From Workplace to YOOBIC: A Migration Story

Companies were caught off guard when Meta announced the closure of its employee engagement and communication tool, Workplace. This decision has inevitably pushed organisations to find a new platform that can meet their needs.

But, why stop there? 

Companies should be looking to level up their solution, to one that not only matches Workplace’s capabilities but exceeds them. This is what David Jones, the leading luxury department store in Australia did when they decided to migrate over to YOOBIC, well before the closure was even announced.

During our latest webinar "Seamless Transition from Workplace," Amy Moadim-Lesimha, Store Communications Specialist at David Jones, shared that they have successfully transformed their internal communications and engagement by transitioning from Workplace to YOOBIC. They managed to:

• Cut through the noise and streamline communications
• Significantly increase weekly active users on the app
• Build a stronger sense of community across their entire organisation

Keep reading to see how David Jones achieved these incredible results!

More about David Jones... 

David Jones is a prestigious Australian luxury department store with a legacy of delivering exceptional shopping experiences across the nation. Known for its curated selection of high-end fashion, beauty, and home goods, David Jones operates many stores throughout Australia. With a workforce of over 7,000 dedicated employees, the company remains committed to innovation and excellence, ensuring that every customer is met with quality and personalised service.

Before joining YOOBIC, David Jones used two different tools: a legacy system to assign and manage tasks and Workplace to facilitate employee communication and engagement. Workplace was really the platform on which employees could jump on to interact with each other, communicate with employee support and receive up-to-date information about the business. 

What led them to make the move? What were they looking for?

Although appreciated and convenient, Workplace was not perfect. Teams at David Jones reported that communication channels were noisy and cluttered. Employees struggled to find what they were looking for. They would see a post on their Newsfeed and never be able to track it down again. 

This challenge created a need throughout the organisation for a more structured solution. The ideal app would have to:

• Look great
• Be easy to use for their teams
• Allow admins to moderate content more extensively

How is David Jones using YOOBIC?

Their primary search criteria when exploring Workplace alternatives was structure. They quickly configured the app to eliminate clutter and organise information more effectively. They distinguish between business-critical communications and engagement. 

To ensure easy access to information, they use the Newsfeed for important business conversations, and Communities to promote team engagement. They also use YOOBIC's targeting engine to group users into communities, so everyone only gets the information that's relevant to them, cutting down on extra noise. 

Examples of this approach include store communities, social interest communities, and their very own Pets of David Jones Community. In this community, every employee, from top to bottom, is encouraged to post pictures of their beloved furry friends for the whole company to see.

After the transition, David Jones improved content moderation by allowing only admins to create groups. Frontline teams can submit community request forms, which are reviewed by admins. Approved communities are promptly activated, transforming disengaged employees into confident teams with clear channels for specific information.

How did they handle the migration?

There are different ways to approach Workplace migration. One option is to use Workplace's APIs to migrate specific data. The other option is to start fresh. At the time, Workplace did not offer migration tools, so David Jones decided to start from scratch. They audited all documents and only transferred critical information, now stored in YOOBIC's document library.

In terms of content, they replicated their top groups without any need to migrate them. More than anything, these environments were noisy and cluttered, and teams have appreciated having cleaner spaces. In the meantime, they kept Workplace running in the background for a few months after the transition to make sure they hadn’t missed anything valuable. 

"There wasn't anything that we went back later to and went ‘Oh, my God, we've got to bring that across!’ So we were happy with our decision in the end.” 

Amy Moadim-Lesimha, Store Communication Specialist | David Jones

How did David Jones get the internal teams aligned to drive adoption?

To align the IT, HR, and Communications teams and get them all on the same page, they set up a working group as part of the replacement project. This group was made of representatives from each of these critical functions to address any concerns and ensure that the functionalities each team desired were going to be included in the new platform. 

Once taken care of, David Jones carried out a phased implementation. First, they rolled out the new app to their management teams in store, around 400-500 users. These were the employees who previously had access to the outdated task and communication platforms., the preview lasted 4 months before the official launch to 6000 frontline users. 

David Jones visited stores around Australia and completed training in person, arranging store rallies, gift card incentives, and YOOBIC cakes for everyone. This allowed them to champion the employees who had been using the app for longer to ensure that the frontline teams would get involved and engaged. 

What is life like now for David Jones?

A little over a year since choosing YOOBIC, David Jones has 12,000 active users on the platform at an average weekly active user rate of 70%. In other words, their employees are happy to use it every week. Admins have cut down the time it usually takes them to create communications, and employees are more engaged.

"Life’s great at the moment”, Amy says.

The teams love the differentiation between the content outlets because it makes it possible to view the critical information they need to perform at their best in their role. The teams are now taking advantage of all the other functionalities YOOBIC has to offer, like tasking, chat, and micro-learning.

With a mobile-first solution, management teams can spend more time on the shop floor, connecting with their employees and adding a personal touch to their professional relationships. This kind of engagement has led to higher employee retention and lower turnover for the organisation.

Does this feel relatable?

If you’d like to hear more about migration success stories and expert tips, you should go and take a look at our “Seamless Transition from Workplace by Meta” Webinar, featuring Amy Moadim-Lesimha from David Jones and Daragh McGrath, Workplace Global Project Lead at YOOBIC.

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