Salesforce goes on the hunt for Siebel talent

You really have to give Salesforce.com some credit in the nerve department.

The software maker is offering any Siebel Systems employee that joins Salesforce before the end of the year a $5,000 signing bonus, according to a company memo Salesforce Chief Marc Benioff sent to his staff on Thursday.

"Following the proposed acquisition of Siebel by Oracle many existing Siebel employees may be concerned about their career prospects, we want to offer them an alternative to an environment of declining commissions, confused customers and uncertainty around career viability," Benioff said in the memo, which was "leaked" to reporters by his PR agency. "We would be delighted to hear from any Siebel employee that would like to join our company that meets our rigorous standard for excellence and dedication to customer success. "

The unusual offer comes just weeks after Siebel, a prime Salesforce foe, agreed to sell itself to Oracle. When Oracle acquired PeopleSoft earlier this year it quickly proceeded to lay off 5,000 workers, so it's safe to assume many Siebel workers are nervous.

Salesforce, it appears, is waiting in the wings for them. In his memo, Benioff encouraged Siebel workers to send an email to "siebelsurvivor@salesforce.com" to arrange a meeting. He also invited them to attend recruiting events in Boston and San Mateo, Calif., where Siebel has its headquarters, on Oct. 19. Former Siebel staffers now working at Salesforce plan to be on hand.

The softwar continues.