Viva Connections: Employee Experience with Dynamic Dashboards!

Key insights

• Viva Connections is part of the Microsoft Viva platform, designed to enhance employee engagement by integrating resources into a centralized hub.


• The platform acts as a gateway to other Viva apps and services, providing easy access to tools, news, and announcements within Microsoft Teams or as a standalone experience.


• Enhanced Employee Experience: Offers a people-centric digital workplace with personalized dashboards tailored to specific roles or locations.


• Seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft Ecosystem, including SharePoint, Teams, and Yammer, to improve collaboration and communication.


• The core components include a customizable Dashboard, curated Resources section, and Mobile Accessibility for frontline workers.


• The new approach emphasizes mobile integration, customization options using custom cards, and focuses on employee well-being through integrations like Headspace.

Introduction to Viva Connections

Viva Connections is a key component of the Microsoft Viva employee experience platform. Its primary goal is to enhance employee engagement and productivity by integrating company resources and tools into a centralized hub. This platform effectively brings together news, conversations, documents, and company apps, providing a seamless experience for employees to access everything they need during their workday. By doing so, it creates a more connected and efficient workplace environment.

What is Viva Connections About?

Viva Connections serves as a gateway to other Viva apps and services, offering easy access to resources, tools, news, and announcements. Essentially, it acts as a branded, centralized hub accessible through Microsoft Teams or as a standalone experience. This technology allows organizations to curate specific content and tools, ensuring that employees have a personalized and relevant experience. Moreover, it empowers companies to tailor the platform to meet their unique needs, enhancing both efficiency and employee satisfaction.

Advantages of Using Viva Connections

The advantages of using Viva Connections are numerous:

• Enhanced Employee Experience: It provides a people-centric, inclusive, and flexible digital workplace experience, making it easier for employees to stay connected and informed.
• Personalization: The dashboard can be customized with cards targeted to specific roles or locations, ensuring that each employee sees only the information they need.
• Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft tools like SharePoint, Teams, and Yammer, enhancing collaboration and communication.
• Extensibility: Organizations can extend the Viva ecosystem by creating custom cards that integrate with their line-of-business systems using the SharePoint Framework (SPFx).

These features collectively contribute to a more streamlined and efficient workplace, where employees can focus on what truly matters without unnecessary distractions.

Basics of Viva Connections Technology

The core components of Viva Connections include:

• Dashboard: A collection of cards that provide quick access to information and actionable tasks. Cards can be linked to Microsoft Teams apps, Viva apps, partner apps, or custom solutions.
• Resources: A section for curating useful links to important policies, departmental portals, or key company tools.
• Mobile Accessibility: The mobile version of Viva Connections offers a rich feed of news, announcements, and social features, making it ideal for frontline workers.

These elements ensure that employees have access to a wide range of tools and information, all from a single, convenient location.

What's New About This Approach?

The new approach in Viva Connections focuses on several key areas:

• Mobile Integration: The imminent rollout of Viva Connections mobile is expected to significantly enhance the experience for frontline workers, providing them with a single, personalized feed that includes news, announcements, and actionable tasks.
• Customization and Extensibility: Organizations can now design their dashboards to fit specific company needs, using custom cards and integrating with third-party systems.
• Focus on Employee Well-being: Integrations like Headspace aim to support employee well-being by encouraging mindfulness and balance in the workplace.

Overall, Viva Connections represents a significant step forward in creating a more connected and productive digital workplace. It offers organizations a flexible and personalized platform to elevate the employee experience, addressing the diverse needs of a modern workforce. As companies continue to adapt to new ways of working, tools like Viva Connections will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of work.

Keywords

Viva Connections employee experience impactful dashboards Microsoft 365 workplace engagement digital transformation internal communication productivity tools