Microsoft Viva Engage will be available to Microsoft Teams subscribers from “the end of August through the end of September,” according to a statement released by Microsoft.
Our connections and sense of connection at work have gotten smaller due to hybrid and remote work, making it challenging for workers to feel connected to one another and to the mission of their organizations. To exceed employees’ expectations and infuse daily work with a feeling of community, connection, and inspiration, leaders must rethink the employee experience.
By enabling communication and engagement possibilities for everyone, Viva Engage offers executives a new opportunity to influence the culture at their enterprises. Viva Engage, based on Yammer, connects employees from all over the organization to leaders and coworkers, helps them locate information, shares their individual story, and helps them feel like they belong at work.
What exactly is Microsoft Viva Engage?
Microsoft Viva is described by Microsoft as “the first employee experience platform to integrate capabilities for employee engagement, learning, wellbeing, and information discovery directly into people’s work flow . With new experiences that interact with the productivity and collaboration capabilities in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams, Viva is designed to help people learn, grow, and prosper.”
Meet people where they are in Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 with Viva Engage, a social app for digital communities, dialogues, and self-expression tools that expands upon the functionality of the Communities app for Teams and Microsoft 365. As a core component of Microsoft’s Viva suite, Viva Engage not only enriches the functionality of Viva Connections and Viva Topics, but also has the potential to eventually bring similar community, conversation, and knowledge experiences to other Viva features.
Broadly speaking, Microsoft Viva covers four main areas: connections, learning, insight, and topics. See below for a more in-depth analysis.
1. Connections
Connecting with Viva Connections is the first step toward a more progressive work environment. Employees may use it using the programmes and devices they already use every day, such as Microsoft Teams.
Users can access many business-related materials, as well as the latest news, all in one convenient location.
Viva Connections opens up fresh possibilities for managers to develop an inspiring work culture and actively involve their staff. For this reason, it is designed to assist you in developing and keeping healthy connections with others who depend on you.
Customized feed
When managing a business, internal communication is a must. There is a possibility that some content will be lost or cannot be located due to the abundance of communication and sharing mechanisms.
Viva Connections facilitates this goal by providing quick access to any and all relevant data. Using the platform’s feed, each user has a tailored experience, and they may join in discussions from any location.
Rapid access
In the first announcement made at Ignite 2021, Microsoft made its intranet accessible via Teams by means of a button in the top right corner. A SharePoint site serving as the intranet’s hub is the best option.
Dashboard
Viva Connections in SharePoint Online now has a dashboard, one of the most intriguing new features.
An app or widget, the dashboard provides the user with access to information and tools specifically selected by the business.
It’s a perk that’s customized for each user so they can do things like keep their minds on the task at hand, make an interaction with a colleague by mentioning them, or see how much vacation time they have remaining.
Global navigation
Within the SharePoint Online landing page, global navigation connects us to all other sites and materials in our Microsoft 365 subscription. You won’t lose any data while retrieving the necessary files and data this way.
Company feed
Yammer conversations may be easily accessed from the intranet and Teams thanks to the company feed, which reflects the integration of Yammer and SharePoint Online.
2. Microsoft Viva Insights
With Microsoft Viva Insights, the company cares about its employees’ happiness and success on the job.
To help everyone in the organization develop, it gives specific data to each employee, manager, and leader. Future iterations of Viva Insights will incorporate new product and health experiences, Microsoft Workplace Analytics, and Microsoft MyAnalytics.
Keeping users’ data safe is a top priority for Viva Insights. Clients can feel safe with default security settings like de-identification, aggregated data, or privacy protections, as this data is only viewable by its intended recipient.
It works as:
MyAnalytics and Workplace Analytics are been combined into a single solution called Microsoft Viva Insights.
These applications track how often and long a user engages with Microsoft 365 services. Information such as the number of emails received, time spent responding to emails, and time spent in meetings is saved for further analysis.
There are two ways to view all of these components:
- Insights on one’s usage patterns, calendar management, and time blocking capabilities on the platform.
- Information gathered through Workplace Analytics can be combined to give upper-level management a bird’s-eye view of employees’ daily output.
Time-protection feature
Viva Insights provides a small amount of time each week for us to relax and recharge in private space on Microsoft Teams.
With the time-protection function, users can quickly schedule blocks of uninterrupted work time, allowing them to get ahead of the day’s looming to-do list.
Homepage
The homepage is the primary entry point to an intranet and provides easy access to features that facilitate communication with colleagues and the administration of routine tasks.
Insights from Managers
We’ve already established that MyAnalytics and Workplace Analytics data is accessible to three distinct user groups. The managers are included.
Insights from Leaders
Those in leadership positions are always on everyone’s radar. They are always utilizing the Analytics data that is a byproduct of using Microsoft 365. To monitor how engaged their users are.
3. Microsoft Viva Topics
Using Viva Topics, you may create company-wide subjects and topics within Microsoft 365. It allows AI algorithms to retrieve material that is relevant to those topics automatically.
The material is then automatically linked to topics so they can be viewed in context within applications like Outlook, SharePoint Online, and Teams.
Once a topic in an email is recognized inside the company, it is underlined. You can access all the content and information regarding the topic by clicking on it. It will take you to a topic card.
Content can take many forms, such as written documents, online discussions via a platform like Yammer, and, most crucially, subject matter experts.
Topic card
A Viva Topics topic card can be used in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft SharePoint Online to access information on a certain subject easily.
However, we will spend some time discussing the sources you should consult and the individuals considered “experts” in this sector.
Topic page
If you click on a topic card, you’ll be directed to a page that focuses exclusively on that subject. Users can get more in-depth and complete information about it here.
In addition to the people involved and the content that has been recommended, you can also view a topical network diagram that illustrates how each topic is related to others under your organization’s management.
4. Microsoft Viva Learning
Microsoft Viva Learning facilitates staff development through non-intrusive, organic learning experiences. It promotes a growth mindset that enables individuals to realize their full potential.
Inside Microsoft Teams, you’ll find Microsoft Viva Learning. It is personalize learning software that’s also compatible with whatever LMS you might already be using.
Access Microsoft Viva Learning from within Teams. You’ll see a collection of courses that makes (picked and organized automatically based on your profile and previous course completions) for you from several different providers. Viva Learning is like Spotify because it encourages users to explore independently. It provides personalized recommendations based on their profile and past activity.
- Microsoft has established partnerships with many LMS and training content suppliers.
- The instantly accessible content originates from a wide range of places, such as
- Internal training materials
- In addition to Microsoft and LinkedIn, other popular online education platforms include Skillsoft, Coursera, Pluralsight, and edX.
So why is Microsoft putting resources towards Microsoft Viva?
As the need for better workplace communication increased throughout the pandemic, millions of people started utilizing Microsoft Teams. The importance of the digital experience for employees has increased significantly due to hybrid work.
Microsoft’s Viva is an employee experience app that competes with Qualtrics and Limeade.
One of the ways Microsoft aims to expand its productivity technology outside the core Microsoft Office suite is by making Teams a central focus for work. It gives its communication and collaboration tools an edge over competitors like Zoom, Slack, and Google.
In addition to promoting the growth of an ecosystem based on the Microsoft Viva platform. Microsoft thinks that enterprises, regardless of whether they use Microsoft Viva or not. It will need to make large investments in employee experience technologies.
Final Thoughts
The Microsoft Viva package for employee experience includes Viva Engage. All current Microsoft 365 commercial customers will have free access to Viva Engage. To use the app, users must have a Yammer license. The Communities app for Teams will change its name to Viva Engage before the end of August. Administrators don’t need to take any action. The public peek of the tale will start in late August as well.
