Facebook’s Workplace hits 7 mln paid subscribers

Workplace from Facebook provides communications tools built on the back of the main social network’s site

Facebook’s employee-focused Workplace platform has reached seven million paid subscribers, jumping 40% in the last year as people were forced to work from home during the pandemic.

Workplace from Facebook provides connectivity and communications tools such as video conferencing, chat, groups and safety check features, built on the back of the main social network’s site.

The service which launched in 2016, includes customers such as AstraZeneca, BT and Virgin Atlantic

The tech giant said the surge was driven by business leaders who are “acknowledging” that truly connecting with people in remote or hybrid working environments is “critical”.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, commented on the milestone, saying: We built Workplace as an internal version of Facebook to run our own company, and it was so useful we started letting other organisations use it too, including everyone from Spotify to Starbucks to the World Health Organisation.

More companies are starting to use our virtual reality tools for work as well, and I’m excited to work on more new ways for people to work together that weren’t possible before, he said.

As part of the announcement, Facebook said it is introducing a number of improvements, such as a Q&A experience for its live video feature and allowing people to share content from Workplace on to third-party sites like Microsoft SharePoint.

Julien Codorniou, vice president for Workplace from Facebook, said: One of the long-term impacts of the pandemic is that employees expect more from their employers. They want to feel part of a community that levels the playing field, hears their ideas and supports them through uncertainty.

He said: We are proud of Workplace’s growth because it means more companies are building these types of communities, and the features we are launching today will help them thrive.