Salesforce holds back on bringing staff back to downtown Indy

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Before the coronavirus pandemic, the Salesforce Building in downtown Indianapolis was populated by 5,000 people every day; about half them were Salesforce staff. 

As the pandemic lifts, Salesforce will bring staff back to its namesake tower — the tallest building in Indiana with 48 floors — but not all at the same time.  

Of the 2,100 people who worked for Salesforce from this building before the pandemic, only a handful are now there every day. The company has not revealed how many of its staff are in the building every day, but they have given the staff options on whether to work remotely or to come into the office:

• Flex: When it’s safe to return to the office, most of our employees around the globe will work “flex,” which means they’ll be in the office from 1-3 days per week for team collaboration, customer meetings, and presentations.  
• Fully remote: For employees who don’t live near an office or have roles that don’t require an office, they will work remotely full time. 
• Office-based: The smallest population of the workforce will work from an office location from 4-5 days per week if they’re in roles that require it.

The changes mean the days of crowded downtown streets and packed restaurants around Monument Circle at lunch time may not return anytime soon.

Bob Schultz is senior vice president of marketing, communications and events for Downtown Indy Inc., an organization devoted to keeping downtown Indy a clean, safe, convenient and exciting place to live, work and be entertained. “There is no question. In fact I’m coming to you live now from Salesforce Towers, that is where our office is. … So, we see it (the lack of people) every day. We are on the second floor here, and the elevator banks are very wide open, the lobbies are very wide open, but you are starting to see more and more each week, not only within Salesforce Tower but the sidewalks surrounding it.”

Before the pandemic, Schultz said, 155,000 people came into the city every day. Today, about 30%, or 45,000, have returned.

Having Salesforce, one of the larger private employers in the Mile Square announce it’s not bringing everyone back to Salesforce Tower anytime soon, has had and will continue to impact retailers and businesses near the building.  

Schultz said, “I think we are really buoyed by the fact that Salesforce themselves said that 80% of their workforce wants to have a physical space to come to each week. Now, whether they do that five days a week or three days a week, I think that is what remains to be seen.”

Joanna Carroll, a senior economic research analyst with the Indiana Business Research Center at the Kelley School of Business, said the decision by Salesforce to limit staffing in the building could be a harbinger for others considering a similar move. “I imagine there is going, in at least some way, to be a shift toward more online work. We are already seeing that in the tech industry for jobs that can be done more easily remotely.”

Salesforce has not announced a date on when these changes will take place, the company has indicated they will start this new flex work schedule when it is safe to return to work. 

Indiana State Department of Health on Wednesday reported 52 more Hoosier deaths from the coronavirus, for a total of 11,578. There are currently 1,273 Hoosiers hospitalized with COVID-19.