Viva Engage is the exciting new app to be rolled out as part of the Microsoft Viva suite for employee experience. Viva Engage is built on the foundations of Yammer and from late August 2022 the Communities app in Microsoft Teams will be rebranded into Viva Engage. Viva Engage is closely integrated with other Viva modules such as Viva Topics and Viva Connections which means it’ll be constantly evolving as a platform and will gradually expand knowledge, community and conversations into other areas of Microsoft Viva.
Viva Engage enhances the quality of working environments, bringing learning, social networking, and collaboration into your Microsoft 365 apps. You’ll be able to capture and share knowledge from across your organisation, allowing you to preserve valuable institutional knowledge. You’ll also be able to ask questions and receive answers from Subject Matter Experts, which can then be shared with the rest of your organisation, making working a more collaborative and social process.
Read on to discover exactly what to expect from Viva Engage, how it’s used, and the ways that it can positively transform your organisation.
What is Viva Engage?
Viva Engage is a social app which is part of Microsoft Viva. It’s experienced through Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 apps and can be accessed via web or mobile devices. Viva Engage has been designed to improve employee experience and foster more positive working environments, so that employees feel more engaged and connected at work – whether they’re in the office or working from home. Viva Engage features plenty of exciting new tools which help promote stronger team relationships, self-expression and collaborative working.
What are the benefits of Viva Engage?
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, workplaces have had to adapt significantly to the changing world, and remote and hybrid working models are increasingly being implemented in favour of traditional office-based working. Many workplaces are now saying goodbye to office-life entirely and have chosen to conduct business digitally.
While the option for remote working and hybrid working has been a saving grace in many ways, the ability to connect with others and feel ‘present’ at work can be lost when you’re not physically in the office. A lack of individual and organisational engagement can negatively affect work performance as well as business outcomes.
To combat this, Viva Engage has been designed to re-engage employees in their work and bring teams together in their Microsoft 365 apps. Whether you’re working from home, at the office, or out in the field, it’s easier than ever to stay connected and inspired.
Here are some of the benefits of Viva Engage:
How is Viva Engage experienced?
Everyone in your organisation can benefit from Viva Engage. Here are the different ways that leaders and employees experience Viva Engage:
Benefits for leaders
Share news and strategies with employees seamlessly while in the flow of work, without having to navigate between browsers.
Create and develop positive company cultures in Viva Engage with team-building features such as Virtual Events and Announcements to engage your entire workforce.
Easily weigh in on team discussions, speak with employees, access pinned conversations, and receive message notifications in Microsoft Teams, Viva Connections and Outlook.
Benefits for employees
Keep up to date with what’s going on at your organisation in real time. Share news and updates with your team and give feedback in response to your team’s posts and stories.
Enjoy more social and educational work experiences. Build communities and professional networks where you can share content, conduct Q&A sessions and discuss topics.
Get the most out of your digital working environment, with exciting new features like Storylines, Stories, @mention, Best Answers, and Topics.
Features
Viva Engage integrates social networking, learning and collaboration into your daily work flow with new tools and functions which encourage engagement and connection within the workplace.
Two of the most exciting features to be introduced to Microsoft Viva are the Storyline and Stories features. Here’s a bit more about what they are and how they work:
Storyline
The Storyline feature is one of the most enriching features of Viva Engage, enabling employees to express themselves and build stronger work relationships. The Storylines tab offers an AI-powered feed of Storyline posts from your network – this is where you’ll be able to share your posts with others as well as view and interact with followers’ posts. You’ll have access to content-sharing tools to help you create personalised posts, making it easier to celebrate your achievements and milestones, notify others of any important updates, and share your personal thoughts with your team.
Stories
The ‘Stories’ feature allows you to share short videos and images which are featured in a carousel. This feature is very similar to the ‘Stories’ features you’ll see on other social media platforms such as Instagram, Meta and Snapchat, however, the benefit of using Viva Engage’s Stories feature over other platforms is that you can share and view content from within your work apps. Your stories will be visible and easily discoverable by your team in Outlook, Microsoft Teams and Yammer, so engaging with others will happen naturally in the flow of work. You won’t even have to switch browsers!
How can CompanyNet help?
If you like the sound of Viva Engage and you’re keen to take the next step, drop us a line and we’ll help you get set up with configuration and user adoption.