Workplace by Facebook has announced that Nestlé has selected their workplace collaboration tool to service its 210,000 employees. As this news broke, I met with Julien Codorniou, VP of Workplace by Facebook, to learn why Nestlé adopted Workplace by Facebook and the process that got them there. Julien stressed that although this is a big win for the team, this is a completely typical deployment for Workplace by Facebook. Giving a voice to everyone and connecting all departments – rather than just rolling out to certain employees one step at a time.
Key drivers
I was keen to learn whether the announced domain change held any sway in Nestlé selecting Workplace by Facebook. Julien said that Nestlé had been in talks for nearly 2 years. It’s unlikely that the domain change added much gravitas but is certainly a bonus to users as they adopt their new collaboration app.
Connecting HR and IT was a key driver in Nestlé rolling out Workplace by Facebook. This needed to be done in the simplest, most user-centric way. Workplace by Facebook holds a unique place in the market where most of the users in Nestléare likely to be familiar with the Facebook platform. Julien and I discussed user experience, Christmas presents and never reading manuals anymore. We concluded that user expectation in consumer tech has fully translated to business tech.
“Business software has to be as agile and user-friendly as a consumer app that you put on your personal device”.
Adopting Workplace by Facebook
Nestlé was previously using Salesforce Chatter and Office 365 for their productivity suite. Following a pilot in Mexico, Nestlé reported a 25 times higher engagement per post and very high rate of use on mobile devices. Amongst other advantages, managers can use live video to connect directly with employees at different locations. Sales teams can also use Workplace for daily check-ins and to share information and best practice.
I asked Julien whether he knew who Workplace by Facebook was up against when signing Nestlé. Obviously, there are a lot of companies that want the Nestlé brand on their books, but Julien was unaware of competition. This itself speaks volumes as to Workplace’s current status in the collaboration market.
Growth strategy
Nestlé becomes another impressive name in the roster for Workplace by Facebook. Julien revealed that Workplace’s growth strategy heavily involves looking at the Fortune 500 list and cherry picking the most innovative companies that will need and want to adopt Workplace by Facebook. The current list of customers boasts telecoms companies like Telefonica and Vodafone, as well as global giants like Starbucks, GlaxoSmithKline and even Walmart – the largest privately held company in the world.
By focusing on company-wide deployments, Workplace are extremely comfortable in winning large businesses such as Nestlé.
“We don’t grow one team or one division at a time. We grow entire businesses at a time. GSK was 140,000, 210,000 at Nestléand 2.5 million at Walmart. It’s a very unique way of growing but it’s the vision we have – rolling out a platform for the entire company. Workplace wouldn’t work for just 10% of the company”.
What’s next for Workplace by Facebook?
Julien leaned towards further growth in both customer base and the Workplace ecosystem. “You can expect the network of Workplace people and companies to grow more and more”.
As Workplace momentum continues, app integration grows and functionality like live video is introduced, Julien’s optimism of the platform seems complete realism. Expect further “Workplace by Facebook signs *big company name* very soon.
