Weber Shandwick will be the first PR agency to pilot a beta rollout of Facebook’s forthcoming social network for businesses, Facebook at Work.

The business-focused network, which will be released to the public early next year, is a professional resources tool and communications platform that will allow company employees to interact and collaborate over the social media network.

The LinkedIn-like network, which has a high emphasis on mobile, offers accounts separate from personal or company pages, so only those employed by the company will be allowed to see the content that's posted and shared.

The basic features of Facebook at Work will be free. Fees will be reserved for companies wishing to use the platform’s apps, analytics and customer support features.

Currently, about 300 companies have access to the beta version of Facebook at Work before its public release. Weber Shandwick becomes the PR agency to do so, and will explore the platform to test out how it works, determine its best features and advise clients on its effectiveness.

The agency, which begins testing the program today, has enlisted employees from various teams across the globe — about a quarter of its workforce — to collaborate and collect insights on Facebook at Work’s usage and features.

In a statement, the New York headquartered Interpublic unit said the pilot would “include teams with varied organizational structures and workflows to understand the platform’s best use-cases for different types of clients, as well as for the firm itself.”

“As a leading social agency, we systematically pursue beta partner opportunities that offer clients new angles for engagement,” Chris Perry, chief digital officer of Weber Shandwick, said in a statement. “Our partnership with Facebook for internal collaboration is particularly timely given that employee engagement is ripe for innovation and an emerging area of focus for our clients."