Goal Tracking for Teams With Microsoft Viva

Tons of organizations like to use the terms “digital transformation” and “collaboration.” But what do they actually mean? What do they mean for managing the day-to-day of your business? Are they just empty buzzwords used to fill up time in conference calls, or are there any meaningful goals there?Let’s face it, collaboration doesn’t work without a shared set of goals. And personal and departmental priorities will conflict without collaboration. If people aren’t moving in the same direction, why are they even moving at all?If your team insists on using the term “digital transformation”, it’ll need digital tools. No more paper and pen, no more red progress thermometers. It requires transitioning to tools that are automated and connected.We’re coming up on a new year and the time to be setting goals is now. What are you going to use to track those goals? How are you going to keep your team moving in the same direction?Here comes the shameless plug for more Microsoft license expenses! The Microsoft Viva platform is a workforce management tool designed for digital teams. It makes use of AI, automation, cloud connectivity, and more to help you organize your goals and mobilize your team.In this article, you’ll get an overview of Microsoft Viva. Then, we’ll dive into Viva Goals. We’ll explore what it does and how it can help your company meet its targets for the new year and beyond.

What Is Microsoft Viva?

Microsoft Viva is a line of “employee experience” applications.For a little background, when COVID hit, Microsoft made a huge shift in their priorities to Microsoft Teams. It quickly became apparent that old-school chat and file sharing weren’t going to cut it for a mobile and WFH team. So they began designing a new set of workforce management tools with a fancy user-facing polish.These tools connect all across the Microsoft 365 platform. While they’re focused on the end-user, they gather useful information for management to better understand their teams at the same time. In Microsoft speak, the apps act as add-ons that can build on your organization’s digital capabilities.There are currently seven apps within the Microsoft Viva line:

• Viva Topics: Allows organizations to harness knowledge and experience. It serves up relevant topics from the company knowledge base from keywords.
• 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 wellbeing and corporate culture. Uses data-driven insights to provide productivity and well-being recommendations.
• 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.

The goal of the Viva line is to expand what businesses may traditionally see as “software.” It 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. This supposedly makes work easier and gives visibility into actionable data points.

What is Viva Goals?

Viva Goals is one of the newest Viva applications. It connects teams to their goals digitally so they’re moving toward in the same direction no matter where they are. Employees align, whether someone works in the accounting department or customer support.Additionally, business leaders can look at Viva Goals as a way to solidify company objectives. They can tie these objectives to meaningful targets for each department and track productivity online.  For example, say you have a corporate target to provide exceptional customer support. This goal by itself is generic. It doesn’t connect to what people need to do to make it real.In Viva Goals, that target can have directives for various teams. Such as customer support reducing ticket resolution by 8 hours. This brings goals to a meaningful level and allows organizations to track progress.

Aligns Your Team to the Same Goals

Viva Goals puts company goals and targets in a tangible form. There is a definition of success for teams and individuals. Work outcomes are directly connected to company-wide objectives.Everyone is on the same page, rather than departments pursuing different targets. With alignment, companies can more easily reach their goals. 

Maintains Focus on Goals

Viva connects to other M365 apps, making it easier to gather data insights. These insights help leaders more easily see goal progress.Employees stay focused on goals. This is because goals connect to their daily work targets. Rather than being something they hear at a company event, goals get infused into the workflow.  

Integration with Teams & M365

The integration with Teams keeps goals front and center. Employees get recognized for meeting targets and helping the company achieve its goals. This keeps everyone engaged and moving together.Progress towards goals isn’t kept on a spreadsheet on someone’s cloud drive. Instead, stats on goal achievement live in tools used daily. When goals remain visible, organizations have a better chance to achieve them.

How Do You Get Viva Goals?

Microsoft Viva Goals is a monthly subscription with minimal costs for existing 365 customers. Customers can purchase individual Viva products or the entire suite.

Questions About Microsoft 365 or Viva Goals?

Digital transformation with tools like Microsoft Viva is a necessity if you want to keep up in 2023. Old ways of doing things are giving way to the cloud, AI, and machine learning. We can help you navigate that territory. Give us a call and schedule a consultation to learn more.