Facebook is reportedly urging its employees to make the switch from iPhone to Android in an effort to improve the experience of the Facebook app for the smartphone platform by forcing workers to use it themselves.  The campaign comes as the company is placing greater emphasis on mobile advertising as well.

According to TechCrunch, the walls of company's offices are covered in posters asking employees to "switch today," accompanied by charts showing Android’s growing smartphone market share in comparison to the iPhone.

From TechCrunch:

Facebook is making a shift. Not just to mobile, but to a balanced focus across mobile through an informal program to nudge employees to Android. It was first mentioned by Business Insider’s Owen Thomas in August and I’ve since investigated. The campaign casually known as “Droidfooding”, a portmanteau of Android and dogfooding — eating your own dogfood aka testing your own products.

The Android iteration of the Facebook app has received criticism for being too slow and less functional and efficient compared to its iPhone counterpart.  Facebook employees who make the switch will have their apps automatically updated to the latest beta versions and will have a streamlined bug reporting system.

Facebook had previously provided its employees with iPhones since they were more advanced the the initial Android offerings.  The Google-developed platform has taken the lead in smartphone market share, however, increasing the need for a development team more familiar with the platform.

Representatives with Facebook say the multi-year carrier contracts on iPhones will slow the shift, but it is gaining traction.  “We’ve created more awareness that Android devices are available” Facebook says. Now, “there’s plenty of people here carrying around both devices, and not just engineers and not just mobile people.”

Facebook’s focus on Android is also part of a growing focus on mobile, particularly in the form of advertising.  The company recently rolled out new eye-catching designs for mobile ads, and mobile-friendly story feed ads introduced in June have analysts predicting increased revenue in the future.

In this context, Facebook’s focus of quality assurance efforts on the app made for the largest segment of the smartphone market makes sense, especially as more web traffic (and web shopping) moves to mobile devices.

You can reach Staff Reporter Shea Huffman here or follow him on Twitter.