Facebook Is Building Products for the Workforce, and It's Betting on SaaS Partners

In this episode of SaaS Connect by Cloud Software Association, we interview Amelia Kirby, Head of Global Technology and Platform Partnerships, Facebook Workplace. We discuss the partnership program which was launched earlier this year; their plans to grow the platform by integrating with vendors; and what they are looking for in technology partners. Facebook Workplace, currently boasting around 80 partners, is not just another collaboration tool. Instead, the goal is to provide end-to-end organizational communication to improve the employee experience for all employees, not only the desk workers. Amelia explains that when organizations look after their frontline employees—by providing better support and tools for those workers to not just do their jobs, but feel like they're part of the company that they work for—employee churn is reduced, ultimately saving companies money. What Facebook Workplace prospective vendors can expect from this exciting conversation: Facebook Workplace want to expand their partner strategy around collaboration tools that provide deep and meaningful integrated experiences for users. They also want to connect with tools that help HR managers manage their workforce at scale. They are interested in working with resellers, services partners, and technology partners. Their goal is to enable people to access the platform from products and services that they're already using, but they also want to build integrations that allow people to reach those tools from within Workplace as well. They plan to boost resources for those partners that may not yet have full or extensive partner marketing resources, so that their partner marketing team becomes the vendor’s team. The metrics they pay attention to. Ways that prospective partners can connect with Facebook Workplace to learn more. Q&AsWhat's the partner recruitment goal? Which verticals are you focusing on? How do you see if a product is a fit for your ecosystem, and how do you select partners? How do you plan on acquiring reseller partners at scale? Is there an opportunity for partners to get some referral business from Workplace? What are the go-to-market activities that Facebook engages in that relate to partner marketing? How do you structure the partner team? What tools do you use to manage your partners? How are Workplace different from technology development on other platforms? Resources Mentioned: Walmart Starbucks G-suite Slack LinkedIn ServiceNow Okta  Azure Active Directory WorkKeys Thank you to our amazing podcast team at Content Allies. Want to launch your own B2B revenue-generating podcasts? Contact them at https://ContentAllies.com