Page 14 - FCW, January/February 2021
P. 14

Customer-First Mindset
Fostering employee
development in
times of change
Technology and a culture of learning are keys to an engaged, highly skilled and successful government workforce
Sarah Franklin
Chief Marketing Officer, Salesforce
people learn in-demand skills that lead
to fulfilling jobs. The idea is that people don’t need a computer science degree to configure, install or implement Salesforce technology. They just need the opportunity to learn and earn the appropriate credentials.
To date, more than 2.7 million learners have skilled up on Trailhead, earning over 33 million badges in Salesforce, business, partner and soft skills. Trailhead has enabled individuals to make impactful career moves, like Aaron McGriff, who went from navigating an abrupt layoff to a career in tech.
Agency leaders will also need to adapt
to this changing work environment by embracing new ways of thinking. They should begin by recognizing that the workplace will continue to evolve and that technology will continue to play a part in the way we work. By investing in technology, creating pathways for employees to learn new skills and highlighting career growth opportunities, government can broaden its mission impact and appeal to the best and brightest job candidates. And it can boost its efforts to engage younger workers, who have demonstrated an interest in values- driven, purpose-based work and the sort
of sustainable careers that government can offer.
Governments can remove barriers to learning and leverage technology and data to provide skills training and job matching at scale — similar to how we support our Trailblazer Community, by leveraging our technology to identify the skills people already have and the skills they need to learn to unlock even more job opportunities.
MILLIONS of Americans have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and many of those
jobs could be gone forever. In addition, those who are employed are looking for pathways to be successful in this all-digital, work-from-anywhere world.
Now is the time for workers to learn
new skills that can help them qualify for high-impact positions in government and industry or thrive in jobs they already have. Technology provides a way to offer training for new skills and to develop new career pathways.
At Salesforce, we believe industry and government collaboration can provide education, job matching and mentoring at scale.
Adapting to a changing workplace
Given the pace of change in the workplace and the need for new ways to deliver services, legacy system modernization is an imperative. As a result, employees need to reskill quickly to adapt to changing technological needs.
Salesforce created Trailhead, our free online learning platform, in 2014 to help
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