Employee Experience with Microsoft Viva Platform

Comprehending Employee Experience (EX)

The ever-changing world of work, coupled with the unforeseen effects of the pandemic, has greatly impacted employees' daily work experiences. Sudden transitions to WFH (work from home) became the norm, and the demand for digital tools to keep workflow seamless significantly increased. This reality led to a massive surge in the use of Microsoft Teams, becoming a sought-after tool to facilitate work-from-home conditions.

Despite many institutions being unprepared for this abrupt switch, adaptation has been gradually achieved. Even though adversities still occur like challenges with call quality or bandwidth issues, workplaces have shown resilience. Post-2020, businesses began to slowly open, and the need for more focused employee experience became apparent.

Organizations have been forced to reconsider employee experience in the light of evolving work circumstances. As workers adapted to the changes, they also began to expect more from their employers which has highlighted the significance of employee experience.

Changing Dynamics of Employee Experience

Firms are now shifting from using traditional titles like Human Resources to a people-centric focus. This evolution signifies a response to the greater expectations employees now have of their employers. Moreover, this change has also been influenced by modifications in workers' priorities as they experience increased work flexibility.

Employee Experience or EX encompasses all interactions between employees and their employer, from the point of connection till the termination of employment. EX extends to how employees perceive your business which in turn influences how they engage and interact with the organization. This perception is shaped by factors such as the company culture, transparency, systems and processes, and the tools utilized for work.

The global competition for talent takes into account the effective implementation EX. McKinsey defines it as "companies and people working together to create personalized, authentic experiences that ignite passion and tap into purpose to strengthen individual, team, and company performance."

Importance of Improving Employee Experience

Companies that prioritize improving EX reap benefits beyond increased retention rates and improved employee engagement, they also notice better profitability. Further research carried out by Microsoft through reports in the Work Trend Index pulse has shown that organizations can achieve significant improvements by converting employees who are not highly engaged into highly engaged individuals.

Microsoft's suite of tools, Viva, has been created to support employees to succeed in the novel work environment. More information about Viva and how you can deploy it from a technical perspective can be found here. This suite supports all stages of the employee's experience, focusing on key aspects like Connection, Insight, Purpose, and Growth.

Moreover, Viva integrates with a range of employee-centric platforms. The underlying technology of Viva is secure, prioritizes privacy, and is compatible with larger security and compliance capabilities.

Focusing on Technology as Experience Platform

Viva offers several capabilities for improving EX, making it easier for employees to connect, collaborate, and manage their work-life balance. Today's work environment heavily relies on Microsoft Teams, the hub where everything happens. From chatting and collaborating to learning and contributing, Teams has positioned itself at the forefront of EX strategy.

The utilization of Viva is mainly through Microsoft Teams, enhancing its role in providing a platform for a comprehensive employee experience. Therefore, any strategy looking to improve workers' experience should prioritize the adoption and maximal utilization of Viva and Teams in day-to-day operations.

Read the full article Microsoft Viva - What is Employee Experience?

Learn about Microsoft Viva - What is Employee Experience?

The modern workplace has seen seismic changes over the past three years, catapulted mainly by the challenges brought on by the worldwide pandemic. These challenging times have spotlighted the significance of the employee experience (EX). One primary tool to enhance this experience is Microsoft Viva - a comprehensive employee experience platform.

Sudden disruptions in traditional work patterns led to a rushed and frenzied transition to remote work. Organizations worldwide gravitated towards tools like Microsoft Teams for enabling a seamless shift to virtual workplaces. Eventually, the changes seemed to gain better acceptance, and things seemed to inch towards some semblance of normalcy.

The employee experience gets viewed through a more nuanced lens now, with organizations realizing its potential to impact overall productivity. More insights were revealed through Microsoft’s Work Trend Index report and the Worklab site, which became a regular knowledge-sharing platform.

The pandemic-related increase in virtual meetings and workloads led to mental fatigue and a feeling of burnout among employees. Microsoft's answer to all these issues was the development and launch of its employee experience platform.

Now, the traditional term of Human Resources is yielding to a more people-oriented terminology, with prominence given to the 'employee experience'. This is a tribute to the changing expectations employees have from their employers and the work they undertake. It reflects a demand for more flexibility, autonomy, and meaningful engagement in their roles.

That said, the employee experience happens to involve every interaction an employee has with the employer - from the initial contact till the final departure. Employers have started to value the importance of these experiences and are taking efforts to bolster the same.

Improving EX has a multidimensional impact, leading to increased retention rates, better engagement, and enhanced profitability. Research showcases that organizations with employees who are actively engaged perform at higher levels and also record higher profitability. Hence, there are multifold benefits to turning employees from 'passively engaged' to 'actively engaged' ones.

Microsoft's integrated platform is crafted to empower employees in the ‘new normal’ of work culture, with a primary focus on four pillars, namely - Connection, Insight, Purpose, and Growth.

The versatility of this platform is also demonstrated through the incorporation of Viva Sales, aimed at making the roles of sellers more efficient and productive.

One of the significant advantages of Microsoft Viva compared to traditional HR-focused products is that it forms part of the integrated and robust Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Leveraging the power of Microsoft Graph, it can turn significant workplace data and insights into actionable plans, creating a smart work atmosphere.

Built on the backbone of the Microsoft Cloud, Viva has inbuilt security protocols with a primary focus on privacy. Its integration capabilities extend to a vast spectrum of employee-centric platforms, making it an ideal solution for crafting custom solutions for organizations.

Microsoft Teams is the primary platform to access Viva. As Teams is already a staple tool in most remote work environments, integrating Viva into its platform makes the transition seamless and straightforward. All of this sums up to acknowledge and prioritize the importance of the employee experience in today's dynamic work culture.

• Remember - Manage employee experiences effectively with Microsoft's made-to-measure tool - Viva.
• Recognize - Acknowledge the potential of employee experience in enhancing an organization's performance.
• React - Respond actively to employee needs for a more improved and authentic workplace experience.

For a more extensive understanding of Viva's various components, stay tuned for future blog posts. The journey to creating a tailor-made employee experience in your organization begins with Microsoft Teams and Viva.

More links on about Microsoft Viva - What is Employee Experience?

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Keywords

Microsoft Viva, Employee Experience, Microsoft Teams, Workplace wellbeing, Employee engagement, Microsoft Viva Insights, Productivity tools, Employee training software, Digital workplace platform, Modular employee experience platform