DIGITAL - Companies Stay Connected with Facebook's Workplace

It used to be that “Facebook” was the ultimate f-word at the office.  Now bosses are encouraging employees to Like, follow trending stories and join groups.

But there’s a catch: they are not referring to baby pictures and YouTube videos. They are talking about Facebook’s new service called Workplace.

While it is built to look like a user’s personal Facebook page, Workplace is open only to members at a specific company.

It’s easy to use, as many employees are among the 1.7 billion people logging onto the traditional Facebook site each month, and it caters to mobile workers who aren’t always tethered to their desks.

Employees and management can post information, have group discussions about projects or issues, track News Feed items, and use the voice and video calling feature, all on a secure system.

Workplace also features Multi-Company Groups that allow employees from different companies to connect when working together on a project.

The service has been in beta testing for a year and there are more than 1,000 organizations worldwide, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, Danone and Starbucks, using Workplace.

On October 10, 2016, Facebook announced that Workplace is now available to anyone and everyone.

But unlike Facebook, Workplace isn’t free.

The company would pay a monthly fee based on the number of users accessing the service: $3 per user for the first 1,000 users and $2 per user for between 1,001 and 10,000 users and $1 for any users above that.

But for Workplace officials, the goal is more geared toward adoption that to make a ton of money.

"We want to grow to have hundreds of millions of people using it and then just as we've done for Instagram and Messenger, we will care about monetization," Julian Cordoniou, director of Workplace, said in an interview with CNN.

Facebook has tapped into the workplace social media market and despite competition from existing communications services like Slack and Yammer, it is poised to dominate the market with the new Workplace service.

By Rennay McLean
Rennay is a freelance writer and editor, animal lover, mom, and Gryffindor. She has written nonfiction books, corporate communications, blog posts, magazine articles and newspaper pieces on topics including caring for your pets, animal rescue agencies, the economic outlook of Alberta, archeological digs, and spa getaways.