What is Workplace by Facebook? Facebook by Workplace is a platform for internal collaboration and communication in companies, that was launched by Facebook Inc. in 2016. With an interface similar to regular Facebook, Workplace is the business-oriented version of the social network. Employees can share work-related publications on its newsfeed, make use of automatic translation when needed, discuss projects, share documents in groups, and chat with their colleagues.
Workplace by Facebook is a powerful tool for employee engagement, however, it won’t take care of your social intranet and productivity needs since it doesn’t integrate with Google Workspace. It doesn’t have a page builder either, so it lacks static information. Those are just part of the components Workplace lacks compared to our alternative – Happeo. Want to see and compare other Workplace Facebook alternatives? Visit our intranet platforms comparison.
Feature overview
| Digital workplace | Happeo | Facebook Workplace |
|---|---|---|
| Search | ✓ | ✗ |
| Third-party app launcher | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrated Drive Editing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrated Docs editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Sheets editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Slides editing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collaboration platform | Happeo | Facebook Workplace |
|---|---|---|
| Employee directory | ✓ | ✓ |
| Slack integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| User-creatable channels | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Hangouts conferencing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrated Calendar editing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Jabber, Webex integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Social intranet | Happeo | Facebook Workplace |
|---|---|---|
| Page builder | ✓ | ✗ |
| Social channels | ✓ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Personalized news feed | ✓ | ✓ |
| Announcements | ✓ | ✗ |
| Widgets | ✓ | ✗ |
| Branded file templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Influencer analysis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Overall features | Happeo | Facebook Workplace |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile intranet app | ✓ | ✓ |
| Push notifications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Single Sign On | ✓ | ✓ |
| ISO compliant security | ✓ | ✓ |
| GDPR compliant | ✓ | ✓ |
| Top-down communications | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bottom-up communications | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom branding | ✓ |
Limited |
| Multilingual | ✓ | ✓ |
| Deep Google Workspace integration | ✓ | ✗ |
| User-first design | ✓ | ✗ |
| Fast time to deploy | ✓ | ✗ |
| Google Workspace integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Office 365 integration | ✓ | ✗ |
See how Happeo stacks up against other alternatives
Happeo vs Jostle
Jostle is a Canadian company that provides an intranet solution to companies that need software to align their internal communications.
Happeo vs Jive
Jive is a software company that provides solutions for internal communications in businesses. Jive is one of the old-school leaders in the industry.
Happeo vs Simplrr
Simpplr is a US-based software company founded in 2014. Simplrr helps with connecting and engaging employees accross departments.
Get the Intranet Comparison Guide
Directly compare our LumApps alternative here by downloading the free Intranet Comparison Guide.
Workplace by Facebook is not an intranet
Facebook is not a business intranet. With limited Google Workspace integration, branding capabilities and no page builder, Workplace by Facebook is a strong Enterprise Social Network (ESN) but needs intranet software to compliment your static communication needs. To support higher-level Internal Communications activity and workplace productivity, Happeo combines a social intranet, ESN, and collaboration software – everything you need in one place.
Conversation can't turn into collaboration
Strong dynamic and rapid communication features with social information are great for conversation and collaboration – which isn’t productive if it’s not based around work-content. Although Workplace from Facebook integrates with Drive, the lack of deep integration (Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.) means it doesn’t work as a collaboration platform. It's a good ESN but unlike Happeo, it doesn’t fully integrate with Google Workspace’s productivity tools to make collaboration efficient.
Workplace by Facebook can be a distraction
Workplace is still Facebook, so employees treat it like Facebook. With features and a user interface similar to the regular Facebook, Workplace looks like a place meant for social interaction – not one to cover your business needs. Why Happeo is the best alternative to Facebook Workplace? Because it keeps the focus on your work-related tasks, though you can always create channels to post entertaining content. Up to you!
Workplace by Facebook's collaboration features can be improved
According to reviews, users would like to see improvements in the speed of text messages, comments, and notifications. They have also experienced issues with the functionality of screen-sharing and video conferencing. Happeo’s integration with Google Meet lets you host meetings with high-quality audio and video, and the option to record the meeting for those who missed it. Make your background blurry or give it a fun wallpaper – whatever you feel like, go for it. The integration of Google Meet makes Happeo one of the preferred Workplace Facebook alternatives.
Workplace by Facebook should have the end-user in mind
Workplace from Facebook’s design is great for social media, but it can be inconvenient when trying to get the job done. Users wish for a structure that highlights the important information while allowing them to keep track of every update – something that Workplace lacks compared to Happeo. Our Channels feature lets employees share content, interact, and engage. The best part is you can choose to follow the channels that are relevant to you.
Users prefer Slack instead of Workplace's Chat for rapid communication
User reviews report Workplace’s Chat feature could use an improvement, and at the same time those that have experienced working with the ESN share that they prefer using Slack for Internal Communications. It’s a great tool for real-time communication, however, it is not designed for static communication or collaboration. Luckily, there’s a balanced alternative: Happeo’s deep integration with Slack. A chatbot will notify you every time there’s an update in Channels that you’ve joined, while our Direct-Message (DM) integration will allow you to DM your colleagues from their Happeo profiles.