Adjust Your Company Targets with Microsoft Viva Goals

You might hear the words "digital transformation" and "collaboration" But what do they actually mean? What do they mean for the daily work in your company?

Without common goals, there can be no collaboration. When departments are isolated and disconnected, priorities can conflict. Employees are doing their best, but they may not be moving in the same direction.

Digital transformation is simply the use of technology to better achieve business goals. This includes moving away from analogue methods. Moving to tools that are more automated and connected.

Microsoft is at the forefront of digital transformation and collaboration. Its Viva platform delivers a better employee experience. It does this through the use of AI, automation, cloud connectivity and more.

In this article, you'll get an overview of Microsoft Viva. Then we will dive into one of the latest Viva offerings, Viva Goals. We will explore what it can do and how it can help your business achieve its goals.

What Is Microsoft Viva?

Microsoft Viva is a suite of employee experience applications. These are connected to the Microsoft 365 platform and in particular Microsoft Teams. The apps act as add-ons that can build on your organisation's digital capabilities.

The Microsoft Viva range currently comprises seven apps:

• Viva Themes: Enables companies to leverage knowledge and experience. It displays relevant topics from the company's knowledge based on keywords.
• Viva Connections: Provides employees with a personalized and connected newsfeed. The company's newsfeed displays important news, conversations and tools.
• Viva Learning: Consolidates employee training applications. Makes it easy for staff to acquire new skills within the application MS Teams.
• Viva Insights: Improves employee wellbeing and company culture. Uses data-driven insights to make recommendations on productivity and wellbeing.
• Viva Sales: Reduces the data entry burden for salespeople. Provides helpful recommendations on how to interact with leads.
• Viva Engage: Cultivates personal networks and communities. Promotes engagement and knowledge sharing.
• Viva Goals: Enables clarity and alignment of business goals

The Viva line extends what companies traditionally think of as "software" It creates a link between Microsoft Office and M365 applications. It also focuses on people, not tools. Microsoft has designed the Viva applications to use AI. This makes work easier and provides insights into actionable data points.

What is Viva Goals?

Viva Goals is one of Microsoft's newest Viva apps. It connects teams together so that they move towards common goals. Employees coordinate, whether someone works in accounting or customer service.

Business leaders can look at Viva Goals as a way to reinforce company goals. They can then link these goals to meaningful targets for each department.

Image from Microsoft

For instance, let imagine you have a corporate goal to provide excellent customer support. This goal is, in itself, very general. It is not related to what teams need to do to achieve it.

In Viva Goals, this goal can include directives for different teams. For example, that customer support reduces ticket processing time by 8 hours. This brings goals to a meaningful level and allows companies to track progress

Here are the key benefits of using Viva Goals.

 Aligns Your Team Around to the Same Goals 

Viva Goals gives tangible form to company goals and objectives. It provides a definition for team and individual success. Work results are directly linked to company-wide goals.

Everyone is on the same page instead of departments having different goals. This alignment makes it easier for companies to achieve their goals.

Stay Focused on Goals

Viva connects with other M365 apps, making it easier to collect data. These insights help leaders see progress towards their goals more easily

Employees stay focused on their goals. This is because goals are connected to their daily work objectives. Goals are no longer just something they hear at a company event, but are integrated into the workflow.

Image from Microsoft

Integration with Teams & M365

Integration with Teams puts goals at the forefront. Employees are recognized for achieving goals and help the organization reach its goals. In this way, everyone stays engaged and moves together.

Progress towards goals is not stored in a spreadsheet on an employee's cloud drive. Instead, goal achievement statistics are stored in tools that are used on a daily basis. When goals remain visible, companies have a better chance of achieving them.

How Do You Get Viva Goals?

If you would like to subscribe to Viva Goals as an add-on to your M365 plan, it currently costs $6.00/user/month.

For the full Viva application suite, the current price is $9.00/user/month.

Any Questions Regarding Microsoft 365 or Viva Goals?

Digital transformation with tools like Microsoft Viva is an essential if you want to keep up. Old ways of doing things are giving way to the cloud, AI, and machine learning. Onyx IT team can help you navigate that territory. Give us a call and schedule a consultation to learn more.

Article used with permission from The Technology Press.