Jabong launches social intranet platform Destination f

The online fashion destination Jabong has launched a social intranet on mobile devices for its employees. The platform Destination f, is an endeavour by the e-tailer to provide a one-stop solution for its employees to ensure workplace collaboration through on-the-go access to all company policies, workflows, polls, project updates, team discussions and other human resource-related activities, says the company in a press release.

Talking about the platform, Ananth Narayanan, chief executive officer (CEO), Jabong says, "A latest study by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) this year links higher employee engagement and business performance with mobile-optimised working environments leading to increased productivity, creativity, satisfaction, and loyalty. As a frontrunner in innovation, Jabong is again taking the lead in engaging with our young workforce and creating a more responsive work environment through this mobile intranet. With 70 per cent of our business revenues coming from mobile, it also dovetails nicely with our technology strengths in leveraging this platform for our internal customers."

Deepa Chadha, chief human resource officer at Jabong adds, "What is driving engagement especially among the millennials is the ease with which employees are able to connect with their colleagues at Jabong with just a click on mobile. The maximum number of likes that I have got from our team are for posts sharing my experiences and for pictures of Jabong products being delivered to delight our customers."

A majority of Jabong's employees are millennials and this initiative also extends the brand philosophy of 'Be You' to encourage them (the employees) to express and engage with the company beyond traditional e-mails. The mobile intranet went live in just two weeks along with the pre and post-launch communication and saw a great adoption rate with almost 90 per cent employees claiming their accounts in the first three weeks of the launch, says the company in a press release. An intuitive interface obviated the need for any training or huge change management. Jabong saw one of the earliest buzzes during its beta testing on Destination f last month when its CEO Ananth Narayanan shared his selfies with the employees on the platform.

Jabong is a major fashion multi-brand e-store that claims to offer a wide selection of over 350,000 products across footwear, apparel, jewellery and accessories. Some of the other employee-friendly practices at Jabong include TGIM (Thank God it's Monday) where every alternate Monday, it hosts an event for its employees, be it karaoke afternoon, an online competition, a dart competition, snacks at the cafeteria, or even participation in a CSR activity and SHE - a woman-friendly programme that offers an in-house crèche, flexi-timings and options to work from home. Jabong had also recently announced the extension of its maternity leave benefit programme, from 12-26 weeks.