Nestlé migrates 210K employees to Workplace by Facebook as part of connectivity push

Dive Brief:

Nestlé adopted Workplace by Facebook as its primary global communication platform, according to a Nestlé announcement.
The process to move Nestlé's global workforce to Workplace began nine months ago and now about 210,000 employees are using the platform. Though the majority of Nestlé employees are already using Workplace, the rollout will continue through 2019.
The food manufacturer reported higher levels of engagement and responses among employees. The "first wave of market adopting" in Mexico, Brazil, the Middle East and South Africa resulted in 25 times higher engagement per post.

Dive Insight:

Workplace has secured some big name customers, including Walmart, Virgin Atlantic, and Spotify and Starbucks.

Though Facebook's communication platform has a ways to go to catch up with market leaders Slack and Microsoft Teams, the platform has steadily introduced new offerings and innovation. In May, the company revealed more than 50 software as a service integrations so users can summon popular enterprise software in company groups or conversations.

In October, Workplace launched its version of the Facebook Safety Check to account for employees during a crisis. These are all advances that propel Workplace's users to build connections and hasten information sharing, something important to Nestlé's CIO Filippo Catalano, according to the announcement.

"Nestle was looking for a platform to connect everyone in the organization — from the CEO to frontline workers," said Julien Codorniou, Vice President at Workplace by Facebook, in an email to CIO Dive. It was equally important to bridge the barrier between workers speaking different languages, he said.

Nestlé already invests in startups and research institutes to develop technologies such as digital sensors that can provide data to understand individuals' nutrition and activity.

Last January, Nestlé brought on Stefan Palzer as CTO, who has been responsible for a "a lot of projects to things that give us an improved flow of new and attractive products," said CEO Mark Schneider, during the company's Q2 FY18 earnings call.