The past two years have challenged us to reimagine not only how we work, but also how we connect — and what it means to build a culture in an all-digital, work-from-anywhere world.
Having flexibility in where, when and how we work has made many of us simultaneously more productive and balanced. It has allowed parents to see more of their kids, recent graduates to live in affordable cities, and individuals to make more time for wellbeing. What started as a public health necessity has become an opportunity for employers and employees.
We know that flexible is the way forward. But we also know we need to align our company to our culture and safely get together, in person. Since the pandemic began, we’ve onboarded tens of thousands of employees remotely. Those employees have never met their manager or their teams in person. And many of our existing employees haven’t seen their colleagues face-to-face in two years. Finding ways to connect is the number one thing Salesforce employees asked for in our last employee survey. We need to bring back the spontaneity and joy that comes from being together in person, now.
Enter Trailblazer Ranch.
Trailblazer Ranch — igniting our culture for our next chapter
Culture is our greatest competitive advantage — it engages our people, drives the creation of our innovative products, and ultimately, helps our customers succeed.
With Trailblazer Ranch, we’re igniting our culture for our next chapter. We’re reimagining how and where we connect for the new world we’re in. Our physical spaces serve a different purpose today than they did two years ago. An essential part of our Success From Anywhere strategy is finding ways to empower our teams to come together and connect safely — and creating spaces that cultivate a sense of connection, collaboration, and joy.
Trailblazer Ranch is an exciting new gathering place where employees can forge trusted relationships with their colleagues, learn from one another, get inspired, grow in their career, get trained on the company, and give back to the community in a fun and safe environment. It is a place where we can share and strengthen the Salesforce culture, which is built around our values.
While we solidify our long-term Trailblazer Ranch site, our interim Trailblazer Ranch is a partnership with 1440 Multiversity, located in 75 acres in the beautiful Redwoods of Scotts Valley, California. We’ll collaborate with 1440 Multiversity to develop employee engagement programs, applying our joint research and learnings to future programs. Starting in March, we will host onboarding, trainings, skills building and talent development, bringing our employees together to connect in person.
This partnership will allow us to bring a Ranch-like experience to many of our employees now. At the same time, it’s important for all of our employees to experience the connection that will come from Trailblazer Ranch. So we’re exploring different ways to bring the Ranch to our Trailblazers around the world.
Disconnecting from technology and connecting with each other
After years of being on Zoom calls and staring at computer screens, we’re encouraging our employees to step away from their screens. According to a recent Deloitte study, employees are working three more hours a day compared to before the pandemic, and 80% of respondents ranked wellbeing as important or very important to their organization’s success. Trailblazer Ranch is an opportunity to disconnect from technology and connect with each other.
From the moment guests step foot on the Ranch, they’ll become immersed in Salesforce’s culture. They’ll have the opportunity to participate in tactile experiences like guided nature walks, restorative yoga, garden tours, group cooking classes, art journaling, and meditation. Learning, planning and team-building are important to the Trailblazer Ranch experience, but we can accomplish this in a whole new way — surrounded by nature, with wellbeing, giving back and fun at the center.
It’s not enough to create better experiences for employees — we want to extend the space to the community. As we’ve done with our ‘Ohana Floors in our Salesforce Towers around the world, we will open Trailblazer Ranch to local nonprofits and the community.
This is just the first phase of our Trailblazer Ranch journey. We look forward to creating meaningful connections and experiences with our Trailblazers around the world.
