How removing paper and distractions brought back presence at Salesforce.

Salesforce

Salesforce, headquartered in San Francisco, is a global leader in cloud-based CRM software, helping businesses manage sales, services, and marketing.

What’s the problem

“So every one of our employees, including myself, used to go through at least 10-plus notebooks per year,” says Miguel Milano, president and chief revenue officer (CRO) of Salesforce. With nearly 80,000 employees, that adds up to a lot of paper. And with staff lacking the time to type up notes after high-stakes meetings, information became scattered, unsearchable, and hard to share.

At the same time, when staff used their laptops and phones to take notes in meetings, it led to distractions and a loss of attention during important conversations. Tapping away at keyboards while staring at the screen meant less listening and created a barrier to being present with each other.

“If I see people pulling out a cell phone to take notes on, I have no idea if you're doing Candy Crush or actually listening to me,” says Peter Doolan, chief customer officer for Slack at Salesforce. It signaled a lack of preparedness, Milano believes: “It’s just not professional.”

Turning the page

The devices: reMarkable Paper Pro and reMarkable Paper Pro Move.

By replacing both traditional paper and distracting screens with paper tablets, Salesforce solved some of the most pressing way-of-work issues.

Free from apps, web browsers, or notifications, the paper tablets significantly reduced distractions from face-to-face interactions. With more intentional note-taking by hand, everyone gained — through better listening, better attention, and by being more present in meetings. That, in turn, meant that executives could “show up better” in front of customers and clients.

“I only have one chance to make an impression with the customer, when you have those first few moments in a meeting. I see other people in meetings pulling out laptops or other devices, and they're signaling I'm not really prepared,” says Doolan. “When I pull up my reMarkable, it's signaling that I am prepared and that I'm here for you, and this time is important to you and to me.”

Better meetings also meant better and faster decision-making and follow-up. The two Pro-models allow for secure, cloud-backed notes across devices. All of a sudden, the team’s handwritten notes — once scattered around on runaway sheets of paper — became editable, searchable, and shareable.

“For me, being able to use Slack integration has been the game changer,” says Rachel Skelly, chief of staff to the CRO. “Taking notes by hand allows me to remember and be more focused in those settings,” she adds. “Then I can share them immediately with my team so we're able to search and reference going forward.”

Slack integration makes it possible to convert and share handwritten notes instantly in a way that fits directly into existing workflows, removing the need for manual transcription and ensuring quick follow-up.

Skelly describes an example from the Davos World Economic Forum where she used her reMarkable to convert handwritten notes into typed action items to share with global teams using Slack.

The results

Secure, searchable, and free from distractions, reMarkable paper tablets have had a noticeable impact at Salesforce, according to Milano.

That investment, he says, made a lot of sense for the business, resulting in more time to think, better collaboration, and significantly less paper use.

“I’m a reMarkable fan. I've been using reMarkable for over four years. reMarkable gives you the distraction-free time that only paper provides, but delivered as a secure, searchable, and shareable, multi-device digital platform. reMarkable is the future.”

- Less time spent managing and typing up notes

- Less paper (cutting costs)

- Less distractions and better attention in meetings

Considering paper tablets for your business?

Reach out to our sales team or visit remarkable.com/business to learn more.