Facebook Closing Free Version of Workplace Next Week

Workplace by Facebook

Facebook is shutting down its free plan for Workplace from Facebook as of February 10. In a blog post, Vice President and Head of Workplace Karandeep Anand said the company wants to prioritize and focus on delivering Workplace’s vision of developing a sense of community within businesses.

“This change will enable us to introduce new features designed for a new world of work,” Anand wrote. “Whatever the future holds, our focus remains the same: To make sure every employee is equally connected, informed, empowered and productive wherever they work and whatever they do.”

.@Facebook will close the free version of Workplace so it can focus and prioritize on developing new features for paying customers.#HR #HRTech Click To Tweet

Users of Workplace Essential can upgrade to a paid plan, starting at $4 per user per month, which gets them features such as insights, single sign-on and live chat support, Anand said.  During the year, he said Facebook will be “doubling down” on productivity and collaboration features, and developing remote presence, well-being and live video tools.

Some observers suggest that the remote-work movement spurred by Covid-19 has given Workplace the running room it needs to drop its free option. According to CMSWire, the service grew from 3 million to 5 million paid users last year. Others believe the market for communication and collaboration platforms has evolved to the point where providers can’t easily provide meaningful solutions without requiring some kind of paid plan.

Early on in the pandemic, Workplace added features to help companies support employees and improve communication in a remote environment. The company said its experience with building consumer products put in a unique position to help employers develop and maintain their culture across a distributed workforce.

Facebook made the decision to close Workplace Essential in December.

Image: Facebook

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