Bringing Facebook Into The Workplace
Using Facebook at work would often mean trouble for those caught, as messaging friends is for home time not paid time.
But not in the future, it seems, as bosses are encouraged to actually pay for Facebook to be used in the office.
Facebook Workplace is a new version of the social media solution, already installed in a few businesses, including, for example, RBS and Starbucks. Instead of staying in touch with mates outside, though, this is Facebook repackaged for keeping up with company colleagues.
Workplace will go head to head with products that already have a considerable lead in the collaborative tools market, such as the highly lauded Slack and the truly dreadful Yammer. There is, though, considerable room for growth, as messaging slowly replaces emailing as the ticket for success in communicating between co-workers.
Whereas those main competitors have unfamiliar interfaces, many employees in a organisation will already be used to the look and feel that Facebook has re-used for Workplace. This could give it a significant edge as companies assess the options.
The ability to record a quick video in the boardroom and broadcast it through Workplace, to give the troops a pep talk or announce the latest company success, is bound to appeal to most gaffers’ egos. Also, the potential to seamlessly integrate with the highly successful corporate cloud storage solution, Box.com, so that messages can link readily to files stored there, is another strong selling point.
It is easy to see how efficiency savings could tempt top execs into parting with up to three dollars per user per month to bring Facebook into workplaces where it used to be frowned on.
