RBS has become the first bank in the world to launch Facebook At Work, bringing the business version of the social media network to 100,000 staff across the company.

The bank said that the tool would encourage collaboration and allow employees to communicate faster and more efficiently. As well as using it on their desktop computers, staff will also be able to download it to their phones and tablets so that they can keep track of work when they are on the move.

Facebook At Work is said to look and feel similar to the normal version of Facebook, with employees able to use the same features, allowing them to post photos, create groups and events, update their work profiles, and send private messages to colleagues.

RBS piloted Facebook At Work in July, and reported that staff “were able to work much more efficiently together, answer customer questions faster, update other colleagues on their work in a much more engaging way and source a far wider range of ideas for on-going projects”. Given how many people already use Facebook in their everyday lives, minimal training was needed and staff picked up the process quickly, the bank added.

Facebook At Work will be completely separate from personal Facebook accounts, meaning information shared between RBS employees is confidential and only accessible to other colleagues within the bank. It will be rolled out to 30,000 employees by the end of March 2016, with the service available to all 100,000 staff by the end of next year.

Simon McNamara, RBS chief administrative officer, said: “I’ve already been using Facebook At Work while we test it and it’s been so useful – allowing me to exchange information and ideas quickly and securely with all my team on a wide range of projects. I’m excited about how bringing people together from all across the bank through Facebook At Work can help our employees do their job better – whether it’s being able to find answers to customer queries much faster or helping us come up with bright new ideas.”

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