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1 R E S E A R C H N O T E P R O G R A M : C U S T O M E R R E L A T I O N S H I P M A N A G E M E N T D O C U M E N T S 59 M A R C H THE REAL ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TRAILHEAD A N A L Y S T Rebecca Wettemann T H E B O T T O M L I N E Salesforce Trailhead is an online learning platform where Salesforce developers, administrators, and users can learn Salesforce skills and earn certifications and badges. In a survey of Trailhead users, Nucleus found that one in four participants gained a new job because of Trailhead, and two-thirds of Trailhead participants experienced an above-average salary increase because of the skills and recognition they gained through the program. O V E R V I E W Salesforce Trailhead is an online platform with trails, modules, and units in a progressive sequence that enable users to learn Salesforce skills. In August 2017, Salesforce extended Trailhead to provide guided training beyond Salesforce with Atlassian and Github, and also rebranded the Salesforce Success Community as the Trailblazer Community. Much like other online training platforms offered by academic institutions and professional associations, Trailhead Community includes self-paced training modules, question and answer forums, notification of events and virtual and physical community meetings, and areas for members to submit ideas and tips. Available in six languages, Trailhead has more than 400,000 participants around the world. It is a key component in Benioff s moonshot proposal: the goal of training 5 million people in the United States through nontraditional training and apprenticeship programs. Nucleus first covered Trailhead and the TrailheadX developer conference in August 2017 (Nucleus Research r149 Salesforce advances Nucleus Research Inc. 100 State Street Boston, MA Phone:

2 ecosystem at TrailheadX, August 2017). Since then, Nucleus has interviewed numerous Trailblazers about their experiences with Trailhead many of whom are using the online platform to launch training communities for students and underemployed groups to help them more effectively compete in the job market. To better understand how Salesforce users, administrators, and developers are using Trailhead and how they benefit, Nucleus surveyed 135 Trailhead users. Respondents were fairly evenly split between solution architects and developers, administrators, and business analysts, with 27 percent of respondents characterizing themselves as adminlopers further highlighting the blurring line between administrator and developer in a no-code to low-code to full-code environment like Salesforce. Ninety-five percent of respondents had been participating in trailhead for more than 6 months, with 65 percent participating for more than 15 months. Although it was a global survey, the majority of respondents were from North America and Western Europe, with approximately 15 of respondents from Asia/Pacific. Respondents were asked about their level of involvement in Trailhead and the Trailhead Community; how what they ve learned through Trailhead has impacted their work, productivity, and career; and what improvements they d like to see in Trailhead. K E Y F I N D I N G S Nucleus found that Trailhead helped participants improve both their career (through promotions, greater responsibility, or new jobs) and their productivity on the job because of the skills and certifications they gained from the program. Trailhead has helped one in four participants find a new job. CAREER ADVANCEMENT Nucleus found that Trailhead participants discovered that growing their skills and gaining badges through Trailhead helped their career advancement in four main areas: Trailhead helped one in four Trailhead participants find a new job. Twenty-five percent reported that because of Trailhead they had received an increase in salary or a promotion. Copyright 2018 Nucleus Research, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. 2

3 Fifty-six percent reported that they had been given more responsibility at work because of the skills and recognition they gained through Trailhead. Fifty percent reported that they had used Trailhead to improve their resume BENEFITS FROM TRAILHEAD PARTICIPATION 25% 25% 56% 5 New Job Salary increase / Promotion More responsibility Resume improvement INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY Most Trailhead participants reported an increase in productivity as a result of their participation in Trailhead, with a most typical increase of 3 to 7 percent. That said, one in five Trailhead participants said that the skills and support they gained through Trailhead had increased their productivity by more than 10 percent. INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY FROM TRAILHEAD 3 25% 24% 24% 21% 17% 15% 1 5% 8% 5% 0 1-3% 3-5% 5-7% 7-1 >1 Copyright 2018 Nucleus Research, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. 3

4 ECONOMIC IMPACT Beyond productivity, Nucleus found that Trailhead participants had also, on average, achieved a significant increase in income since they started using the program, with one in five respondents reporting a salary increase of more than 20 percent since they started with Trailhead. Two-thirds of respondents had experienced an annual salary increase at or above the US national average (which is roughly 3 percent). 35% 3 33% TRAILHEAD USERS' SALARY INCREASE 25% 19% 21% 15% 1 5% 11% 11% 6% 0 0-5% % 15- > Although obviously there are many factors impacting an employee s salary including tenure, economic environment, and company dynamics, most respondents noted a correlation between the advancing skills and improved qualifications they had achieved with Trailhead and their increase in pay. One Trailhead user Nucleus interviewed provided unique insight into how access to Trailhead and the Trailhead Community could help a user not just increase earning power but change his or her career. This Trailblazer was employed in a manufacturing job and, without a college education, saw opportunities for career growth. He used Trailhead online courses to become certified on Salesforce while working full time at his manufacturing job and found a local user group through the Trailhead Community where he was able to network and find an entry-level administrator job based on his Trailhead resume. He has completed approximately 30 badges and said, Going to a Salesforce job I doubled what I used to make and am working 40 hours a week instead of overtime and I m constantly learning. Copyright 2018 Nucleus Research, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. 4

5 THE TRAILHEAD COMMUNITY Nucleus found that 82 percent of Trailhead users were also active participants in the Trailhead Community. One-third of participants noted that participating in the Trailhead Community had a specific monetary benefit to their business. For partners, this often meant being able to grow their business more rapidly by quickly finding, training, and certifying new hires; gain new customers because of new skills and areas of expertise; and increase their network of potential clients and partners. Salesforce administrators and developers found it enabled them to more quickly identify ways that Salesforce could deliver more value to their company. The most common types of participation included asking for help with a Trailhead badge or challenge, asking for advice on a problem or technical issue related to their Salesforce deployment, connecting with local and virtual community members, and seeking job opportunities or mentors. Nine percent of community members stated giving back or helping others as part of their active participation in the Trailhead Community. One Trailhead Community member Nucleus interviewed began as a Salesforce developer building Salesf0rce-based applications for the education space. She saw an opportunity in her community to leverage the Trailhead content and courses to create a nonprofit focused on training underprivileged community college students. Students participate in Trailhead courses as well as courses and workshops on career development and are placed in apprenticeships in local businesses using Salesforce. She said, We found there was a lack of real educational opportunities for teenage moms, so we re creating a blueprint to eliminate some of the barriers and pushing them along the way. TRAILHEAD COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES % 7 82% 79% 29% 9% Copyright 2018 Nucleus Research, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. 5

6 L O O K I N G A H E A D Online training platforms are not new, nor is gamification, and Trailhead is an effective way for Salesforce to increase administrator and developer expertise and engagement at scale while reducing demands on customer support. However, enthusiastic Trailhead Community members believe they gain more than just Salesforce skills and certifications. The linking of training with both virtual and inperson communities for networking, collaborative problem solving, and peer encouragement has helped them to advance their careers while feeling like they re part of a broader community. Moving forward, Nucleus expects that Salesforce will continue to invest in Trailhead and the Trailhead Community both in terms of content (additional training for Marketing Cloud, Service Cloud, and Javascript, for example, are high on the list of requests of current Trailhead users) and in blended learning partnerships that link Trailhead content with career development clubs and programs. Copyright 2018 Nucleus Research, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. 6