According to Chief People Officer Nathalie Scardino, Salesforce is actively hiring for roles like prompt engineers, AI trainers, and ethical AI architects, as AI fuels job creation.
Ramping Up AI-Driven Roles At Salesforce
As traditional roles adjust to changing landscapes, AI brings forth numerous new, high-paying positions in various sectors, including at Salesforce. Scardino mentioned that they are hiring for jobs that did not exist as recently as last year, such as the ethical AI architect responsible for scrutinizing AI systems for bias alongside product teams.
The chief AI officer, who is responsible for mapping out an organization's AI strategy, is a significant addition to corporate structures. Prompt engineers are essential in creating prompts for AI tools, ensuring accuracy, and achieving desired outcomes. Similarly, AI trainers enhance chatbot responses by refining them with extensive datasets to simulate human-like interactions. AI architects design applications that prioritize the responsible use of AI within governance frameworks.
A recent IDC white paper, sponsored by Salesforce, anticipates a significant increase in hiring for data architects, AI ethicists, and AI solutions architects in the coming year. The report predicts the emergence of 11.6 million new jobs within the Salesforce ecosystem alone over the next six years.
Salesforce has revamped its hiring process, prioritizing skills and core competencies to meet this demand. Scardino explains that they align potential candidates with roles based on leads from recruiting events, career websites, social channels, and more. Utilizing AI and automation streamlines talent acquisition, guaranteeing the best fit for each position among over 2 million yearly applicants.
Salesforce Replenishing Its Workforce
Last quarter, Salesforce welcomed 1,839 new employees as the leading CRM company seeks to strengthen its workforce with AI experts and boomerang hires.
Indeed, as of January 31, the CRM leader boasts a workforce of 72,682 employees, a notable increase from the headcount of 70,843 reported at the end of the previous quarter. It is unlikely that the company will halt its hiring efforts there, as Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, committed to onboard 3,300 new employees in September 2023.
As such, Salesforce is anticipated to incorporate an additional 1,500 team members in the upcoming months or potentially even more. When discussing the onboarding plans, Benioff emphasized the need to grow the company and maintain strong margins, recognizing the need to hire thousands.
The CEO also hinted at the possibility of including boomerang hires among the thousands of new employees, potentially rehiring some of the 8,000 employees let go last year, which accounted for over 10% of its workforce. This decision coincided with Salesforce facing activist pressure to achieve profitability. Since then, the CRM leader has experienced a significant surge, with its stock increasing by over 70% year-over-year, and has sustained double-digit revenue growth and launched the Einstein 1 Platform, consolidating its apps and solutions into a unified environment.
With momentum on its side, Salesforce has been actively working to expand its team of AI experts, even reaching out to employees from OpenAI and rehiring former staff. However, rather than making big splashes in the headlines and hiring large numbers of employees at once, the company's approach to hiring is more cautious and, as Amy Weaver, Salesforce's CFO, describes it, cost-effective.
