Tquila ANZ turns Uber driver into Salesforce consultant

Salesforce consultancy Tquila ANZ has created a graduate recruitment program, and one of its success stories is a person that company director Damian Noonan met driving his Uber.

This story starts with Noonan returning from a work trip, hopping into an Uber and chatting to the driver.

Noonan told CRN he always likes to talk to his Uber drivers, largely out of curiosity.

“Is this is a side hustle for them, or a life change?”

On this ride Noonan met a man with a degree in a scientific field, experience working in an IT-related field, and a desire to make a career change.

He quickly found himself explaining Tquila ANZ’s new graduate program, an effort that CEO Jo Masters said was created to help the company address the dearth of skilled Salesforce talent in Australia. The program combines Salesforce’s free online “Trailhead” education resources, plus an internal learning hub and mentoring from Tquila ANZ practice managers.

As Noonan chatted with his driver, he mentioned the graduate program, explained Salesforce’s massive growth and the opportunities that created.

“I asked if he was keen to explore it, and promised to send some links to Trailhead,” Noonan said. He also gave his driver a challenge: complete some Trailhead content, earn some badges, then get in touch to keep the conversation going.

The driver did as suggested. Noonan then gave him a second challenge, which the driver again completed.

Impressed by the driver’s sincerity and work ethic, Noonan felt satisfied he’d make a fine member of the graduate program. A year on, the Uber driver is now a successful member of the Tquila ANZ team.

“Without leveraging Salesforce and Trailhead I am not sure I would have done this,” Noonan said.

Tquila ANZ devised its graduate program in 2018. Geetu Sandhu, who devised the program, told CRN it includes a “Tquila Learning Centre” that emphasises soft skills and business skills, with Trailhead used to teach technical skills. Tquila ANZ also works with RMIT Online, as it offers an online Salesforce administrator’s course.

“We teach aspects like consulting and knowledge of software development at large,” Sandhu said.

The program is offered to both graduates and people looking for a career change. The latter start on wages commensurate with their Salesforce experience, which may mean a lower salary upon joining.

“We have a program that says we are willing to invest in training, if you achieve certifications and billable utilisation, your salary can rise,” Masters explained. “We have a very strong senior leadership team and they make it very easy to train people if they have the right attitude.”

The program delivers great return on investment, Masters added, because it helps Tquila ANZ to recruit without having to poach talent and compete on salary.

Nine of Tquila ANZ’s current 54 staff came aboard through its graduate program, which will look for a new intake of candidates in early 2020.

Noonan, meanwhile, is still chatting to Uber drivers.

“I recently met a guy who wants to invest in our next venture,” he said.