Putting people at the heart of hybrid work: Zoom to acquire Workvivo to bolster the employee experience offering

The employee communication and engagement platform will give Zoom customers new ways to keep employees informed, engaged, and connected in today’s hybrid work model

Zoom and Workvivo

Zoom announces intent to acquire Workvivo

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Behind work are workers. Real everyday people. People who work to live, not live to work. People who need a sense of belonging. It’s a simple concept that often gets forgotten as priorities and demands take over the workday.

With workforces looking much different than they did just a few years ago, leaders need to think differently to retain talent and maintain company culture. Today’s workforce is hybrid and distributed – with people working from home, in an office, at a remote location, on the frontlines of a retail floor or warehouse, as a pilot or flight attendant in an airplane, a nurse in a healthcare clinic, or anything in between. In fact, 70% of US employees are frontline workers. They are people who want to feel connected to their colleagues and leaders – no matter where they work. Engaging employees and driving culture through connection is no longer a ‘nice to have’ – it’s imperative for success in today’s business environment.

Zoom is excited to announce the acquisition of Workvivo to extend Zoom’s platform and offer its customers new ways to keep employees informed, engaged, and connected.

Founded in 2017, Workvivo provides a modern, feature-rich employee experience platform, combining advanced internal communication and engagement tools, a social intranet, and an employee app, all blended into one central hub, forming the heart of a company’s digital ecosystem. Workvivo’s best-in-class offering has seen triple-digit growth in the last three years and is used and trusted by hundreds of customers worldwide, from SMBs to some of the world’s most well-known brands, including Liberty Mutual, Lululemon, Ryanair, Madison Square Garden, and Wynn Resorts.

“We are excited to welcome the Workvivo team to Zoom. The power of Workvivo employee experience platform, with its robust communications and engagement offering combined with Zoom’s all-in-one collaboration platform, allows organizations to fully unlock the potential of their employees and evolve their company culture in a hybrid world,” said Kelly Steckelberg, chief financial officer at Zoom. “Workvivo has set the standard for employee communications, helping businesses reach and engage millions of employees worldwide. Workvivo prioritizes ease-of-use and simplicity of design, offering the best user experience which is a perfect match to Zoom’s DNA.”

“Zoom’s rapid pace of innovation and the persistent dedication to building products with a human-first mindset is why we are most excited about joining the team,” said John Goulding, CEO and co-founder at Workvivo. “Our platform replaces outdated, clunky, internal communications tools with a vibrant, familiar social experience, and has a proven history of unparalleled levels of adoption. With Zoom, we can build great things together, make teamwork more meaningful, and extend collaboration beyond knowledge workers, allowing us to reach employees who have historically felt disconnected from the company.”

Workvivo UI
Workvivo is an employee experience platform designed to inform, engage and connect employees everywhere.

Workvivo is an employee experience platform designed to inform, engage and connect employees everywhere.

With this acquisition, Zoom continues its evolution to provide the best end-to-end collaboration platform focused on enabling modern work and powering the digital-first workplace.

Following the close of the transaction, Zoom plans to incorporate Workvivo’s capabilities into its platform to deliver a best-in-class, employee experience. Workvivo’s founders John Goulding and Joe Lennon, and the entire Workvivo team, will be instrumental in driving employee experience innovation strategy.

The transaction is expected to close in Q1 FY2024. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Zoom
Zoom is an all-in-one intelligent collaboration platform that makes connecting easier, more immersive, and more dynamic for businesses and individuals. Zoom technology puts people at the center, enabling meaningful connections, facilitating modern collaboration, and driving human innovation through solutions like team chat, phone, meetings, omnichannel cloud contact center, smart recordings, whiteboard, and more, in one offering. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Get more info at zoom.com.

About Workvivo
Workvivo is an employee experience platform designed to inform, engage and connect employees everywhere. Workvivo works with organizations globally across multiple industries, including Bupa, TELUS International and Everton FC. Read more at www.workvivo.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking information related to Zoom and Workvivo and the acquisition of Workvivo by Zoom that involves substantial risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements in this communication include, among other things, statements regarding the potential benefits of the proposed transaction for Zoom, Workvivo and their respective customers, Zoom’s plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to the proposed transaction, Zoom’s ability to offer the best end-to-end collaboration platform, the financial condition, results of operations and business of Zoom, and the anticipated closing of the proposed transaction. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “project,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “can,” “predict,” “potential,” “target,” “explore,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms, and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including factors beyond our control, that could cause actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the statements, including: risks related to the ability of Zoom to consummate the proposed transaction on a timely basis or at all, Zoom’s ability to successfully integrate Workvivo’s operations and personnel, Zoom’s ability to implement its plan, forecasts and other expectations with respect to Workvivo’s business after the completion of the transaction, the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, and continued uncertainty regarding the extent and duration of the impact of COVID-19 and the responses of government and private industry thereto, including the potential effect on Zoom’s user growth rate as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic tapers. Additional risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements described under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere are in Zoom’s most recent filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2023. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made and are based on information available to Zoom at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events. Zoom assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, except as required by law.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

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Zoom Public Relations
Candace Dean
press@zoom.us

Solvvy Public Relations
Eleanor O’Mahony
eleanor.omahony@workvivo.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8808322

Bui SDO asks politicians, traditional rulers to return home

The Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) of Bui division in the North West region has called on politicians, traditional rulers and other government authorities to return their areas of command and reconcile with the people in the North West and South West regions.

According to Menyong Gilbert, SDO of Bui division, there can be no effective reconstruction and sustainable development in the socio-politically disturbed regions if representatives of the common people seat in Yaounde and only return home during elections.

The SDO was speaking on Friday April 14, 2023 during the national territorial planning and sustainable development plan meeting in Bamenda. The meeting which brought together the representative of the Minister of the economy, planning and regional development and other authorities of the North West region was aimed at discussing the way forward for projects earmarked in the 5-year action development plan in the region.

“We have some who come here mostly during election periods and some end up at the Ayaba hotel and return to Yaounde. I think that their voices count a lot as political leaders and being representatives, they have a responsibility to address their people when things are not going on well,” the SDO said.

The Senior Divisional Officer added that if some of these issues are not addressed within the government, objectives of the sustainable development plan may not be achieved by 2035.

During the meeting, sustainable development projects were discussed as hilighted by a Tunisian consultancy firm which was contracted for the 2035 projects.

Projects were hilighted in the domain of agriculture, technology, health, education, road and many others, as the authorities tabled additional projects and areas to focus on during the execution process.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

Scrap dealer jailed 20 months for stealing five laptops

Bawah Ankoh, a scrap dealer, has been sentenced to 20 months imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for stealing five laptops worth GHS36,000.

Ankoh broke into the offices of Synlab Ghana Limited and made away with the five computers, according to prosecutors.

Ankoh was sentenced to 15 months on the charge of unlawful entry and 20 months on the charge of stealing. Sentences will however run concurrently. Ankoh pleaded guilty to the charges.

The Court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah convicted Ankoh on his own plea.

An accomplice, Godwin Nyame, a 47-year-old trader, who dishonestly received the five laptop computers, has been admitted to bail in the sum of GHS70,000 with two sureties.

Nyame denied the charge of dishonestly receiving.

The matter has been adjourned to May 5, 2023.

Prosecution led by Chief Inspector Clement Takyi, said the complainant, name withheld, was an Administrative Manager of Synlab Ghana. Ankoh and Nyame reside at Achimota and Abofu, respectively in Accra.

Prosecution said on or before February 13, 2023, at midnight, Ankoh unlawfully entered the offices of the complainant at Shaishie and stole five Del Laptop computers valued at GHS36,000.

It said during the operation, Ankoh was captured by the CCTV at the offices.

The Prosecution said the complainant reported the matter to the Airport Police.

On March 4, 2023, one Michael Awitor who is alleged to be known for breaking into offices at Airport and its surrounding, was arrested.

The Prosecution said the video of the stealing incident at the complainant’s office was shown to him and he identified Ankoh as the one in the video.

It said the Police through intelligence nabbed Ankoh ‘who is notorious for breaking into people’s residence and sold the booty to second accused person (Nyame) at Vergas Achimota.’

Ankoh led the Police to arrest Nyame. When a search was conducted in Nyame’s room and one MacBook Laptop computer was retrieved, he could not prove ownership.

Source: Ghana News Agency

World Vision improved feeding programme saving lives

Malnutrition has been and continues to be one of the drawbacks of development in developing countries.

Apart from blurring the future of otherwise, vibrant future workforce, it also compels governments to spend a chunk of their earnings into curative activities and consumables at the neglect of infrastructure among other needs.

To help ameliorate their plight the World Vision Ghana has introduced improved feeding programmes in selected communities of the country, under improved feeding for the first 1000 days project..

To avoid its perennial occurrence, some rural communities in the Kassena-Nankana West, Kintampo South, and Sekyere East Districts have used indigenous agricultural practices for decades to produce a wide range of high-quality food such as maize, millet, cassava, pepper, tomatoes, and plantains.

These have helped sustain household food security and livelihoods for decades now.

However, malnutrition (underweight children) and anemia in pregnancy resulting from insufficient intake of micro and macro- nutrients were prevalent.

This often cause malnutrition-associated childhood illnesses and severe anemia in pregnancy, which sometimes lead to infant and maternal deaths or complications in pregnancy and childbirth.

In the Kwabia community in the Kintampo South District, for example, Akurugu Evelyn 26, a mother of 3, nearly lost her first two children to death due to malnutrition.

‘My first and second children suffered from acute malnutrition resulting in frequent illnesses and stalled growth and development.

This also affected my productivity and health too’, she said.

‘Today, I am happy my third child did not suffer from similar conditions; neither did she (Evelyn) suffer from anemia or childbirth complications she experienced with her previous pregnancies.

‘Thanks to the new knowledge on nutrition gained from participating in World Vision’s Improved Feeding for the First 1000 Days Project, ‘Anytime I went to the clinic, it was for a routine child welfare clinic exercise: weighing and sensitization on pregnancy, baby healthcare and hygiene. I did not experience anemia, and my delivery was safer too.

‘I am experiencing the joy of motherhood, seeing my child always looking healthy and happy. His growth and development have been exciting’, she added.

Evelyn is consistent in applying nutrition and feeding practices, child healthcare, and hygiene lessons learned from health professionals through World Vision.

‘We are happy the issues of malnutrition and anemia in pregnancy have been justly addressed by World Vision’s IFP project’, she said.

As an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and women, World Vision Ghana implemented Improved Feeding Practices (IFP) for the First 1000 Days Project in 70 communities in the Kassena-Nankana West, Kintampo South, and Sekyere East Districts, where malnutrition and anemia in pregnancy cases were high.

Using an innovative approach, the project addressed challenges by introducing new skills and knowledge in supplementary feeding, child healthcare and hygiene through advocacy and training.

‘I left child healthcare to my wife solely previously. That has since changed because of the orientation I received from World Vision. Now I support my wife to manage our children’s health, hygiene and education. I take our child for weighing, and I am not ashamed of it any longer’, said Awuni James.

Men’s participation in child healthcare and pregnancy management is a significant change the IFP project has achieved.

Aside from this, a significant improvement in the quality of health service delivery in all partner health centers, and in household feeding practices and an increase in the intake of macronutrients by children and pregnant mothers have resulted in better child growth and birth outcomes.

These achievements were realized because of nutrition skills training and intense advocacy for the consumption of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP), poultry products, Koko Plus, and green leafy vegetables.

In addition to this, the project also provided certain medical equipment and capacity building for some health staff.

This boosted their efficiency and enhanced the delivery of health services to babies and pregnant women.

And through radio campaigns, the project reached out more than 11000 women and men with nutrition and child health messages.

All of these have significantly resulted in an increased intake of nutritional supplements among children aged 6-23 months, improved quality child healthcare delivery, and contributed to better nutrition practices, as well as increased antenatal care (ANC) attendance rates by pregnant women, promoted exclusive breastfeeding practices, and improved household feeding practices in the project communities, all of which have led to better child health and birth outcomes.

The IFP project is funded by the Japan Social Development Center through the World Bank.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra East Region ECG loses GHS2 million monthly from sub-standard meters

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) loses an estimated GHS 2 million monthly within the Accra East Region operational area due to sub-standard meters.

The estimated 20, 000 inferior meters in circulation in the region had been identified to have come from neighbouring Togo and were totally different from meters coming from the Ministry of Energy and ECG.

Mr Jonathan Asante, Regional Commercial Manager, Accra East, said: ‘Within our region we estimated about 20,000 of such meters. If each household is consuming about 100 units, that’s 2000 kilowatt hour and even if you are selling a unit of the power GHS1, you are looking at about GHS2 million each month.’

He said this when a team made up of personnel from the Accra East Regional office and the Dodowa District Office disconnected a community at Oyarifa Anointing Down for an illegal electrical distribution.?

The seemingly new community which had not been mapped by ECG, had some customers using the sub-standard meters whiles others tapped into the national grid without any meters authorised by ECG.

Mr Asante said the manufacturer of the meter tried to imitate Ghana’s Self Help Electrification Project (SHEP) meter, thus, labelling them as property of Ministry of Power.?

‘These meters come here without the knowledge of ECG, Energy Commission is not aware and so if the standard of cable used is low then It can create fire outbreak. We seized over 40 pieces of such meter recently from the community and also handed over some suspected dealers to be the police,’ he said.?

‘Some people are facing prosecution. We have intercepted some of these meters our region and even in Central, Ashanti and Volta Regions but as typical of Ghanaians they are covering their sources,’ the Manager said.??

Mr Asante said the strategy was to confiscate the meters, know their consumption, debit the customer’s new accounts and make them pay all they had consumed, including penalty before they get any ECG new meters.

Some affected customers in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said, they had the inferior meters through their elected Assembly Members who charged about GHS500 for the cost and installation.

Mr Peter Cudjoe Geh, Assembly Member for Ayi-Mensah Kweiman Electoral Area, confirmed he assisted some community members to acquire the meters though he did not know they were sub-standard.?

‘I will be available to assist in any ECG investigations on the meters. The community members came with a need of a meter and there is a colleague who gets the meters somewhere,’ he said.

Responding to when Assembly Members had become ECG officials distributing meters, Mr Geh said that he had been one of their services rendered to their electorates, adding that a former MP distributed meters eight years ago.

The Accra East Region, as part of the nationwide revenue mobilisation exercise, had generated more than GHS104.3 million since the start of the exercise March 20 within eight districts..

The districts are Makola, Legon, Akuapim Mampong, Roman Ridge, Teshie, Kwabenya, Dodowa and Adenta.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Oceanika calls for industrial fishing vessels to do more to remove FADs in Seychelles’ waters

A not-for-profit organisation, Oceanika, is calling on industrial fishing vessels to make more effort to remove fish aggregating devices (FADs) after fishing, after the NPO removed 24 fish FADs from Seychelles’ waters.

Oceanika, which has offices in Geneva and Thailand and has recently established one in Seychelles, has set an aim of locating and removing FADs in the waters of the Indian Ocean islands.

The organisation recently spent over 20 days at sea to find and remove the devices mostly used by large tuna fishing vessels.

Olivier Manaut, the chairman of Oceanika Seychelles, told SNA that “having seen the issues with regards to the FADs, which are left at sea and end up drifting to the coast and damaging the sea floor and corals, we decided that we need to do something.”

FADs are man-made, usually floating wooden structures with hanging nets to attract fish and these can either be free floating or anchored to the seabed.

When FADs are left at sea, they can also cause problems for marine life including turtles and sharks can become entangled in the floating nets attached.

The government of Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, is very attentive to this issue because of the impact of FADs on the marine environment.

Seychelles is recognised by the international community for its work on environmental protection and has worked for a long time with partners to put in place sustainable solutions for tuna fishing and seek all means to minimise the impact of this fishery.

Manaut said that he has been in regular discussion with the Ministry of Fisheries and the fishing companies that have been receptive to these concerns.

One of the areas all parties have agreed on is to have tracking devices on the FADs to make it easier to locate and remove them.

“At the moment, we have to go at sea and look for the buoys attached to the devices, which makes it very difficult and we might miss a lot of them. If we know their exact location, we can then go directly to each one and remove it,” he explained.

Other local organisations helping to remove FADs from Seychelles’ waters are the Islands Conservation Society (ICS) and Islands Development Company (IDC).

Meanwhile, with 24 FADs removed on their latest outing, Manaut said Oceankia has been in contact with local companies who are looking at ways to recycle these devices.

A young Seychellois company called Brikole, is already very active in the recycling of nets, and is a partner of Oceanika for the reprocessing part of the FADs.

“WASTEA, another Seychellois company, is also our partner, helping us with its expertise and its advice, in addition to these processes to eliminate this waste or reprocess it,” said Manaut.

Source: Seychelles News Agency