Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says ‘we’re not all going again’ to the workplace

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff mentioned on Tuesday that there is not any returning to the pre-pandemic office.

“I am sorry to all my associates, however we’re not all going again,” Benioff mentioned in an on-stage interview on the Code Convention in Beverly Hills, California.

Benioff’s pronouncements on the way forward for the workplace are notably notable since his firm’s gargantuan 61-floor tower in San Francisco opened simply over three years in the past. The corporate additionally has giant buildings in cities together with Indianapolis, London New York and Tokyo.

These have been all constructed earlier than Benioff had 18 months to see how his successfully his firm and others can function with staff working from house or in different distant places.

“We’ve got nearly 75,000 folks now,” Benioff mentioned. “They don’t seem to be of their towers. We constructed these beautiful towers. They’re principally at house, and that is tremendous.”

In July, Salesforce closed the $27.7 billion acquisition of Slack, its largest buy ever. Slack’s software program helps staff keep in contact via calls and chat messages and, together with merchandise from firms like Zoom and Microsoft, has turn out to be a central piece of the pandemic portfolio.

“We’re not going again, and that is why we Slack,” Benioff mentioned.

Benioff beforehand told CNBC that he expects 50% to 60% of Salesforce staff to do business from home even after the pandemic.

He mentioned on Tuesday that his views on distant work usually are not shared by all of his counterparts. CEOs of enormous firms name him and say they need their staff to return again to the workplace, Benioff mentioned. He tells them that work shall be totally different, with folks gathering at occasions, off-site company conferences and particular coaching occasions.

Benioff famous that some firms already function that means. Automattic, proprietor of content-management software program WordPress, has no bodily headquarters however brings staff collectively at an Airbnb itemizing as soon as a month, Benioff mentioned. Salesforce’s enterprise arm is an investor in Automattic.

Final week, Salesforce held its annual Dreamforce convention, with a lot of the classes happening just about. Benioff mentioned that about 1,000 folks congregated in-person on the occasion in San Francisco. On the 2019 convention, the final one earlier than the pandemic, over 170,000 folks attended.

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