Microsoft’s commitment to supporting the new age of work goes far beyond the features of Microsoft Teams. Recently, the company released a series of new solutions to support the modern employee, including the impressive Microsoft Viva EXP (Employee Experience Platform).
The Viva EXP promises to empower employees and enrich the digital workplace in a world where more people are working from “anywhere”. Viva is a complete platform split into four modules, which aims to support employee engagement, wellbeing, knowledge discovery, and learning.
So, what makes Microsoft Viva so effective, and why should companies be considering using it?
Simply put, Microsoft Viva is the latest innovation from Microsoft designed to simplify the transition to the remote workforce. According to CEO, Satya Nadella, Microsoft participated in the largest remote work “experiment” ever seen during 2020, and now it’s time to prepare for a future where flexibility is the new norm.
What is Microsoft Viva?
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Satya Nadella[/caption]
Microsoft Viva isn’t a service or an app – although you can access the functionality of Viva through things like Microsoft Teams. Instead, this is a comprehensive platform intended to improve the quality of remote work for employees who need help staying productive and engaged. According to the head of Microsoft 365, Jared Spataro, Viva is for the new age where “work” isn’t a place, but something we do.
Viva addresses the trends that are emerging in the modern workplace, including remote working and an increasingly vast digital environment. As a modern version of the ultimate company intranet, Viva integrates with Microsoft Teams and curates information and solutions from all parts of the business into a central location.
Here are the four components of Microsoft Viva, and why they’re useful.
Viva Connections
Viva Connections is Microsoft’s solution to keeping employees engaged in a remote and hybrid environment. Designed as the gateway to better employee experiences, Connections works within the apps employees use each day, like Microsoft Teams. Business leaders can brand the Connections hub to suit their business, and create a hub of information, announcements, news, and communities.
Powered with SharePoint, Connections gives people a curated space where they can stay up to date with whatever is going on in their organisation. There’s even support for Yammer communities within the Connections space.
Viva Insights
Viva Insights is an informative solution for workplace analytics that cleverly balances employee privacy with actionable information. The Viva Insights environment includes data that managers and leaders can use to track work trends and patterns. However, the information available will be depersonalised, so that employees don’t feel overly monitored.
There’s also a personal insights space available for employees who need help reaching their goals. The personal environment is visible only to the employee, and offers insights on how to manage wellbeing, work-life balance, and more.
Viva Learning
Development and learning should continue in an environment where employees are working remotely. That’s why Microsoft created Viva Learning as the third module for Viva. This solution is where employers can collect and curate all kinds of training materials. You can pull course content form Microsoft Learn and LinkedIn Learning. Teams can use third-party solutions like Coursera, or even add their own house-training materials too.
