The following is a summary of the Viva Underground presentation at TechMentor 2024 at Microsoft HQ in Redmond. Note: this content was drafted using Microsoft Copilot, but was verified and edited by Jay Leask.

Microsoft Viva is an Employee Experience platform that aims to help organizations create a thriving culture with engaged employees and inspiring leaders. The question we receive most when organizations approach Microsoft Viva is how do you get started and make the most of its features? That’s what Joy Apple and Jay Leask discussed in their session at TechMentor 2024, titled “Viva Underground: An Outcome-based Route to Success with Microsoft Viva”. In this blog post, we’ll summarize the main points of their presentation and share some tips on how to begin your employee experience journey with Viva.

What is Microsoft Viva?

Microsoft Viva is an employee experience platform (EXP) that integrates with Microsoft 365 and other applications to provide employees with the tools and resources they need to grow, make a difference, and have an impact. At this time, Microsoft Viva consists of eight primary modules across four categories:

• Employee Communications and Communities
  • Viva Connections
  • Viva Engage
  • Viva Amplify
• Workplace Analytics and Feedback
  • Viva Insights
  • Viva Glint
  • Viva Pulse
• Goal Setting and Management
  • Viva Goals
• Learning and Knowledge Management
  • Viva Learning

You may have seen other modules like Viva Topics (now retired and being integrated across other solutions) or Viva Sales (now Microsoft Copilot for Sales). It is not unusual for Microsoft to modify the product catalog, merging or retiring products as they are received by the market. Please forgive the above list as these changes may occur … again 😁

Viva Underground Presentation at TechMentor 2024

The Viva Underground designed to be a framework to turn a typically technology conversation into a business-focused one. While Microsoft Viva is a technology platform, it is not a “set it and forget it” conversation. Stakeholders from across the business must be involved, and often different aspects of the business may be interested in different technology in the platform. [ Read more about the importance of this framework ]

The Viva Underground is represented as subway map that shows the different routes and stops that can lead to a successful employee experience program. The map has fourteen stops across five lines, each corresponding to a different outcome that Viva can help you achieve. Here are the five lines (designed after industry-recognized Employee Experience standards) and what they mean:

• Productivity and wellness: Improve your work efficiency and your personal wellbeing
• Growth and development: Enhance your skills and your career prospects
• Purpose and alignment: Connect your work with your organization’s goals and mission
• Culture and communications: Build a positive and collaborative work environment
• Knowledge and expertise: Access and share relevant and useful information

The stops on each line are designed to be based on desired outcomes. Need to enable your managers to better support their teams? Hit up the Management Center. Concerned about Employee Retention? Check out Employee Lifecycle station – or Employee Wellness. Perhaps you need to start by building a baseline? Stop by Measurement station to get started.

We are currently fleshing out the framework to help get you started. Each station will have a Stop Guide, filled with discovery questions, suggested supporting technology alongside deployment steps, and other details.

The slides from our Viva Underground Presentation at TechMentor 2024 Seattle can be found here. Please contact us with any questions you have on use of these slides or the content shared within.

How to start with Microsoft Viva?

To start your employee experience journey with Microsoft Viva, you need to choose a line that matches your desired outcome, and then pick the stops along that line that get you closest to resolving your goals. You can also switch lines or visit multiple lines, depending on your needs and priorities. The Viva Underground is a flexible and adaptable framework that can help you design your own path to a successful employee experience program with Microsoft Viva.

Over the coming months we will begin to publish stop guides for each of the fourteen stops, including quick guides, discovery questions, and even industry expert interviews discussing the stops, solutions, and use cases associated with them.