The survey of 212 US-based Salesforce admins in November 2012 found that:
- Nearly half (47%) support between 50-1,000 users and 38% have used Salesforce for over 2 years.
- 59% report using Salesforce over 5 hours a day and most work 40-45 hours per week.
- Nearly half (47%) feel they have strong influence over some IT decisions.
- The majority feel appreciated for their work but 68% are yet to be certified.
- Most admins see themselves as smart, hardworking leaders and prefer LinkedIn for social media.
1. Salesforce is a registered trademark of salesforce.com. Windows is a
registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other
countries.
All other trademarks herein are used for identification purposes and are
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
2. STUDY OVERVIEW: WHO ARE SALESFORCE® ADMINS?
Symphonic Source set out to measure the ever-changing nature of
Salesforce administrators in the US.
We tallied their opinions on life inside and outside the workplace to
better understand who they are and what inspires them.
212 US-based Salesforce admins took part in the survey conducted by
Symphonic Source in November 2012
3.
4. HOW MANY SALESFORCE® USERS DO YOU SUPPORT?
1,001 +
500 to 1,000
201 to 500
101 to 200
51 to 100
26 to 50
Percentage of users
11 to 25
2 to 10
None, that's not really my role
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
47% of all admins surveyed support between 50 to 1,000+ users.
Results from Q2
5. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN USING SALESFORCE® ?
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10% Percentage of admins
5%
0%
0-1 year 1-2 years 2-3 years 3-5 years 5-8 years I was there
when it
started in
Marc's
apartment
38% of all admins surveyed have used Salesforce.com for over 2
years.
Results from Q3
6. ON AN AVERAGE DAY, HOW MUCH TIME INVOLVES THE
USE OF SALESFORCE® ?
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
Percentage of admins
6%
4%
2%
0%
1 hr 2 hrs 3 hrs 4 hrs 5 hrs 6 hrs 7 hrs 8 hrs 9 hrs 10 hrs 10+
hrs
59% all admins surveyed report using Salesforce
more than 5 hours a day
Results from Q4
7. OUTSIDE OF YOUR NORMAL WORKING HOURS, HOW MUCH OF
YOUR FREE TIME IS SPENT COMPLETING WORK ASSIGNMENTS?
9% A significant amount of
time - it's not even cool
28% A significant but
manageable amount of time
38% A small and reasonable
amount of time
5% A small but unreasonable
amount of time
20% I complete all my work
tasks during work hours
Most admins work a small and reasonable amount of time outside work
completing work assignments.
Nearly 37% of all Salesforce admins surveyed report spending a
significant amount of time outside work completing work
assignments.
Results from Q5
8. ON AVERAGE HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU USUALLY WORK
PER WEEK?
Under 40 hrs
40-45 hrs
13% 44% 28% 10% 6% 50-55 hrs
55 - 60 hrs
More than 60 hrs
Most admins work between 40-45 hrs a week.
Only 13% of Salesforce admins work the minimum 40 hrs a week.
Results from Q6
9. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES YOUR OVERALL
ROLE IN THE IT DECISION MAKING PROCESS:
50%
45% Percentage of admins
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
I make the final call I make the final call in I have a strong I have some I have no real I have very little
most IT matters influence in certain IT influence in most IT involvement at all in influence in the
decisions matters the decision making decision making
process process
47% of all Salesforce admins surveyed report having a strong
influence in certain IT decisions.
Results from Q7
10. HOW DO SALESFORCE® ADMINS FEEL THEIR ROLES HAVE
CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?
60
50
Strongly
Disagree 40
Disagree
Undecided
30
Agree
20
10
0
I have more responsibility and more demands on myon the job
I am spending There timemore resources to system(s) that I manage is growing more c
more are time I feel The do my job in my career
more satisfied
Nearly all surveyed admins agree that they have more
responsibility and demands as part of their job than a few years
ago.
Results from Q8
11. IS DATA QUALITY (DUPLICATE RECORDS, MISSING INFORMATION) MORE
OF ISSUE NOW THAN IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST WITHIN YOUR COMPANY?
9%
Yes, without question
9%
About the same as it has
46% always been
Never really been an issue
9% To be honest, I'm not sure
35%
The majority of Salesforce.com ® admins believe that data quality
is more of issue than it has been in the past.
Results from Q13
12. WHICH OF THESE SALESFORCE® CERTIFICATIONS DO
YOU HAVE (OR HAVE HAD IN THE PAST) ?
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
Certifications
20%
10%
0%
Certified Advanced Certified Advanced Sales Service Technical None, but
Admin Admin Dev. Dev. Cloud Cloud Architect I'm
Consultant Consultant planning
on getting
certified
68% of surveyed Salesforce admins are yet not certified, but are
planning to do so.
Results from Q15
13. DO YOU FEEL APPRECIATED FOR THE JOB YOU DO?
Highly appreciated
Appreciated
32% 41% 24% 3%
Somewhat appreciated
Not appreciated at all
The majority of admins surveyed feel “appreciated” for the job they do.
73% of surveyed Salesforce admins feel “appreciated” or even
“Highly Appreciated” for the job they do.
Results from Q18
14.
15. HOW SALESFORCE.COM ® ADMINS SEE THEMSELVES
People Person 46.85 41.26 8.39 3.5
Detail Oriented 53.9 34.04 9.93 2.13
Shy 9.79 34.97 23.78 31.47
Leader 50.7 41.55 5.63 2.11
Adventurous 36.36 46.15 15.38 2.1
That's Me!
Compassionate 49.64 41.01 7.91 1.44
Intellectual 55.63 37.32 7.04 0 Sort of
Smart 72.03 25.87 1.4 0.7
Not so much
Fun Loving 56.64 35.66 6.29 1.4
Funny 40.14 50 7.04 2.82 Definitely not
me
Friendly 70.63 26.57 1.4 1.4
Hard Working 78.32 20.28 0.7 0.7
Highlights from these results show that the majority of Salesforce
admins see themselves as smart and hardworking leaders.
Results from Q16
16. SALESFORCE® ADMINS SOCIAL MEDIA PREFERENCES IN THE WORKPLACE
17%
3% 30% Facebook
Twitter
3% LinkedIn
Pinterest
Mashable
Google+
31% 15%
The majority of Salesforce admins love LinkedIn, with Facebook as
a close second.
Results from Q22
17. TOP ACTIVITIES ADMINS PARTICIPATE IN TO UNWIND
AFTER A CRAZY WORK WEEK
Surf the web
88.15%
Reading
88.16%
Enjoy some fine dining
88.24%
Percentage of users
Unwind at home
94.74%
Watch a movie
95.23%
Spend quality time with
friends/family 99.27%
88% of admins like to chow down after a stressful day,
be it sometimes or always.
Results from Q23
18. SALESFORCE ® ADMINS PLATFORM PREFERENCES
Computer Platform Smartphone Platform
iPhone
Android
5%2% Blackberry
8%
Other
6%
Windows mobile
23%
44%
70% PC fan 42%
Mac fan
Open Source
fan
Other
70% of Salesforce admins prefer to work on a PC,
while 44% of admins prefer an iPhone.
Results from Q25 & Q26
19. WHO IS THE BEST SUPERHERO OF ALL TIME?
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Salesforce admins view their dad as the best superhero of all time, but
Batman was a close second. For one lucky person they could be one-in-
the-same.
Results from Q27
20. ADMINS, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE GENRE?
Foreign
Horror
Documentary
Independent
Action & Adventure
Science Fiction
Drama
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Salesforce admins love “Action & Adventure” movies!
Results from Q28
21. ADMINS, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET YOU GOING IN THE MORNING?
17%
Coffee
9% Tea
Energy drink
3% 54% Fruit juice
other
18%
No matter how you slice it, caffeine (Coffee and Tea) wakes up the
majority of the Salesforce admins we surveyed
Results from Q29
22. FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC?
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
According to our findings, Salesforce admins love to Rock and
Roll!
Results from Q30
23. WHAT IS YOUR IDEAL VACATION?
3% Staycation
2% Other
4% Spa/spa resort
15% Time with the family
30% Visit another country
4% Take a cruise
21% Hit the beach
10% Hiking/camping
1% Wine country
9% Visit/tour a city
According to our findings, Salesforce admins enjoy spending time
in other countries or hitting the beach.
Results from Q31
24.
25. SURVEY AGE DEMOGRAPHICS
30% 20-29 years old
24% 29-34 years old
13% 35-39 years old
13% 40-44 years old
9% 45-49 years old
6% 50-54 years old
3% 55-59 years old
2% 60-64 years old
1% 65 years and older
Results from Q33
26. SURVEY
GENDER DEMOGRAPHICS
2%
39% Male
Female
I'm not telling you
59%
Results from Q32
27. SURVEY
EDUCATION DEMOGRAPHICS
4.32% 2.16%
Completed high school
A vocational or certification
23.74% program after high school
16.55%
Some college
2.88%
An associate's degree
A bachelor's degree
50.36%
Post graduate studies
Results from Q32