Orange is launching “plazza”, an internal social network open to all its employees
Paris, December 16, 2010Since 15 December 2010, all 100,000 of France Telecom-Orange’s employees in France will be able to meet on "plazza", the Group's new corporate social network. It aims to strengthen social ties by providing a platform which connects Group employees, an initiative entirely in keeping with the "Conquest 2015” project, which above all aims to put men and women back at the heart of the company.
A shared social network, open to all employees
As a major ITC player, Orange already has a solid background in online community applications. In 2006, the first tests of internal social networks were carried out in various Group entities, including the Marketing and R&D departments. In early 2009, there were at least seven active networks.
”plazza” was born of a desire to unite these experiments and create a shared company social network for the whole Group that would be open to everyone.
A “plazza” pilot site was launched in May 2010. The results are promising – it is one of the largest corporate social networks currently in existence, with over 10,000 visitors in six months, 3,000 members and 140 interest groups linked to projects, areas of expertise or hobbies.
Encouraging informal networking without managerial oversight
Built in partnership with Microsoft, the social network is based on the Microsoft Sharepoint 2010 collaborative application. It is a collaborative and interactive platform which can be accessed from the Group intranet, different entities’ intranets and local intranets, as well as the Group directory. All employees in the Group directory with the pre-requisite technical set-up can connect to “plazza”.
“plazza” aspires to encourage informal networking using a platform with voluntary membership, rather than one overseen by managers. Employees can build a profile on “plazza” which is available for other users to view and find colleagues who share their interests. They are therefore able to share their experience thanks to communities founded on mutual support, expertise or shared interests. Thanks to “plazza”, Orange employees can meet regardless of geographic constraints. The network is available in three languages: French, English and Spanish.
“plazza” will initially be available to the 100,000 employees based in France before being rolled out in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Jordan, and Poland starting in January 2011, and then progressively in all other Orange countries. By the end of 2011, 180,000 Group workers throughout the world will be able to access "plaza", an unprecedented project in terms of scale.
A shared social network, open to all employees
As a major ITC player, Orange already has a solid background in online community applications. In 2006, the first tests of internal social networks were carried out in various Group entities, including the Marketing and R&D departments. In early 2009, there were at least seven active networks.
”plazza” was born of a desire to unite these experiments and create a shared company social network for the whole Group that would be open to everyone.
A “plazza” pilot site was launched in May 2010. The results are promising – it is one of the largest corporate social networks currently in existence, with over 10,000 visitors in six months, 3,000 members and 140 interest groups linked to projects, areas of expertise or hobbies.
Encouraging informal networking without managerial oversight
Built in partnership with Microsoft, the social network is based on the Microsoft Sharepoint 2010 collaborative application. It is a collaborative and interactive platform which can be accessed from the Group intranet, different entities’ intranets and local intranets, as well as the Group directory. All employees in the Group directory with the pre-requisite technical set-up can connect to “plazza”.
“plazza” aspires to encourage informal networking using a platform with voluntary membership, rather than one overseen by managers. Employees can build a profile on “plazza” which is available for other users to view and find colleagues who share their interests. They are therefore able to share their experience thanks to communities founded on mutual support, expertise or shared interests. Thanks to “plazza”, Orange employees can meet regardless of geographic constraints. The network is available in three languages: French, English and Spanish.
“plazza” will initially be available to the 100,000 employees based in France before being rolled out in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Jordan, and Poland starting in January 2011, and then progressively in all other Orange countries. By the end of 2011, 180,000 Group workers throughout the world will be able to access "plaza", an unprecedented project in terms of scale.
About Orange
France Telecom-Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with 171,000 employees worldwide, including 105,000 employees in France, and sales of 10.9 billion euros in the first three months of 2012. Present in 33 countries, the Group had a customer base of 225 million customers at 31 March 2012, including 181 million customers under the Orange brand, the Group's single brand for internet, television and mobile services in the majority of countries where the company operates. At 31 March 2012, the Group had 166 million mobile customers and 15 million broadband internet (ADSL, fibre) customers worldwide. Orange is one of the main European operators for mobile and broadband internet services and, under the brand Orange Business Services, is one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies.
With its industrial project, "conquests 2015", Orange is simultaneously addressing its employees, customers and shareholders, as well as the society in which the company operates, through a concrete set of action plans. These commitments are expressed through a new vision of human resources for employees; through the deployment of a network infrastructure upon which the Group will build its future growth; through the Group's ambition to offer a superior customer experience thanks in particular to improved quality of service; and through the acceleration of international development.
France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information (on the internet and on your mobile): www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.orange-innovation.tv or to follow us on Twitter: @presseorange.
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.
With its industrial project, "conquests 2015", Orange is simultaneously addressing its employees, customers and shareholders, as well as the society in which the company operates, through a concrete set of action plans. These commitments are expressed through a new vision of human resources for employees; through the deployment of a network infrastructure upon which the Group will build its future growth; through the Group's ambition to offer a superior customer experience thanks in particular to improved quality of service; and through the acceleration of international development.
France Telecom (NYSE:FTE) is listed on Euronext Paris (compartment A) and on the New York Stock Exchange.
For more information (on the internet and on your mobile): www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.orange-innovation.tv or to follow us on Twitter: @presseorange.
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange Brand Services Limited, Orange France or France Telecom.
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© France Telecom - Orange 2012
