Introducing Microsoft VIVA

Our world is constantly changing, whether or not we’re aware of these changes. In the year 2020 we were all aware how Covid19 affected us as a game-changer in most areas of our life, including our profession. In light of the situation and the changes this year caused we all learned to work remotely using new tools for communication, for exchanging information and managing projects. Our Employee Experience (EX) has gone through a significant change.

Now, in 2021, we await this ordeal to be done with. However, some changes we’ve adopted will probably become permanent. Let’s wait and see!

Microsoft is a market veteran, and many of us have been using their tools and products for many years: Windows, Office, SharePoint, etc. In recent years, Microsoft has been investing much effort in UX and EX by developing new products, communication and remote working tools, etc. For example, transferring most of their tools to the cloud (SharePoint, Office 365, etc.) and launching new tools such as Teams.

And here comes something new: Microsoft Viva. An exposition (published February 2021) titled ‘Microsoft Viva: Empowering every employee for the new digital age” describes the thought process that led Microsoft to creating this hybrid work environment for the new worker.

What is Microsoft Viva?

Microsoft Viva is a hybrid work environment that includes communication, insight, learning, knowledge, resources and tools for workers to generate a better UX and higher quality work environment for the worker and the organization, one that encourages ongoing excellence, learning and improvement.  

The Viva work environment is based on the cloud’s Microsoft 365 environment and is connected to the tools currently in use such as Teams and the cloud’s Office 365 apps.

What do we get from Microsoft VIVA?

Microsoft is discussing several VIVA modules currently being planned and claims that others will appear in the future, too. Those exposed to date are the following:

• VIVA connections: this module is designed for communication between workers and the organization. Via Teams links to all organizational means of communication, information and knowledge; it essentially turns the worker’s personal feed into their personal portal to all organizational content according to the worker’s preferences.

• VIVA Insights: this module is designed for the worker’s personal efficiency, combining organizational analytic tools on an individual workers’ level, assessing their performance and usage patterns at work in order to improve the worker’s work time. A manager is provided insights as well as a dashboard for managing their team.

• VIVA Learning: this module is designed to incorporate personal professional learning into workers’ daily routine and create a more meaningful learning organizational learning culture. This is attained by incorporating a personal learning environment for the worker through intra-organizational courses and referring to recommended external sources of information for further learning.

• VIVA Topics: this module is designed to organize, catalogue, and publish the field of expertise and those experts in these fields in the organization by cataloguing and distributing the organization and its workers’ expertise via AI to improve the accessibility of organizational knowledge and information to all workers. Furthermore, the recommendation feature includes experts from external sources of information.

In conclusion, the VIVA Microsoft Vision is a promising one, as it seems to redefine the term One Shop Stop for workers and organizations and take our UX and EX to another level. I personally am curious to try the new tools and see how they contribute to my personal Experience.

References:

• Microsoft Viva: Empowering every employee for the new digital age

• When people thrive, companies flourish

• Introducing Microsoft Viva – The Employee Experience Platform and Ecosystem

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