Facebook, which has been steadily advancing into the professional world, has signed up the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) – its biggest customer yet – to Facebook at Work, an experimental version of the social network for companies.
RBS started a pilot project with Facebook at Work earlier this year and plans to roll it out to 30,000 employees by March of next year and eventually to all 100,000 workers with the goal of encouraging collaboration and speeding up internal communications, the bank says in a press release.
‘I’ve already been using Facebook At Work while we test it and it’s been so useful – allowing me to exchange information and ideas quickly and securely with all my team on a wide range of projects,’ says Simon McNamara, chief administrative officer at RBS. ‘I’m excited about how bringing people together from all across the bank through Facebook At Work can help our employees do their job better – whether it’s being able to find answers to customer queries much faster or helping us come up with bright new ideas.’
Facebook, which the SEC has deemed a suitable channel for companies to communicate with investors, is increasingly advancing into professional communications. A study released earlier this year by market research firm Greenwich Associates shows that 80 percent of institutional investors use social media as a regular part of their work, and 30 percent say social media has directly influenced an investment decision.
The interface of Facebook at Work is similar to that of the personal version, but it lacks ads and does not collect user data. The corporate version is currently free but the company plans to start adding new features and charging premium subscription rates. Facebook says about 300 other companies currently use Facebook at Work, including Heineken and Century 21.
