Microsoft Viva explained. All you need to know about Viva and each of the apps

19 October 2023

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Microsoft Viva is an integrated employee experience platform that builds on the power of Teams and Microsoft 365 to unify the employee experience across five key areas – Engagement, Wellbeing, Learning, Objectives, and Knowledge in an integrated experience. This 90-second Microsoft video is a great introduction: Overview of Microsoft Viva.

Here are the apps that make up Microsoft Viva, each section has an introduction to the app, a video explanation and a link to learn more on Microsoft.com.

Scroll down to watch the chat I had with MVP Lesley Crook about Microsoft Viva, she gives us an introduction, talks us through each of the apps and then brings it all together at the end. HUGE caveat: Lesley would usually deliver this in a half-day workshop (you should ask about doing one of these for you!), so pleeeease understand that 45 minutes will feel like a bit of a rush.

Viva Connections

This app provides a personalised gateway to your digital workplace where employees can access internal communications and company resources like policies and benefits, and participate in communities like employee resource groups, all from a single customisable app in Microsoft Teams.

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Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/connections/viva-connections-overview.

Viva Topics

This app delivers a knowledge discovery experience that helps people connect to information and experts across the company. Using AI to reason over a customer’s Microsoft 365 data, Viva Topics automatically surfaces topic cards within conversations and documents across Microsoft 365 and Teams.

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Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/topics/.

Viva Engage

An app integrated in Teams that surfaces existing and new experiences to bring people together across the organisation to connect with leaders, co-workers, and communities.

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Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/engage/overview.

Viva Amplify

The part of Microsoft Viva that centralises campaign management, publishing, and reporting to reach and engage employees. It allows you to create and manage campaigns to inform employees, understand engagement, and inspire action—all from one place. Some of its features include collaboration, approvals, scheduling, objectives, message creation, multichannel preview, multichannel publishing, sentiment analysis, and insights and reporting¹. It’s designed to improve communication in the workplace and includes features such as messaging, video conferencing, and file sharing³. It’s integrated with Office 365 and Microsoft Teams, making it easy to use for those who are already familiar with these products. I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

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Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/amplify/overview-viva-amplify.

Viva Insights

This app provides data-driven visibility into how work patterns affect wellbeing, productivity, and business performance. Personal, manager, and leader insights are available now within the Viva Insights app in Microsoft Teams, on the web, and in Outlook.

Jump to interview clip (Insight, Glint and Pulse).
Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/insights/introduction.

Viva Glint

A “voice of the employee” solution helping organisations understand and improve employee engagement to drive business outcomes.

Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/glint/introduction-viva-glint.

Viva Pulse

This app empowers leaders and managers to seek and act on feedback when it matters.

Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/pulse/introduction-to-viva-pulse.

Viva Learning

This app brings enterprise learning into the flow of work by connecting content from your organisation with other sources.

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Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/learning/.

Viva Goals

This app aligns teams and employees with your organisation’s strategic goals and priorities.

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Learn more: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/viva/goals/intro-to-ms-viva-goals.

🆕 Viva Skills

Bing chat: “Microsoft Viva has introduced a new AI-powered service called “Skills in Viva” to help organisations understand workforce skills and gaps, and deliver personalised skills-based experiences. This service leverages the combined power of the Microsoft Graph, which provides employee activity signals across Microsoft 365 applications and services, and skills from the LinkedIn Skills Graph [excessive detail removed] Skills in Viva can intelligently infer an employee’s skills profile. This new service will help HR and business leaders focus on strategic priorities, improve business outcomes while growing and empowering the workforce”. Read more: Introducing Skills in Microsoft Viva, a new AI-powered service to grow and manage talent | Microsoft 365 Blog.

To wrap up

Microsoft Viva is a comprehensive suite of applications designed to empower individuals and teams. It integrates with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, and multiple Power Platforms like Power BI, Power Automate, and Power Apps.

By using two or more apps together, you can create personalised employee experiences for your organisation. Microsoft Viva is not just a set of standalone apps but an ecosystem that becomes even more powerful when used together.