SoftServe’s workplace launch for global collaboration

Date09 October 2017
Published date09 October 2017
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-07-2017-0040
Pages207-210
AuthorStuart Logan
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Employee behaviour
SoftServe’s workplace launch for
global collaboration
Stuart Logan
Stuart Logan is Chief
Human Resources Officer
at SoftServe, Austin,
Texas, USA and
SoftServe, Lviv, Ukraine.
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share how SoftServe launched a new internal
communications platform Workplace by Facebook.
Design/methodology/approach For a global company like SoftServe, operating in over 30 locations
in Europe and the USA, it was crucially important to have an internal communications platform, which
can effectively connect over 4,000 employees and be available on-the-go from any device.
Findings The introduction of corporate social network helped to make internal communication
two-sided, more informal and easy. This paper indicates the results of a new tool launch in terms of
associates’ engagement and change in a mode of communication.
Originality/value The case-study reveals step-by-step story on the introduction of a new
communication tool to employees.
Keywords Strategy, Social media, Human capital, Internal communications
Paper type Case study
SoftServe is a digital services company with over 4,000 employees located in
30 offices in Europe and the USA. The company’s focus on digital transformation,
and on all levels of its operations, has a big impact on the organization’s internal
tools and processes.
When I joined SoftServe, email announcements were often used for social purposes. At
first, I thought this was a great way to keep teams up-to-date, but after a few weeks, it
became a distracting factor for myself and for other employees who wanted their mail to be
strictly work-related.
We started looking for a new internal communication tool with two-sided communication, a
well-known interface, and the ability to access the tool from any device. The communication
tool we had prior to Workplace could no longer support our needs and scale our growth.
The introduction of Workplace by Facebook promised to solve many of the key
communication issues that SoftServe was experiencing. It promised to be multi-faceted
and easily recognizable (most employees used its parent platform, Facebook). Moreover,
the tool presented an opportunity to decrease the amount of social news in employees’
mailboxes by turning email communication into something more lively and personalized,
with quick feedback and emotional engagement. Additionally, Workplace provides detailed
statistics – an effective tool for the SoftServe internal communications team.
Workplace introduction
Workplace implementation process at SoftServe lasted one month, a record
implementation for our company. The project team included 17 members from Legal, IT,
Information Security departments and the Communication team who managed to prepare
the platform for its launch within a very short timeframe.
DOI 10.1108/SHR-07-2017-0040 VOL. 16 NO. 5 2017, pp. 207-210, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 STRATEGIC HR REVIEW PAGE 207

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