Connecting 64,000 people to harness the power of community at work

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical business whose innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide.

Why Workplace?

The AstraZeneca team was looking for a tool that would make the company more nimble, flatter, and more agile. They began a Workplace pilot in 2017.

A week after the CEO joined the platform, the entire leadership team was using Workplace. Within a month, another 200 global senior leaders were on board and using the platform to connect and collaborate.

The familiar features and ease of adoption, our ability to meet the security and compliance standards in regulated industries, and the potential for Workplace to bring an entire organization together convinced AstraZeneca to order a complete rollout to 64,000 employees just a couple of months later.

Here’s how people at AstraZeneca are using Workplace to connect the entire organization and transform how they get work done.

Pharmaceutical
64,000
Global

“Workplace has brought us great connectivity. People going live all the time, leaders communicating consistently with people in a very engaging way, and by allowing people’s initiatives to boil up”

Roeland van der Heiden
Digital Director, Global Corporate Affairs, AstraZeneca

Results

35%
increase in content consumption from the intranet into Workplace
75%
active users

Communicating company strategy using Live video

For AstraZeneca, the real power of Workplace has been to connect the C-suite with the rest of the business. One of the best examples of this is using Live video to communicate and engage with teams in real-time, connecting to global and regional HQs and enhancing the company’s sense of community.

In the last three months, people at AstraZeneca have posted over 600 Live video streams. The CEO announcing company quarterly results, broadcasts of company-wide town hall meetings, and weekly ‘coffee morning’ broadcasts from senior leaders.

Live video is connecting the 64,000 strong AstraZeneca workforce and creating connections from the top to the bottom of the organization and across all departments and levels of seniority.

Protecting company data and removing shadow IT

AstraZeneca takes security and privacy seriously. And so does Workplace. Our shared commitment to security meant Workplace met AstraZeneca’s stringent security and compliance requirements for new software.

Workplace has also enabled AstraZeneca to reduce the use of shadow IT. People are using familiar, effective tools like Workplace Chat and groups which is reducing the use of third-party tools. And that means fewer conversations are being held outside of control and visibility than ever before.

Getting information to the right people at the right time

Using Workplace groups enables AstraZeneca to connect the right people with the right information so they can share key learnings.

Using the search feature gives people fast and instant access to company-wide information and allows them to search for key information ahead of meetings or create a 360 view of activity from conversations, articles, and recent workstreams.

And it’s working. There’s been a 35% increase in the amount of content that people consume from the AstraZeneca intranet after it was integrated with Workplace. And by integrating Workplace with other tools like Box that AstraZeneca people use every day, it’s ensuring teams can easily manage the necessary permissions and controls.


Empowering global collaboration

Another big success is the launch of the AstraZeneca LGBQT employee resource groups. Initially a UK initiative, the quality of user-generated content and the open nature of the group soon saw significant global interest.

There are now many local LGBQT Employee Resource Groups (ERG) active on Workplace and a Global LGBQT ERG group.

As interest grew, people created more content like videos from global Pride events, testimonials, and vlogs. Internal Communications teams were quick to recognize the opportunity. By sharing this content on external channels AstraZeneca crowdsourced a complete and entirely organic campaign for free based on global collaboration within Workplace.

Unlocking company knowledge with groups

AstraZeneca’s 2025 strategy places great emphasis on lean and agile working practices.

Because Workplace is transparent and open by default, the team were able to use the platform to crowdsource ideas, opinions, and feedback from people across the organization.

By doing so it has connected people with the company vision and helped AstraZeneca to involve more people in the strategic direction of the business.

Key Features

Live Video

The most authentic way to communicate with your team.

Groups

Connect to the tools you’re already using.

Workplace Chat

Make quick decisions with instant messaging and video calls.

Auto-Translate

Work together in 91 languages at the touch of a button.