How Microsoft Viva Can Support Hybrid Working
As many companies are moving into a more hybrid working model, we explore how Microsoft's newest Employee Experience Platform, Microsoft Viva, can support your organisation.
First announced in February 2021, Microsoft Viva is a new employee experience platform. Microsoft Viva was developed to support continuous remote and hybrid working as we move into the ‘new normal'. Microsoft Viva aids employees in navigating the challenges associated with working virtually by ensuring employees stay updated, connected and driven. Committing to the development and wellbeing of employees is often what sets businesses apart when it comes to being attractive to new recruits and retention. A PWC study recently noted that 24% of employees indicated that they would stay longer at a company if they invested in their development and learning.
On the same note, Forbes noted that employee experience can have a direct impact on company profitability. Therefore, the well-being of employees can play a key role in organisational success. This is where Microsoft Viva can help as we try and become accustomed to a new way of working through helping employees thrive in their workplace both professionally and personally.
An Employee Experience Platform at its core, Microsoft Viva builds on the power of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams to bring together employee experience across a number of different areas including engagement, knowledge, wellbeing and learning.
Viva Insights
Viva insights give each individual user personalised and actionable insights to help them thrive. Employees can see personal experiences and insights that are only visible to them. These help the user schedule time for focusing, learning and for regular breaks so they can effectively manage their working day in a way that works for them – supporting productivity and wellbeing. Managers have the ability to see trends at an organisational and team level along with recommendations to help improve and better balance team wellbeing and workload.
Viva Connections
Viva Connections acts as a personal digital doorway to your virtual workplace that allows employees to access all internal communications and company resources. They can also participate in communities all from a single app in Microsoft Teams. The Connections App for Teams is expected to be released at the end of 2021.
Viva Topics
Viva Topics helps connect users to information and experts across the organisation. Viva Topics works through harnessing AI to scan Microsoft 365 data and then automatically organising topic cards within conversations and documents with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams. Clicking on the topic cards will bring the user to a topic page with all the related conversations, documents and people. It also has the ability to integrate with a variety of third-party providers. It is generally available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 commercial plans.
Viva Learning
The aim of Viva Learning is to make professional development and learning opportunities easily accessible to employees. It combines all the learning sources available in the organisation in a central space, including the organisations own content as well as third parties such as LinkedIn learning. Users can continue to learn through discovering, sharing, tracking and assigning learning as part of their working day. Viva learning will soon offer integrations with leading learning management systems.
Essentially Microsoft Viva is a suite of services that complements Microsoft 365 and can help deliver an improved employee experience. It can also help employees feel more aligned with a company’s vision and connected with their colleagues and employer overall. Microsoft Viva can help play a pivotal role in managing the new hybrid work era, giving them the tools to manage their workday, professional development and well-being from any working location.
If you would like to learn more about how Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva can support your workplace, get in touch today!