Salesforce CEO says employees hired during pandemic have ‘much lower productivity’

Marc Benioff may be recognising the challenges presented by remote work (Image: Reuters)

Marc Benioff, the chief executive of software company Salesforce, said that employees hired during the pandemic have “much lower productivity” than colleagues who joined before 2020.

In an internal Slack message sent to employees on Friday, Benioff asked for suggestions on increasing productivity among the staff, and especially among new hires.

“How do we increase the productivity of our employees at salesforce? New employees (hired during the pandemic in 2021 & 2022) are especially facing much lower productivity.” Benioff said, according to a screenshot seen by news website SFGATE. “Is this a reflection of our office policy?”

He went on to ask for more feedback on company culture. “Are we not building tribal knowledge with new employees without an office culture? Are our managers not directly addressing productivity with their teams?” Benioff asked employees, according to CNBC. “Is coming as a new employee to salesforce too overwhelming? Asking for a friend.”

Benioff’s remarks come shortly after the company laid off hundreds of employees last month amid slowing revenue growth. The message may point to the challenges presented by remote work, even though Salesforce was among the first tech companies to tell staff they would not have to come back to office.

The Salesforce CEO’s remarks also stand in contrast to what he said last year in an interview with CNBC, noting that employees were being productive working from home. “You’re really starting see some very low attendance numbers in offices because employees are so productive at home,” said Benioff. “They can do their job at home. They can be successful from anywhere. The companies and our customers are successful.”