Insights for Salesforce professionals
Permanent
What are the main things hiring managers look for in a Salesforce candidate during a job interview?
Factors that impact on your earning potential according to our respondents
Survey respondents were asked to rank factors most likely to increase earning potential, with years of technical experience with Salesforce topping the list once again as the biggest influence on salary.
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years of technical experience with Salesforce | 94% | 5% | 1% |
| Exposure to large projects | 88% | 10% | 2% |
| Years of experience in IT | 82% | 12% | 5% |
| Salesforce certifications | 77% | 15% | 7% |
| Becoming a Salesforce product specialist (e.g. working with Salesforce Industries [Vlocity], CPQ, FSL, Sales and Service Cloud) | 77% | 18% | 5% |
| Specific vertical industry experience | 68% | 24% | 8% |
| College/University degree(s) | 63% | 21% | 15% |
| Years of experience working for an end user | 60% | 28% | 11% |
| Years of experience working for a partner organization | 55% | 31% | 13% |
Years of technical experience with Salesforce
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 94% | 5% | 2% |
Exposure to large projects
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 88% | 10% | 2% |
Years of experience in IT
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 82% | 12% | 5% |
Salesforce certifications
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 77% | 15% | 7% |
Becoming a Salesforce product specialist (e.g. working with Salesforce Industries [Vlocity], CPQ, FSL, Sales and Service Cloud)
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 77% | 18% | 5% |
Specific vertical industry experience
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 68% | 24% | 8% |
College/University degree(s)
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 63% | 21% | 15% |
Years of experience working for an end user
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 60% | 28% | 11% |
Years of experience working for a partner organization
| Important | Neutral | Unimportant |
|---|---|---|
| 55% | 31% | 13% |
Other factors mentioned by respondents as having an impact on earning potential include:
- Good interpersonal skills
- PMP certification or project management experience
- Demonstrable leadership skills
- Business acumen
- Cross-platform experience
- Networking abilities
- Being able to showcase one’s skills effectively
“Personal branding is one of the important factors; apart from that, keeping an eye on the latest technology advancement helps keep you at par with the market, enabling you to be more competitive.” Director, Canada
Download our salary tables to better understand what you could be earning and compare your salary against your peers.
What’s on offer in the jobs market?
Are Salesforce professionals experiencing pay increases?
Over three quarters (78%) of Salesforce professionals received a salary increase from their current employer in the last year.
On average, those who received a salary increase from their current employer saw their pay rise by 10%.
Let’s see those pay increases broken down further:
- 0-5% pay increase
- 6-10% pay increase
- 11-15% pay increase
- 16-20% pay increase
- 21-25% pay increase
- 26-30% pay increase
- More than 30% pay increase
While the rising cost of living has resulted in many employers having to offer pay rises, an average increase of 10% suggests that this could also be down to the competition for existing talent driving prices up. But it’s not the only reason.
What reasons did Salesforce professionals give for experiencing a pay increase?
| I received an incremental pay increase | 44% |
| I received a performance-related increase | 39% |
| I changed job | 27% |
| I received a promotion | 20% |
| Greater demand for Salesforce professionals has increased my market value and my employer wants to keep me | 9% |
| More opportunities for remote work have increased my job options and my employer wants to keep me | 6% |
| There's a lack of Salesforce talent in the market and my employer wants to keep me | 5% |
| I gained an additional Salesforce certification | 4% |
| My organization is more profitable now than it was 12 months ago | 3% |
| My organization made staffing cuts and I have taken on more work | 1% |
| Other | 1% |
| I received a performance-related increase | 34% |
| I changed job | 29% |
| I received an incremental pay increase | 28% |
| I received a promotion | 20% |
| Increased demand for Salesforce professionals has increased my market value and my employer wants to keep me | 7% |
| I gained an additional Salesforce certification | 6% |
| There's a lack of Salesforce talent in the market and my employer wants to keep me | 5% |
| Increased opportunities for remote work have increased my job options and my employer wants to keep me | 3% |
| Greater demand for Salesforce services means my organization has more clients than a year ago | 3% |
| My organization made staffing cuts and I have taken on more work | 2% |
| My organization offered staff pay increases due to an increased workload | 1% |
| Other | 8% |
Did your salary change when you last changed jobs?
On average, individuals who obtained a salary increase after changing jobs saw a 20% rise in their earnings.
| 1. For a better company culture | 27% |
| 2. I wanted to take my career in a new direction | 27% |
| 3. For a better work-life balance | 24% |
| 4. Remote working options | 19% |
| 5. Greater training opportunities | 16% |
Are employees negotiating pay increases?
- Yes, I’ve negotiated a pay increase
- No, I’ve never negotiated a pay increase
- Not applicable
The majority (90%) of employees who attempted to negotiate a raise were successful, and earned an 11% pay increase on average.
Interestingly, 69% of respondents who have previously negotiated a pay increase said they’re likely to do so again in the coming year.
Why have some employees never negotiated a pay increase?
Reasons for having never negotiated a pay increase are similar in this study as those identified in our previous surveys—and can be grouped into the following themes:
- My organization provides regular incremental pay increases
- There is no need to negotiate as my employer pays the current market rate for my role
- I feel anxious or uncomfortable asking for a pay raise
- We've had layoffs, so I think it’s unfair for me to ask
- I'm happy with my compensation
- I've never been in a position to ask
- I’d rather change employer than negotiate
“I prefer to have recruiters negotiate my salary for me when applying for new jobs.”
Application Architect, United States
Would you rather look for a new role than negotiate with your employer for a higher salary?
Are employees comfortable asking for a pay increase?
Less than a third (29%) of those who have never negotiated a pay increase say they would feel comfortable asking for one in the future, while 43% feel uncomfortable having that conversation.
Yet surprisingly, 38% of those who have never negotiated before tell us that they plan on doing so in the coming year.
Counteroffers
Over two-fifths (45%) of professionals have received a counteroffer after resigning from a role. A counteroffer is an offer made by your employer to entice you to reconsider your resignation.
What are employees offered as a counteroffer?
Salary increase
Promotion
Bonus
| Training and development opportunities | 11% |
| Retention bonus | 10% |
| Flexible working hours | 8% |
| Remote working | 7% |
| Shares in the company | 6% |
| Employer paid for certifications | 5% |
| Additional paid time off | 3% |
| Commission | 3% |
| Other | 3% |
Those who received a salary increase as part of their counteroffer received a 16% raise on average.
A third (33%) of respondents that received a counteroffer accepted it.
Why do employees accept counteroffers?
- I received a higher salary
- I was given a promotion
- I wasn't that keen on leaving anyway
- I liked the company culture and my colleagues, so when they matched the offer, I decided to stay
On average, professionals who stayed with their employer after receiving a counteroffer remained in the organization for a further two years and two months.
There was one exceptional case where an employee reported stayed on for an impressive 31 years—but this was not typical.
A little over one in five (21%) of those who accepted a counteroffer later regretted their decision.
What are the reasons behind employees expressing regret after accepting a counteroffer?
- The promises my employer made were not upheld
- Nothing changed other than my salary
- Other companies seem to offer better career progression
“Nothing changed other than my salary, and I was miserable. There was a reason I was looking to leave to begin with, and more money didn't resolve it.”
Systems Administrator, United States
Rewards and recognition
In recent years we’ve seen salaries in tech climb as companies write bigger and bigger checks in an effort to win over the best candidates. But attractive salaries are only part of the package that Salesforce professionals are looking at.
In this section, we’ll break down what perks and benefits Salesforce professionals are receiving and how potential employers can mark themselves out by offering candidates something they won’t find elsewhere.
What employee benefits are Salesforce professionals receiving?
| Home working | 72% |
| Company laptop | 65% |
| Flexible working hours | 64% |
| Health/medical insurance | 62% |
| Bonus (monthly/biannual/year-end bonus) | 52% |
| Four weeks or more paid time off | 51% |
| Dental plan | 48% |
| Retirement savings plan/401(k) match/pension contributions | 47% |
| Life insurance | 43% |
| Casual dress policy | 40% |
How many employers are offering remote working?
- None
- 1 day
- 2 days
- 3 days
- 4 days
- Full-time remote working
Average working hours
Permanent employees who took part in our survey work between 10 and 70 hours per week—with 1% of respondents telling us they work over 60 hours a week. The average working week was found to be 42 hours.
LinkedIn poll
Salesforce professionals were asked…
Do you find you’re regularly working over your scheduled hours? If so, why is that?*
- High workload
39%
- Resource shortages
25%
- Passion for my career
24%
- Poor time management
11%
*Data taken from a poll conducted on Mason Frank’s LinkedIn in July 2023.
Paid time off by region
The amount of paid time off our respondents receive varies massively from country to country, due to differing employment laws and regulations around minimum vacation time provided to employees. But as companies compete for talent, PTO is becoming a popular bargaining chip for those looking to hire the best professionals. Over the past few years, we’ve seen levels of PTO offered to Salesforce professionals increase, even in regions where PTO is a legal requirement and employees are guaranteed leave. This is likely a response from companies to employees’ desire for better work-life balance, particularly in such a notoriously hardworking sector as cloud technology.
See below for average PTO days by country of our respondents:
| Germany | 29 days |
| Netherlands | 27 days |
| Switzerland | 27 days |
| Ireland | 27 days |
| Belgium | 27 days |
| France | 26 days |
| United Kingdom | 26 days |
| Italy | 24 days |
| Spain | 23 days |
| Singapore | 23 days |
| Australia | 21 days |
| United States | 20 days |
| Canada | 20 days |
| Japan | 10 days |
Paid time off by region
The amount of paid time off our respondents receive varies massively from country to country, due to differing employment laws and regulations around minimum vacation time provided to employees. But as companies compete for talent, PTO is becoming a popular bargaining chip for those looking to hire the best professionals. Over the past few years, we’ve seen levels of PTO offered to Salesforce professionals increase, even in regions where PTO is a legal requirement and employees are guaranteed leave. This is likely a response from companies to employees’ desire for better work-life balance, particularly in such a notoriously hardworking sector as cloud technology.
See below for average PTO days by country of our respondents:
| Germany | 29 days |
| Netherlands | 27 days |
| Switzerland | 27 days |
| Ireland | 27 days |
| Belgium | 27 days |
| France | 26 days |
| United Kingdom | 26 days |
| Italy | 24 days |
| Spain | 23 days |
| Singapore | 23 days |
| Australia | 21 days |
| United States | 20 days |
| Canada | 20 days |
| Japan | 10 days |
Conclusion
With 60% of respondents offered full-time remote work, we have yet more evidence that flexible working options are no longer a stand-out perk, but a widely enjoyed (and expected) arrangement. Just 4% of respondents were offered no remote working at all, putting their organizations firmly in the minority, and likely at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting talent.
Perks like health insurance and cash bonuses remain popular, and while the prevalence of benefits such as casual dress codes may appear to be on the decline, this is more likely to indicate a change in perceptions around the workplace. Many professional environments, particularly those in the tech industry, are adopting more informal and flexible ways of working, and as a result employees may no longer view casual dress as a perk, but as the norm.
Paid time off is increasing, with even countries that aren’t legally obligated to provide it now averaging around 20 days. Be sure to assess your PTO policy to ensure you’re staying competitive as a potential employer. Don’t fall into the trap of offering unlimited PTO and not being able to deliver it however; many sought-after tech candidates are now viewing such provisions with suspicion due to staff shortages and high workloads preventing even standard amounts of vacation time being taken.
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the Salesforce ecosystem.
Our key findings report contains highlights from this year’s Careers and Hiring Guide, plus our salary tables allow you to compare your salary or benchmark your teams’ salaries no matter their role in the Salesforce ecosystem.
