The New Future: Employee Experience Platforms & Microsoft Viva

14 May The New Future: Employee Experience Platforms & Microsoft Viva

Buzz words come and go with frequency in the business world but one new phrase that is destined to be here for the long term is ‘employee experience platform’. Why? Because it puts employees at the Centre of a business, combining various tools for wellbeing, engagement, learning and knowledge discovery, thereby engendering a happier, more-connected workforce.

With millions of people around the world now operating remotely or in a hybrid situation, new digital possibilities for the future of work have become a top priority for businesses serious about supporting and developing their employees, whilst at the same time maximizing their productivity. This is where the newly launched employee experience platform Microsoft Viva comes in.

According to uctoday, Viva is built ‘to augment and enhance’ the existing Microsoft 365 applications and ‘promises a new way for team members to stay productive and continue delivering their best work.’ In addition, Jared Spataro (Head of Microsoft 365) says Viva will ‘improve remote work, in a world where anywhere work is growing more common. Viva responds to the idea that we should stop thinking about work as a place and start looking at ways to harness human ingenuity and connect employees in a changing world.’

So, what does Viva actually do and how can it benefit your business?

Viva has four segments, each working together or individually to aid the productivity, wellbeing and empowerment of all team members, wherever they may be based:

1: Viva Connections – Described by Microsoft as the ‘gateway to the digital workspace’, Viva Connections is the place where your business can amplify its culture and communicate with every individual employee. It’s where company resources like policies and documents are located, along with a constantly updating company newsfeed (similar to social media) and a place from where ‘town halls’ can be run (a large online get-together of employees, led by senior leaders, with the chance for two-way interaction).

2: Viva Insights – Viva Insights gives leaders an opportunity to track their employees’ productivity, allowing managers to access actionable information. However, unlike previous Microsoft solutions, Viva Insights is built on providing greater privacy and comfort for the employee, with personal experiences available only to the employee. Supervisors can to view trends at a team level, with the information enabling them to make sound decisions relating to efficiency and wellbeing. Viva Insights also offers guides to employee burnout and finding the right work/life balance.

3: Viva Learning – Growth and development have become crucial elements of any employee experience and, in a 2019 Linkedin report, 94% of employees said they would remain longer with an organisation if it invested in their learning. Viva Learning combines all the educational resources that may be available to your team in one space and allows leaders to nurture the growth of individual team members by assigning relevant courses, webinars or other study experiences dependant on goals or required support.

4: Viva Topics – According to Spataro at Microsoft, Viva Topics ‘is essentially a Wikipedia for the digital company’. Using AI to organise content, Viva Topics automatically presents the right information for employees, be that videos and documents, or contact details for helpful professionals. It integrates comprehensively with both Microsoft and third-party tools, enhancing both individual and team efficiency, with less time spent switching between apps.

Of all the many digital developments over the past few years, employee experience platforms are one of the most exciting. And potentially one of the most beneficial to your business. In a world where everyone is working ‘anywhere’, Microsoft Viva provides an innovative, accessible solution to the problem of keeping teams integrated, productive, engaged, healthy and supported. If you would like to know more about Microsoft Viva and how it can help your business, please speak to us.