Each year, Cloud for Good conducts a staff engagement survey to measure and quantify each Goodie’s relationship with the company on the basis of four main themes: Basic Needs, Management/Leadership, Teamwork/Belonging, and Potential for Growth. This annual survey is built off the Gallup Staff Engagement Framework that aligns these four themes and assigns them to different levels of a pyramid representing the building blocks of an employee’s support systems at their company.
Photo by Gallup
The results of our 2021 staff engagement survey were our best yet, with most levels seeing positive increases over our 2020 and 2019 surveys. All in all, 91% of Goodies completed the survey, 93% of the results were net positive across all engagement questions, and 99% of respondents would recommend Cloud for Good to others. Let’s take a deeper dive into our results and explore what it means for the greater culture at Cloud for Good.
Basic Needs
Basic needs are categorized as the resources and knowledge our Goodies need to do their jobs successfully. 96% of Cloud for Good staff said they find their job interesting and engaging, 97% noted having access to the literal resources they need to perform their jobs, as well as the right expectations about what’s required to be successful in their respective position. Additionally, 98% reported looking forward to coming to work each day. We feel that a highly engaged staff, supplied with the technology they need, and the knowledge and expectations required to succeed creates a team environment that enables stronger connections, greater collaboration, and consistent innovation. When our Goodies feel supported, our clients are provided a greater level of service.
To that end, Cloud for Good continually strives to make sure our staff has the fundamental technology, tools, and resources they need in order to do their job. In 2021, Cloud for Good implemented monthly internet reimbursement for all staff in 2021, as well as lowered the price of health benefits (for the third year in a row) for US staff while continuing to cover 100% of supplemental benefits costs for Canadian staff. We raised our investments in materials and resources, improving access to licenses like Gearset, LucidChart, and Slack that help increase collaboration in a distributed workforce. Cloud for Good staff even built a new time entry tool in our internal Salesforce systems to add ease and efficiency to Goodie time tracking on projects.
Management/Leadership
Meaningful improvements were made across the board in the Management/Leadership theme of our 2021 staff engagement survey with a 96% net positive rating, up 5% from last year! 99% of respondents reported management/leadership’s day-to-day decisions demonstrate that quality and improvement are priorities at Cloud for Good.
Most importantly, Cloud for Good improved diversity recruitment through 2021, with 63% of new hires identifying as people of color and/or women, pledged to build a diverse workforce by becoming a Salesforce Talent Alliance member and partnered with both Pathfinder and COOP to diversify our talent acquisition efforts. Management and leadership also formalized the quarterly and annual review processes, conducted more manager enablement sessions, and improved onboarding and resource libraries company-wide.
In order to continue to support this growing culture of diversity and inclusion at Cloud for Good, our staff-led Diversity & Inclusions Working Group continued to drive efforts throughout the year. We hosted several staff learning opportunities, added Juneteenth as a US holiday, welcomed CircleUp Education for an awareness-building Diversity Uncovered training, and the company became recognized as a Salesforce Equality Partner.
Teamwork/Belonging
In addition to the award-winning Salesforce implementation services, we provide to nonprofit organizations and higher education institutions, Cloud for Good remains committed to investing in our communities and the broader Salesforce ecosystem at large. In 2021, Cloud for Good completed two pro bono projects, donating over five hundred hours of services to New Entry Sustainable Farming Project and Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County. This year also brought us the official launch of Talent for Good, the first employer-led Salesforce Apprenticeship created in response to the urgent need for ready-to-hire, Salesforce-trained workers in the rapidly expanding Salesforce ecosystem.
For the third year in a row, Teamwork/Belonging was the strongest, most positive category throughout the engagement survey. Every single Goodie responded that they were proud to work at Cloud for Good, and 99% said they’d refer someone to work here. These responses speak volumes to the continual pursuit toward building a workplace, culture, and team environment where each Goodie is seen, heard, and appreciated for their unique contributions. We are proud of not only what we do here at Cloud for Good, but also for how we do it.
Potential for Growth
The pinnacle of Cloud for Good’s staff engagement pyramid, Potential for Growth, continues to improve year after year as our Goodies make the most out of their opportunities. The “I have the learning and development I need to do my job well” survey question was up a full eleven percentage points from the 2020 survey, a testament to an increase in enablement sessions and training opportunities across departments. In addition to staff learning opportunities, Cloud for Good experienced a record year for hiring and was named the overall #2 Best Place to Work in IT by IDG Insider Pro and Computerworld. Cloud for Good remains committed to promoting talent from within, supporting our Goodies as they pursue Salesforce certifications and take volunteer time-off to support their unique communities across the US and Canada.
One of Cloud for Good Founder and CEO Tal Frankfurt’s mottos is “what gets measured gets done.” We take the results of our annual staff engagement survey quite seriously, as it is one of the most critical indicators of what is working at the company and what areas could use increased attention. This is what makes the fact that 94% of all employee engagement responses were net positive (where the Tech Industry average is 79.5%, Professional Services 81%) such an achievement. 91% of Goodies are actively engaged, compared to a 39% national average, per Gallup. All in all, we’re proud to shine a spotlight on the work we do to center our staff in our decision-making and culture-building, and we are thankful to our Goodies who continue to share quality feedback about their experiences working at Cloud for Good. Here’s to continuing the positive trends in 2022 and beyond!
