{"id":20715,"date":"2016-11-18T18:00:47","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T23:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/facebook-for-business-liking-your-way-to-digital-transformation\/"},"modified":"2016-11-20T20:19:39","modified_gmt":"2016-11-21T01:19:39","slug":"facebook-for-business-liking-your-way-to-digital-transformation","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/facebook-for-business-liking-your-way-to-digital-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook for Business: Liking Your Way to Digital Transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

People are any company\u2019s most valuable asset, yet so often corporate focus is directed elsewhere. In 2015, only 32% of US employees considered themselves \u201cengaged at work\u201d while the majority (50.8%) of employees were “not engaged,” and 17.2% were “actively disengaged.”[1] Employers recognize this is a critical issue: 87% of organizations cite culture and engagement as one of their top challenges–engagement isn\u2019t just an HR problem, it is now a business problem. [2]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Ask any executive today for their \u201cdigital\u201d or \u201cmobile\u201d strategy and they\u2019ll be able to rattle off a multi-point plan punctuated with synergistic jargon yet the majority of companies have yet to turn this inward to the way their own company operates internally. And this lack of strategy is costly: the companies with organizational culture that enables collaboration perform nearly 2x better than the general market. [3] This digital transformation of operating models is so critical, the World Economic Forum cited it as their top recommendation coming out of their 2015 meetings. [4]<\/p>\n

Facebook is widely recognized as one of the best employers, topping Business Insider\u2019s [5], Glassdoor\u2019s [6], and Forbes\u2019 [7] lists of best places to work multiple years running. But beyond fabulous perks, Facebook employees cite open communication [8] and empowerment to independently do their jobs [9] as key drivers of impact and satisfaction. <\/span><\/p>\n

Can Facebook Productize Its Culture? <\/b><\/p>\n

Since their inception, Facebook the company has relied on Facebook the product to facilitate their business operations. Employees use internal Facebook groups to collaborate on projects, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg use the platform to make company-wide announcements and to solicit feedback and Facebookers use Facebook messenger for more informal communication between co-workers. [10] \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Recognizing how its communication platform enabled innovation within Facebook, Facebook is now trying to help other companies transform their internal operations to be digital. To do so, Facebook created Workplace, a suite of enterprise tools familiar to any Facebook user enabling real-time communication and collaboration. Workplace is separate from your personal Facebook account but it leverages the same familiar interface and features but in a corporate setting. Mark Zuckerberg says about the product: “[Workplace] is an app, but I think about it more as a way of running a company.” [11]<\/span><\/p>\n

While enterprise social is a crowded space with Slack, Yammer, Hipchat and Jive clamoring for users, Facebook believes that Workplace has an edge: in addition to the interface already being familiar to 1.7 billion people worldwide, the product is a more holistic offering than its competitors. This enables Workplace to position itself as more than just a communication platform, but also an end-to-end internal digital solution. This familiar interface has also enabled Facebook to target a broader spectrum of workers than its competitors, who tend to go after office workers. [12] As a Facebook executive explained, \u201cNo training needed. It\u2019s for everyone: from factory workers, to baristas in the coffeeshop, to the CEO.\u201d [13]<\/span><\/p>\n

Initial adopters have been satisfied. Here are a selection of comments:<\/span><\/p>\n