Facebook revealed that its Workplace platform currently has 7 million paying users, a 40% increase from the previous year. The result is due to the pandemic, which has caused more companies to provide work-from-home setups, and also because of the platform's functionality.
Facebook is introducing a range of new updates aimed at providing a better employee experience. It includes enhancements to live video, network integrations, and resources that emphasize inclusion and diversity.
The live video feature of Workplace will get a new Q&A tool. A presenter may use this function to put a question asked by employees to the center of the screen. The question card contains the profile details of the employee who raised the question on the side of the presenters.
In addition, Facebook is progressing on its collaboration with Cisco by making Webex integration into the Workplace easier. Hosts can conveniently do a live broadcast to their Workplace community by starting in Webex.
Facebook also has new integrations and plugins. Workplace users would be able to share files with third-party platforms such as Microsoft SharePoint. Workplace meetings will also be synced with third-party calendars such as Gmail and Outlook.
Besides, the company has introduced new features to its APIs, allowing firms to import content from other sites into Knowledge Library, Workplace's intranet.
The EX-focused functions also provide resources that promote self-expression and identification, assisting firms in highlighting the value of inclusion and diversity.
Workplace users will be able to put the pronunciation of their name in their profile starting, and it will appear in Live video Q&A interactions. Facebook is even expanding the emoji palette with new skin tones.
The social media giant said, "Employees now have new expectations of their leaders and companies. The challenge is how they turn these expectations into a reality.”
“For us, the goal of EX is to make people more connected to their company's purpose. Because we believe that people with a purpose are more invested in their work," the company added.
The latest user count was dubbed an "interesting milestone" by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO. He also mentioned a number of the major companies that are currently using the Workplace platform.
"We built Workplace as an internal version of Facebook to run our own company, and it was so useful we started letting other organizations use it too, including everyone from Spotify to Starbucks to the World Health Organization,” Zuckerberg said.
