope you enjoy the episode and you can connect with Anita on her LinkedIn page!

 

Srini Munagavalasa and a deep dive into the Salesforce Business Analyst role

In today's episode, we're joined by Srini Munagavalasa, a Vice President for the Salesforce COE at MUFG Financials and the author of the Salesforce Business Analyst Handbook.

Through the episode, we discuss how Srini moved into customer-facing business engagement roles, having started his career as a Developer in SAP. We look at what has made him passionate about the role of a Business Analyst, who in the Salesforce team he feels needs Business Analysis skills, and how he differentiates between a Business Analyst and a Functional Consultant.

We discuss key factors to successful Salesforce projects, what you can learn from failed projects, and how Srini stays on top of releases and the latest and greatest from Salesforce.

We hope you enjoy the episode, and make sure you're following Srini on his Linkedin page!

Click here so you can purchase Srini's Salesforce Business Analyst Handbook!

 

Ben Duncombe on the ANZ Salesforce Manager Survey 2023: Insights (PART 2)

In this week's episode, we cover the results of Talent Hub's annual ANZ Salesforce Survey, of which Part 2 focuses on the results from Salesforce managers.

Click here to download your copy of the ANZ Salesforce Market Survey!

In this podcast episode, listen to Ben's response to the data, what he believes that it means and why, and how it compares to what he's seeing on the ground day to day.

We look at what Salesforce managers are prioritising when making new hires, how many expect to expand their teams in the next 12 months, and which Salesforce-related Clouds/products are predicted to see the most growth, amongst other data points.

Whilst this survey relates to the Australia and New Zealand regions, we'd love to know whether it falls in line with your region. Tell us in a written review in whichever app you use to listen to your podcasts what you're seeing, as we're keen to hear from other areas of the world.

You can also take a peek back at our 2022 survey to see how the market has evolved over the last 12 months, by clicking here!

 

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Ben Duncombe on the ANZ Salesforce Talent Survey 2023: Insights (PART 1)

In this week's episode, we cover the results of Talent Hub's annual ANZ Salesforce Survey, of which Part 1 focuses on the results from Salesforce professionals, followed by next week, where we bring you insights from Salesforce managers.

Click and download your copy of the ANZ Salesforce Market Survey!

In this podcast, listen to Ben's response to the data, what he believes that it means and why, and how it compares to what he's seeing on the ground day to day.

We look at what Salesforce professionals look for in a new role, where their ambitions lie, and where they most want to work, amongst other data points.

Whilst this survey relates to the Australia and New Zealand regions, we'd love to know whether it falls in line with your region. Tell us in a written review in whichever app you use to listen to your podcasts what you're seeing, as we're keen to hear from other regions.

You can also take a peek back at our 2022 survey on our website to see how the market has evolved over the last 12 months.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Anand Narasimhan on his journey of becoming the 11th CTA globally and where he sees opportunity in the world of A.I and internal collaboration

In today's episode of Talent Hub Talk, we’re joined by Anand Narasimhan, the CTO at S-DOCS with 15 years of experience previously working for Salesforce.

He was the 11th person to become a Salesforce CTA globally and has sat as a judge on numerous CTA Review Boards, including being involved in judging the first 10 CTAs ever to pass.

Anand shares his insights into how he first came to work in the Salesforce ecosystem, and we dive into topics such as A.I. and how he sees tools like ChatGPT and EinsteinGPT being used in enterprise.

Anand explains where he sees opportunity for development and advances in the internal collaboration space in the context of apps such as Slack and which issues he’s currently seeing which are slowing down internal operations.

Finally, Anand explains what he is most excited about for his future and his CTO role at S-Docs.

You can connect with Anand on his Linkedin page.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Wendy Zveglic on embracing career transitions, the value of domain expertise and the art of leadership

In today's episode of the Talent Hub Talk, we are delighted to be joined by Wendy Zveglic, a Senior Manager of Solution Engineering at Salesforce. Wendy talks us through how and why she transitioned from a successful career in finance to becoming a Solution Engineer at Salesforce, without prior experience in an IT role.

She explains what the first few months were like, what she felt Salesforce saw in her, and what made her different in the ways she was able to add value to her customers.

Having progressed to leading teams of Solution Engineers in her role, Wendy explains what is it about the leadership role she finds so rewarding, and how she keeps developing her style and effectiveness as a leader. She also defines what successful leadership looks like in her eyes.

Finally, Wendy shares details of the Latino Force Initiative and why she is so passionate about it, and offers advice for anyone looking to transition their career or undertake a new challenge.

You can connect with Wendy on her Linkedin page.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

David Sinclair on how product businesses can maximise their potential and the emergence of the CRO role

In today's episode of the Talent Hub Talk, we are delighted to be joined by David Sinclair, Founder of CROxCRM, who has a wealth of experience in the Salesforce ISV space, and is currently helping product businesses holistically maximise their potential.

Through the episode, David provides insight into his early career and when he was first exposed to the ISV model, plus how he's seen other technology's ISV growth in comparison to that of Salesforce.

We discuss the key to success of those who have scaled their businesses successfully on the AppExchange, how companies can understand their market opportunity and the different ways of assessing it.

Having previously held Regional VP and Senior Director for ISV Sales roles at Salesforce, he provides insight on how Salesforce themselves use the platform, and tips on how you can get the most out of Salesforce yourselves.

We look at how different companies use Salesforce, chat about how it can be used the most effectively, and where some companies are missing out by not using it to its full potential.

We look at the CRO role, a title that he has previously held, how it's come about, and what the role and responsibilities entail.

Finally, David explains how CROxCRM is helping companies on their product journeys, establishing ISVs, listing on the AppExchange, and helping existing organisations to scale and grow.

You can connect with David on his Linkedin page. 

We hope that you enjoy the episode!

Jordan Baucke’s journey from hardcore Developer to enterprise Technical Architect and aspiring CTA

In today's episode, we are delighted to be joined by Jordan Baucke, a Salesforce Technical Architect based in Denver.

Jordan explains how he first came across Salesforce in 2008, what interested him about opportunities in the ecosystem back then and why he has always found his way back to Salesforce after running his own startups or venturing into the world of Crypto.

Jordan talks through the differences between working in the startup world and the enterprise space, but also the similarities and how he has brought lessons from his start-up days into his current role as a Technical Architect on large programs. Jordan shares how his mindset on certifications has changed over the years, why the CTA is a goal of his, and how he has developed his own skill set and capabilities through studying for the review board.

Jordan talks about burnout and the importance of self-care and how he has become much more aware of this in more recent times.

Finally, Jordan provides some advice for Engineers starting out in their career.

You can connect with Jordan on his Linkedin page.

We hope that you enjoy the episode.

Analysis of the ANZ Salesforce market in Q1 2023

In today's episode, Ben shares a quick update on the market and what he has seen in the last quarter, January to March 2023. He touches on the contract space, the impact he has seen on the market following pockets of redundancies made within the quarter, how consultancies are currently hiring for projects, and how Salesforce salaries are tracking

Our aim is to give some context and commentary as we navigate between the headlines, and as always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

Neha Nagori on her journey from Tester to Salesforce CTA

In today's episode of the Talent Hub Talk, we are delighted to be joined by Neha Nagori, a Salesforce CTA based in Dubai. Through the episode, Neha provides insight into her education and how she was assigned to a Testing role when she moved into the workforce, which made her consider moving overseas for further study and to retrain.

Neha shares how she did find her way into a Salesforce Developer role and how she grasped the opportunity and hasn't looked back. She talks about the importance of taking on uncomfortable challenges, how she personally approaches learning and shares some of the resources that have helped her. We also discuss the risk of being overwhelmed by the scale of the Salesforce ecosystem and the speed of change but highlight the importance of understanding the basics and doing them well.

Having passed the CTA Review Board recently, Neha explains how she identified the CTA as a goal and the reasons why it was important to her. Neha highlights how much Salesforce community groups helped her while preparing for the review board, and provides some advice for anyone that may be nervous about participating in these groups.

Finally, Neha talks about life as a Salesforce freelancer, the positives and challenges, as well as the different roles she has to play.

You can connect with Neha on her Linkedin page, as she is very active there.

We hope that you enjoy the episode!