Microsoft Viva is an employee experience platform designed to provide a holistic and integrated experience for employees within an organization. It utilizes the power of Teams and Microsoft 365 to provide insights, learning, and engagement opportunities. There are four core capabilities or modules in Microsoft Viva: Viva Topics, Viva Insights, Viva Learning, and Viva Connections.

Table of Contents

1. Viva Topics:

Viva Topics leverages AI to automatically identify, process, and organize the wealth of knowledge within an organization into easily discoverable and understandable topics. This includes data and information from chats, meetings, documents, internal websites, and other sources.

Here’s an example of how Viva Topics works: Suppose you’re a new employee working on a project that involves a particular tool you’re not familiar with. When you hover over the name of that tool in a Teams conversation or a Outlook message, a Topic card pops up, showing you a brief summary of the tool, related resources, and people within the organization who are experts on the tool.

2. Viva Insights:

Viva Insights focuses on productivity, wellbeing, and collaboration within an organization. It provides individuals, managers, and leaders with data-driven insights to help them work smarter and create a balanced, healthy, and successful workplace. Personal insights are private and visible only to the individual, while managerial and leadership insights are aggregated and anonymized to maintain privacy.

For instance, a manager may receive weekly Insights summaries which provides an overall view of the team’s burnout risk, after hours work, meeting effectiveness, and focus time. These insights help managers provide support to their teams and create a balanced work environment.

3. Viva Learning:

Viva Learning aims to foster a learning culture within an organization by offering a centralized hub in Microsoft Teams where employees can discover, share, recommend, and learn from content libraries across the organization. The libraries could include content from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, third-party providers, or custom content created within the organization.

For example, if an employee wants to learn about the latest data analysis techniques, they can simply go to the Viva Learning app in Teams, browse or search the relevant course or resources, and start learning right there.

4. Viva Connections:

Viva Connections provides a personalized gateway to your digital workspace. It offers a single entry point for internal communications, company resources, and content. By utilizing SharePoint and Yammer capabilities, Viva Connections boosts employee engagement and helps foster a strong corporate culture.

An illustrative example could be a CEO’s monthly message shared through Viva Connections, where employees can directly respond and react, facilitating a two-way conversation.

In summary, Microsoft Viva provides a comprehensive and integrated employee experience platform that supports knowledge discovery, efficiency, continuous learning, and engagement. It truly enables organizations not only to survive but thrive in the modern digital era.

Viva Modules Functionality
Topics Automated knowledge discovery and organization
Insights Personalized productivity and wellbeing insights
Learning Centralized learning hub with varied content sources
Connections Personalized gateway for internal communications, resources, and content

Each of these capabilities can be customized and integrated according to the specific needs and priorities of an organization, providing a unique employee experience platform that enhances productivity, learning, well-being, and communication across an organization.

Practice Test

True/False: Microsoft Viva is divided into four core capabilities: Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Viva Content and Viva Learning.

  • True
  • False

Answer: False

Explanation: Microsoft Viva is divided into four core capabilities but these are – Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Viva Topics, and Viva Learning.

Microsoft Viva Connections is designed to improve:

  • A) Employee Fitness
  • B) Employee Engagement
  • C) Employee Video Skills
  • D) None of the Above

Answer: B) Employee Engagement

Explanation: Microsoft Viva Connections is designed to improve employee engagement by providing a singular, personalized experience in Teams that brings together relevant news, conversations, and other resources.

True/False: Viva Topics uses AI to help teams and individuals harness knowledge from within the organization.

  • True
  • False

Answer: True

Explanation: Viva Topics uses AI to organize company-wide content into relevant categories or “topics”, aiding employees in quickly finding and accessing the information they need.

What is the primary focus of Viva Learning within Microsoft Viva?

  • A) Collaborative Work
  • B) Personal and Professional Development
  • C) Social Networking
  • D) Video Conferencing

Answer: B) Personal and Professional Development

Explanation: Viva Learning consolidates learning resources in one place, making it easier for employees to find and access learning opportunities for their personal and professional development.

True/False: The Microsoft Viva Insights can help managers understand the work patterns and wellbeing of their team.

  • True
  • False

Answer: True

Explanation: Viva Insights provides personalized and actionable insights to help individuals, managers, and leaders improve productivity and wellbeing.

Which of the following is not a core capability of Microsoft Viva?

  • A) Viva Tables
  • B) Viva Topics
  • C) Viva Connections
  • D) Viva Learning

Answer: A) Viva Tables

Explanation: The four core capabilities of Microsoft Viva are Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Viva Topics, and Viva Learning.

True/False: Microsoft Viva helps the employees find expert colleagues and trending content based on their role and work.

  • True
  • False

Answer: True

Explanation: This is a function of Viva Topics, which organizes company-wide information and connects employees to knowledge and experts within the organization.

Viva Insights is designed to:

  • A) Organize Company-wide Information
  • B) Improve Employee Wellbeing and Productivity
  • C) Provide Learning Resources
  • D) Improve Communication Among Employees

Answer: B) Improve Employee Wellbeing and Productivity

Explanation: Viva Insights provides personalized insights and actionable recommendations to help improve productivity and wellbeing.

True/False: Microsoft Viva is a standalone application independent from Microsoft Teams.

  • True
  • False

Answer: False

Explanation: Microsoft Viva is an Employee Experience Platform integrated into Microsoft Teams, it’s not a standalone application.

Viva Learning within Microsoft Viva is primarily designed for:

  • A) Managers only
  • B) IT staff only
  • C) Entire organization
  • D) None of the Above

Answer: C) Entire organization

Explanation: Viva Learning is built for everyone in the organization as it brings together all the learning resources into one place.

Interview Questions

What is Microsoft Viva?

Microsoft Viva is an Employee Experience Platform that combines aspects of communication, knowledge, learning, and resources into an integrated experience that helps employees to work, learn, connect, and grow.

What are the core capabilities in Microsoft Viva?

The core capabilities in Microsoft Viva are Viva Connections, Viva Insights, Viva Learning, and Viva Topics.

What is the functionality of Viva Connections?

Viva Connections is Microsoft Viva’s capability that provides a curated, company-branded experience that brings together relevant news, conversations, and other resources for an organization’s employees.

Can you describe what Viva Insights does?

Viva Insights provides personalized and actionable insights to help individuals and teams improve productivity and wellbeing. Using data from everyday work in Microsoft 365, it makes suggestions for focus time, learning moments, and productivity improvements.

How does Viva Learning support employee experience?

Viva Learning aggregates all the learning resources available in an organization into one place. It includes content from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, external providers, and the organization’s own custom content, making it easier for employees to upskill and reskill.

What role does Viva Topics play in Microsoft Viva’s core capabilities?

Viva Topics uses AI to organize content and expertise across an organization, turning them into shared topics. It helps employees to connect with information and expertise without having to search separately.

Is Microsoft Viva integrated with Microsoft 365 collaboration tools?

Yes, Microsoft Viva is integrated with Microsoft 365 collaboration tools, including Teams and SharePoint, making it a part of the natural workflow.

How does Viva Connections support internal communications?

Viva Connections serves as the gateway to internal communications. It is a single entry point that combines organizational news, town halls, and employee resource groups which is all personalized to the employee’s role, location, and business unit.

Does Viva Learning provide options for employee training?

Yes, Viva Learning supports both formal and informal learning. It allows managers to assign courses and track progress, and also constructs a culture of continuous learning.

How does the integration of Viva Insights in Microsoft Teams work?

Viva Insights is integrated as a personal wellbeing experience in Teams. It provides mindfulness and stress-reduction tools, actionable insights for efficient working and collaboration, and a virtual commute to aid transition between work and personal life.

Can Viva Topics suggest topic pages and topic cards?

Yes, Viva Topics auto-generates topic pages and cards with information on key topics. As employees work in apps like Office, SharePoint, and Teams, these cards appear when they hover over a topic word, offering definitions and related resources.

Is Microsoft Viva useful for remote working situations?

Yes, Microsoft Viva supports both office and remote workers by providing tools that connect teams, improve productivity, encourage learning, and foster wellbeing, making it highly useful in a remote working context.

Why is Microsoft Viva notable in terms of employee experience?

Microsoft Viva brings together communications, knowledge, learning, resources, and insights into a single integrated platform. Employees can seamlessly navigate between tasks, reducing the need for multiple systems and optimizing their experience.

Can Microsoft Viva help improve productivity within an organization?

Yes, by providing personalized, actionable insights, Microsoft Viva can help individuals and teams understand and improve their work habits, productivity, and wellbeing, all of which leads to better overall productivity.

Can Viva Topics intelligently connect relevant information across the organization?

Yes, Viva Topics uses AI to connect relevant information and expertise from across the organization and presents it as shared topics, helping employees to get information quickly and efficiently.

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