Workvivo vs Microsoft: Employee Experience Platform Battle

The Challenge of Maintaining Company Culture in a Remote Work Environment

For organizations of all sizes, sustaining a strong company culture presents a significant hurdle when the majority of employees operate remotely.

This issue predates the COVID-19 pandemic, but the widespread shift to remote work has amplified the difficulty. Employers must proactively address potential feelings of disconnection and isolation among their workforce, ensuring consistently high morale.

Introducing Workvivo: An Employee Experience Platform

Workvivo, an employee experience startup headquartered in Cork, Ireland, offers a solution. Backed by Zoom founder Eric Yuan and Tiger Global, the company has experienced over 200% growth in the past year.

Workvivo serves a diverse clientele, ranging from companies with 100 to over 100,000 employees, and currently supports more than 500,000 users. Since its inception, the platform has maintained a 100% customer retention rate, according to CEO and co-founder John Goulding. Key customers include Telus International, Kentech, A+E Networks, and Seneca Gaming Corp.

Established in 2017 by Goulding and Joe Lennon, Workvivo launched its employee communication platform in mid-2018. The aim was to facilitate the creation of “an engaging virtual workplace” and supersede traditional, outdated intranet systems.

Focus on Asynchronous Communication and Human Connection

“Our emphasis isn’t on real-time interaction; rather, we prioritize asynchronous communication,” Goulding clarified. “We provide numerous transactional tools, primarily delivering key messages regarding company developments and acknowledging positive contributions. We concentrate on fostering human connection.”

The Workvivo platform enables organizations to disseminate information such as CEO updates and employee recognition through a social media-inspired format – elements that actively shape company culture and provide employees with a clear understanding of organizational happenings. Podcasts were introduced in the second quarter, and livestreaming capabilities were added in Q4.

Investment and Growth

In 2019, Workvivo presented its product to Zoom’s Eric Yuan, who subsequently became an early investor. In May 2020, the company secured $16 million in Series A funding, led by Tiger Global, a firm renowned for its substantial growth-focused investments.

Developed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Workvivo was well-positioned to meet the escalating demand for its services. The company experienced significant acceleration in growth following the onset of the pandemic.

“Growth has accelerated since the beginning of the pandemic,” Goulding stated to TechCrunch. “We’ve tripled in size, considering revenue, users, customers, and employee count.”

Revenue and Market Presence

Deals with the SaaS operator range from $50,000 to nearly $1 million annually. While based in Europe, Workvivo operates in 82 countries. However, the U.S. market accounts for 80% of its growth, and the majority of its customers are located there.

An office was opened in San Francisco in early 2020 and is currently undergoing expansion. Thirty percent of the company’s 65-person team is based in the U.S., with some employees working remotely from various states.

Goulding indicated that the company is not actively seeking additional funding at this time, citing a “very strong capital position,” and did not disclose specific revenue figures.

Competition and Differentiation

Last month, Microsoft launched Viva, a new “employee experience platform,” essentially a reimagining of the intranet sites commonly used by large corporations. This move positions Microsoft as a competitor to platforms like Facebook’s Workplace, Jive, and Workvivo.

Workvivo believes it possesses a competitive advantage through its seamless integration with Slack and Zoom.

“We coexist within the ecosystem alongside Slack and Zoom,” Goulding explained. “You have Zoom, Slack, and us.”

Slack facilitates real-time messaging and focuses on immediate future events, while Zoom provides real-time video communication centered on the present moment.

Goulding views Microsoft’s new offering as unproven and reactive.

“There’s a clear battle for the core of the digital workplace,” he said. “Our goal is to capture the heartbeat of an organization, not just its pulses.”

Early Stage Event Information

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