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The Real Meaning Behind “Salesforce Community”

What is Ohana Anyway?

If you’ve been following Salesforce, you might have heard us refer to our “Salesforce community.” What is that and why is it important to us? If you’re looking for the one overarching concept that makes Salesforce a great place to work, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better answer than Community.

In the late ’90s, our CEO Marc Benioff wanted a break. He decided to take a sabbatical, so he rented a beach house in Hawaii (doesn’t get much more relaxing than that). On the islands, he connected with locals and learned about many of the Hawaiian’s traditions and customs, including the concept of Ohana. In Hawaiian culture, Ohana represents the idea that families — blood-related, adopted, or intentional — are bound together, and that family members are responsible for one another. When he created Salesforce in 1999, he made sure that “Ohana” was in the company’s foundations.

Today, the Salesforce community is a deep-seated support system we nurture inside our company. And, it doesn’t stop at our employees — it extends to our partners, customers, and members of the communities that we call home. We collaborate, take care of one another, have fun together, and work to leave the world a better place.

Ready to join the Salesforce community? Good news — we’re hiring. Visit salesforce.com/careers and be sure to follow @salesforcejobs on Twitter and Instagram to see what our community is up to every day!

Jody Kohner

Jody Kohner is the Senior Vice President of the Employee Marketing & Engagement team at Salesforce. The span of her work ranges from managing the employer brand reputation and recruitment marketing initiatives to onboarding new hires and all sorts of awesome programs designed to make employees love their job. Connect with her on Twitter at @JodyKohner.

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