We don’t provide computer systems or company databases to clients, we do business phones. However, business VoIP today is intricately interlocked with other IT operations for businesses, so we feel we need to help our business owners up to date as much as possible on the tools out there, such as Microsoft’s various offerings.
The words “digital transformation” and “collaboration” get tossed around on a constant basis. Buzzwords aside, what do they actually mean? How do they impact the day-to-day of running your business?
Collaboration can’t happen without shared goals and objectives. When departments are siloed and unconnected, priorities can conflict. “Siloing” means that information is locked away from other departments, and thus the flow of communication gets hampered. When silo disconnection occurs, people often do their best but may not be moving in the same direction.
Digital transformation simply means the use of technology to better reach business goals. This tranformation encompasses moving from analog to digital ways of doing things. Part of the process in a post COVID world means transitioning to tools that are more automated and connected.
Microsoft has kept at the forefront of digital transformation and collaboration. They want their Viva platform to drive improved employee experiences. Viva accomplishes this by use of AI, automation, cloud connectivity, and more.
So, to help see if you need it or not, you’ll get an overview of Microsoft Viva. Then, we’ll deep dive into one of the newest Viva offerings, Viva Goals. We’ll explore what it does and how it can help your company meet its targets.
Please note, we aren’t affiliated with Microsoft, nor any of their competitors, in any way.
What Is Microsoft Viva?
Microsoft Viva offers a line of employee experience applications. These apps connect to the Microsoft 365 platform, and are especially integrated into Microsoft Teams. The apps act as add-ons that improve your organization’s digital capabilities.
Currently seven apps make up the Microsoft Viva line:
- Viva Topics: Allows organizations to harness knowledge and experience. Serves up relevant topics from the company knowledge base from keywords put in by an employee.
- Viva Connections: Gives employees a personalized and connected newsfeed. The company newsfeed serves up important news, conversations, and tools.
- Viva Learning: Consolidates employee training apps. Makes it easy for employees to gain new skills from inside the MS Teams application.
- Viva Insights: Improves employee well-being and corporate culture. Uses data-driven insights to provide productivity and well-being recommendations to team members.
- Viva Sales: Reduces the data input needed from salespeople. Serves up helpful lead interaction recommendations.
- Viva Engage: Cultivates personal networks and community. Fosters engagement and knowledge sharing.
- Viva Goals: Enables clarity and alignment of corporate goals through specific directives.
The Viva line expands what businesses may traditionally see as “software.” The whole line creates a connection between Microsoft Office and M365 apps. It also focuses on the people, rather than the tool. Microsoft designed Viva applications to use AI to make work easier and gives visibility into actionable data points.
What is Viva Goals?
Viva Goals is one of the newest Viva applications produced by Microsoft. The app connects teams so they’re moving toward a shared set of goals. Employees align their priorities, whether someone works in the accounting department or customer support.
Business leaders can look at Viva Goals as a way to solidify company objectives. They can then tie these objectives to meaningful targets for each department. Remember, goals are expressed in words, objectives in numbers.
For example, say you have a corporate goal to provide exceptional customer support. This goal by itself is generic. It doesn’t connect to what teams need to do to make it happen.
In Viva Goals, that target can have directives for various teams, such as customer support reducing ticket resolution by 8 hours. Using Viva Goals to assign numerical objectives that feed back into the verbal goals defines those goals in a meaningful way and allows organizations to track progress.
Here are the key value-adds of using Viva Goals.
Aligns Your Team to the Same Goals
Viva Goals puts company goals and targets in a tangible, actionable form. There is an easy to see definition of success for teams and individuals. Individual work outcomes are directly connected to company-wide objectives.
Everyone is on the same page, rather than departments pursuing different targets that don’t make sense in the larger context. With alignment, companies can more easily reach their goals.
Maintains Focus on Goals
Viva connects to other M365 apps, making it easier for the company as a whole to gather data insights. These insights help leaders more easily see goal progress.
Employees stay focused on goals and objectives because goals connect to their daily work targets. Rather than being something they hear at a company event once a quarter, goals get infused into the workflow.
Integration with Teams & M365
The Viva line’s integration with Teams keeps goals front and center for everyone in the company. Employees get proper and documented recognition for meeting targets and helping the company achieve its goals. This immediate data feedback keeps everyone engaged and moving together.
Progress towards goals isn’t kept on a spreadsheet on someone’s inaccessible cloud drive. Instead, stats on goal achievement live in tools used daily that are visible to everyone. When goals remain visible, organizations have a better chance to achieve them.
How Do You Get Viva Goals?
If you want to subscribe to Viva Goals as an add-on to your M365 plan, it is currently priced at $6.00/user/month.
For the entire suite of Viva applications, the current price is $9.00/user/month.
Why Is This Published By A Business Phone Company?
Here at NoContractVoIP, we believe that your success is our success. And, since we specialize in business communication, we also want to help you communicate better while staying safe. We create the cutting edge communication systems that modern companies need.
To talk to a business phone system specialist, call 866-550-0005 or contact us today.
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