SPH Media and Workvivo: Soaring Adoption Rates in Singapore

Before Workvivo

Before Workvivo, SPH Media’s intranet was built on a SaaS platform. Launched in late 2022 with basic features, the intranet served its purpose of keeping employees informed of key updates and latest happenings in the company. But information and resources, including a staff directory and event calendar, were separately built on Google apps. This fragmented user experience didn’t allow employees to search for content effectively.

To learn more about SPH Media’s Workvivo journey, we spoke to the people instrumental in its implementation and management across the organization: Internal Communications Lead, Eunice Woo, and Digital Workplace Service Senior Engineering Leader, Anna Ramos.

Why Workvivo?

SPH Media was looking to improve the effectiveness of its intranet as a key internal communications channel. It wanted a platform that would enable employees to find everything they needed easily. For greater efficiency, the company also wanted to empower its divisions to publish their content directly on Workvivo, instead of having to rely on the technology teams.

“We wanted to build an intranet that goes beyond just being a repository of information—it needed to be easy to use, engaging, and empower employees to connect and collaborate," Eunice says.

"The new platform needed to integrate well with our existing systems, offer robust security, and give us the tools to build a dynamic intranet that can grow with the needs of the organization," adds Anna.

So, why did it decide on Workvivo? Here’s what the team told us:

• Enhanced content amplification: With more native options to amplify content, Workvivo makes it easier for organizations like SPH Media to promote key messages and updates across the platform.
• Mobile ready: Workvivo also runs across mobile and desktop seamlessly, a significant upgrade from its previous platform.
• Activity feed: Workvivo's activity feed provides a dynamic, real-time experience, enabling users to stay updated and connected in a way that's more social and interactive.
• Rich social interaction features: Workvivo fosters better employee engagement through features such as Likes, Comments, and Shares – making communication feel more natural and collaborative, similar to social media.
• Out-of-the-box functionality: Unlike the previous platform, Workvivo delivers a powerful set of features right out of the box, minimizing the need for additional customization and development.

Onboarding, Implementation, Launch + Rollout

Once SPH Media had made its decision, it was time to kick off the onboarding process. 

A dedicated onboarding manager from Workvivo ensured the initial implementation phase went smoothly. “From the pre-onboarding to onboarding until go-live, everyone in Workvivo was very supportive. What we really appreciated was that there was real continuity from the selling experience to the customer experience,” Anna says. 

The Workvivo team is quick to respond to any concerns we might have. They worked closely with us to ensure that our nuanced requirements were implemented within the platform where possible. 

The team really has a range of experience and suggestions on how to best leverage the platform. We found that advisory aspect really helpful as we are making quite a large transition here.

For Eunice, Workvivo’s onboarding journey brought structure and insight—which she says “help cut short the teams’ learning curve”. “Workvivo has the whole process documented and was systematic in walking through with us what to expect at the various stages. This minimizes surprises,” Eunice says. “Our onboarding manager was also very proactive in sharing some of the use cases of other clients, which was helpful.”

The Workvivo Effect: Empowering teams and seamless user journey

As SPH Media steps up its employee engagement efforts, effective internal communication is more important than ever, especially in a hybrid work environment. While email remains the main channel for direct and important communication, the intranet plays a central role in building a connected, informed and engaged workforce.

The divisions welcome the ability to publish and edit their content, including videos, as and when. “With the empowerment of content owners, content is refreshed more regularly,” Eunice says. “We also see divisions beginning to send certain updates via Workvivo, instead of emails by default.”

SPH Media has also migrated important resources, such as policies, from dispersed sources such as Google Drive to the Workvivo platform. 
One example is the Workvivo Events Calendar. People find the widget very useful: content owners can amplify their events easily; the push notification means employees are less likely to miss events they’re interested in. Eunice says, “We are getting more requests to publish events on the calendar so that is a strong validation.”

Another is Workvivo’s Org Chart feature. Anna says that with Workvivo, “It removes the need to publish org charts separately and enables employees to look up contact details of another colleague easily”.

SPH Media’s Workvivo success by numbers

To ensure a smooth rollout and high adoption rate, the teams implemented a change management plan. This ensured key stakeholders, especially content owners, were well-equipped to use the new platform effectively, and that their colleagues could onboard smoothly and hit the ground running.

• 91% of SPH Media employees activated their accounts within 2 months
• Monthly average active users are consistently high at around 86%
• More than 200 updates within the first few months  
• Over 1,000 employees used the RSVP function on the Events Calendar for the quarterly townhall

Post Launch Survey

A month after the launch, SPH conducted a survey to gain insight into the experience of employees with Workvivo. The findings were encouraging: 

• Close to 70% strongly agree or agree that it is easy to navigate the new intranet
• Close to 70% find the search function useful
• Close to 70% are satisfied with Workvivo 

Feature Spotlight

Spaces 

When moving to Workvivo, SPH Media migrated four of its existing community groups from its Google Spaces to the platform. These formed the basis of its first Workvivo Community Spaces, where employees are engaging in their favorite topics from photography to the latest in technology and gadgets.

Analytics 

Workvivo provides extensive analytics which helps content owners gain insight on how employees are engaging with their content. With the various data, content owners can take steps to improve the effectiveness and engagement of their content.

Do Not Disturb 

SPH Media uses the Do Not Disturb setting for its users to avoid content overwhelm and distracting notifications. 

Newsfeed 

Today, SPH Media’s internal communications team can share relevant articles published by the organization’s various titles in a timely manner. All they need is the link to the news article; now, there’s no need to publish a separate version and double the workload.

Conclusion

Since adopting Workvivo, SPH Media’s teams have been actively exploring ways to tap into the full potential of the platform as a central hub for internal communications. 

Beyond sharing stories and celebrating achievements, the company is looking to leverage Workvivo to build a more connected and engaged workplace—one where employees not only stay informed but also feel seen and heard.