SupportNinja: ‘Of all the platforms we’ve launched company-wide, Workvivo has had the biggest impact’
SupportNinja had a fully functioning EX platform up and running in just two weeks
97%
Of employees registered on Workvivo
83%
Of employees use Workvivo every month
20%
Jump in eNPS participation rate
SupportNinja had a fully functioning EX platform up and running in just
two weeks
SupportNinja is an outsourcing firm that helps other companies scale successfully. But when it was gaining a greater headcount through an acquisition, it knew it needed an exceptional partner to help it supercharge and scale its internal communications and employee experience.
Enter Workvivo.
People
2,800
Industry
Outsourcing People and Services
Location
Global (HQ in Austin, Texas)
Category
Mid-Market
One of the first things I did was identify the need for each function – for the leadership and the general workforce
Otto Salumbre
Global Communications and Engagement Associate Director
SupportNinja before Workvivo
When SupportNinja’s Associate Director of Global Communications and Engagement, Otto Salumbre, joined the company, it had already identified the need for an employee platform to better unite team members spread across the Philippines, the US, Colombia, Ireland, Romania, and more.
In fact, Otto was hired to drive that project and establish an internal comms program – something his new team had never had.
“One of the first things I did was identify the need for each function – for the leadership and the general workforce,” Otto said. “How they broadcasted messages and updates was unorganized, to say the least – information was coming from left and right. There was no reason or rhyme for how information was given.
“So, the main criteria that we were looking for was essentially a platform in which information could be seen at first contact, such as policies, SOPs, case studies, and even knowledge-based information, like how to apply for paid time off. The things that people would search for.”
Internal communication was a major pain point for SupportNinja, but whatever solution it chose needed to meet some other requirements too. “The company was to grow exponentially as we were acquiring businesses and accounts and were on the verge of doubling our population and client base. We really needed a platform that was ready and easy to roll out.”
The search for a stellar EXP
How did SupportNinja decide to partner up with Workvivo? Otto and his team began the search in January 2023 with a list of eight platforms.
“We really did our due diligence! We had each vendor answer, ‘This is what we need, is it available in your platform? Or is it in the pipeline of your development?’
What were SupportNinja’s non-negotiables?
- Integration with Google Suite
- A central place to deliver company-wide announcements
- Content management
- Login solutions
- Security
To narrow down the list, Otto’s team developed a points system for ‘must haves’ and ‘nice to haves’. “It was a quick process; within one month we were able to shortlist it to three platforms.
We already knew what we wanted, we had ready content, and a creatives team to preparevideos, podcasts, and images. We even had an outline of which teams would have spaces, and which would be on the pages. Everything. All we needed was a platform.
Why Workvivo?
So why did Workvivo come out on top? Otto said there were a few things that “resonated” with his team about the product.
Firstly, the elegance of the platform. It was really simple. It's what we consider in the internal communications circle a new-age platform, when you combine the functionality of an intranet platform and a social media platform. It's not all hard edges in its design. It was very well-rounded, it was colorful, it was engaging – and that was a very important theme for us.
Secondly, the ability to create spaces for external people like our clients. That was a big one, because it was unheard of in the internal communications circle for you to share only the critical information with external users.
Being able to set up external sections of its internal platform was a “gamechanger” for SupportNinja. Otto’s team were able to use this for client onboarding, new employee onboarding, and even acquisition onboarding. “And we actually did all of those three within the first six months!”
The third one – this is my personal favorite – was the rollout management. It was a huge thing for us to have the platform ready within a limited time.. And Workvivo had this elegant onboarding and readiness process that I could even customize for my needs and my company’s needs.
Without Workvivo, Otto knew what the alternative would look like. “So, just imagine a typical onboarding phase is around six months. There was a special onboarding offering for around three months, I think.
“But the Workvivo team was able to customize an onboarding schedule for me for two weeks. The Workvivo client success managers had never heard of a two-week rollout, I believe – and we did it. The prepared readiness phase was done in seven days. The uploading was done in seven days. Within two weeks, we were ready to launch!.
It was key for us to launch quickly because there was an acquisition coming. There was a target of making sure that this platform was ready for 300 new people within the next few weeks, and we made it happen with the help of Workvivo.
Rollout and implementation
Otto described SupportNinja’s Workvivo rollout as “very easy”, mainly thanks to “the flexibility of Workvivo to partner with us”.
We did not feel that it was a client-vendor relationship; it was a very good partnership.
The Workvivo effect
SupportNinja launched Workvivo in April 2023. What’s changed since then?
“After a year of Workvivo, the feedback was astonishing,” Otto shared. “We were able to get a 97% activation rate within seven days of launching.”
Workvivo has made life easier for Otto’s team. They’re able to integrate “all engagement activities” within the platform, for example, and the impact has been obvious.
97% of SupportNinja employees are registered on Workvivo and 80% of them use the platform every single month. The company also has a low annual attrition rate – 21.4%, vs the industry average of 40.3% – and a 42% employee referral rate.
“Our eNPS has jumped since we moved to Workvivo. At first, we only used Workvivo to announce our eNPS. But when we moved the survey to within Workvivo, it gave us a participation rate of around 70%, which was 20% more than our previous participation rate.
“That says a lot because it’s more than half of the organization, not just the engaged people answering the survey.”
SupportNinja’s eNPS score is ~60%. On a scale of -100 to +100, the industry average is 12.
The company’s leadership has been able to benefit from the higher engagement levels too, through greater visibility and a greater sense of employee sentiment.
“Employees who have been with the company for more than three, four or five years tell me that the experience now is entirely different. Having an internal communications program and a platform eases their mind because you don't have to ask people where to find information. Top of your head, you already know where to look for it.
And at the same time, it’s engaging because we’re able to livestream our town halls, our events, and our activities. We’re able to do things that we want to do in social media, but within the comforts of our own network, within our own circle.
“If we were to use a different platform and design a different experience, it would have cost us quite a bit more – not just financially, but also in terms of time, which is something you can’t get back.
In the last year, of all the platforms that we have launched company-wide, Workvivo has had the biggest impact.
Why SupportNinja employees (a.k.a. Ninjas) love Workvivo
With teams all over the world, working both on-site and from home, Workvivo’s accessibility is particularly important for SupportNinja. Here are some other things its employees love.
Otto described Workvivo as a “game-changer” for onboarding multiple clients at a time.
“We were able to customize something that they could do asynchronously at their own pace, and it's always available for them whenever they need; they could always go back to the space that we provide for them.
“We can keep what is needed to be internal and still make sure that they have access to whatever they need in the same platform.
>“We've even trained our team to create an onboarding space in just five minutes, and we've created templates for them. They never thought that one platform could solve issues like this!”
Why SupportNinja employees (a.k.a. Ninjas) love Workvivo
With teams all over the world, working both on-site and from home, Workvivo’s accessibility is particularly important for SupportNinja. Here are some other things its employees love.
Otto described Workvivo as a “game-changer” for onboarding multiple clients at a time.
“We were able to customize something that they could do asynchronously at their own pace, and it's always available for them whenever they need; they could always go back to the space that we provide for them.
“We can keep what is needed to be internal and still make sure that they have access to whatever they need in the same platform.
>“We've even trained our team to create an onboarding space in just five minutes, and we've created templates for them. They never thought that one platform could solve issues like this!”
