So far, ‘Workplace from Facebook’ has had one of the most far-reaching reactions to the pandemic, launching a ton of features aimed at making remote collaboration a more seamless experience for everyone. Over the past few months, the workplace collaboration platform’s developers have been active – producing features that supersede many of its competitors by focusing on diversity and inclusion in the development phase.
This is all no coincidence, of course, as we’ve reached a point where accessibility, inclusion, and workers on the frontlines are no longer an afterthought, they’re figured into the plan. If this is not the case, some tech companies in the space could find themselves with a lessening user-base. Recently Workplace from Facebook launched a set of employee engagement tools, an attempt to deliver even more value for its users, and an obvious power-grab for anyone who did not see the firm as a real threat before the pandemic. The features Facebook’s added to its Workplace platform are set to enable faster connectivity and enhance lighting along with accessibility for employees.
Workplace from Facebook introduced Dark Mode, a feature which lets users change the background of the collaboration tool’s user interface from white to black. The move will likely help to reduce the strain some experience on their eyes, along with reducing glare. Workplace from Facebook’s ‘Dark Mode’ functionality is automatically set for iOS users, and Workplace noted that it will intro other features designed to enhance UX for those with disabilities in the future. This will include focus management, simpler keyboard navigation, and support for screen readers, delivering a major boost for those with seeing impairments as well as inclusion in the workplace.
Addressing the requirements of frontline workers, Workplace added Areas, a mapping tool, to the workplace collaboration app. Via ‘Areas,’ management can customize the experience frontline workers have by grouping them into collections based on where employees are, their department, etc. Workplace from Facebook wrote in a statement:
“The unique Video Conferencing feature at Workplace ensures live editing which can get customized by adding filters, especially for virtual events”
A knowledge library is also fresh to the platform and acts as a space to produce store, and share, reference materials like insurance benefits and work policies. Managers can personalize user homepage experiences, as well as create content and manage employee access to documents and more. Each of these updates has one significant theme, employee diversity inclusion, and engagement. There is a lot to consider when hoping to enable remote work during a pandemic, and Workplace seems to have its finger on that pulse.
According to its annual report on diversity, the company says it’s committed to spending $1 billion with diverse suppliers in 2021, including $100 million with black-owned businesses, putting its money where its mouth is, so to speak. That same report states that Facebook has now spent more than $1.1 billion with US companies certified as minority, women, veteran, LGBTQ, or disabled-owned (also known as diverse suppliers).
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