The latest announcements in Microsoft 365, highlighted in April 2021, focus on supporting hybrid work through tools like Microsoft Viva Connections and SharePoint, enhancing user onboarding and customization. Key features include improved navigation, streamlined content migration from Box to Microsoft 365, and insights into employee engagement and productivity amidst the shift to hybrid work. The document emphasizes the importance of maintaining employee well-being and fostering connections to drive innovation in a changing work environment.

1. Latest Microsoft 365
Announcements
April 2021 Edition
#Microsoft365 #Toronto Collaboration user group

3. Contents
Microsoft Viva Connections
SharePoint March 2021 Features
Hybrid Work

4. Contents
Microsoft Viva Connections
SharePoint March 2021 Features
Hybrid Work

5. Amplify culture and communications

6. resources to help you get onboarded
https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/3d561e77-84db-
4225-9f36-65ed92a54118

7. • Configure SharePoint
• Set Home Site
• Configure App Bar
• Configure Global Navigation
• Configure Microsoft Teams
• Update App policy
• Prepare Assets
• A 192X192 pixel coloured icon for Teams app
catalogue
• A 32X32 pixel monochrome icon for Teams
app bar
• Download the Viva Connections for Desktop
PowerShell Script
• A link to your organizations custom privacy
policy web page (optional)
• A link to your organizations custom terms of
use policy web page (optional)
Step-by-step guide to setting up Viva Connections desktop
Best Practices
• Ensure Azure Directory data supports
targeted scenarios
• Prioritize Governance, Information
Architecture design and Design
• Invest into Yammer Communities

8. Navigation resources
Search intranet
content Navigate the home
page
Get links to share
content

9. Contents
Microsoft Viva Connections
SharePoint March 2021 Features
Hybrid Work

10. quick access to customizable global navigation as well as other intranet resources -
all accessible for users wherever they might be in SharePoint.
Roadmap ID
70576

11. enables SharePoint page authors and viewers to focus on a greater amount of page content by hiding
the site header, site navigation, and global navigation bar with one click. Another click brings back all
when you ready to un-focus and move on.
Roadmap ID
70800

12. SharePoint page authors who use the Events web part can enable an image to show per event. The
image is derived from the image used in the title area of the Event page.
Roadmap ID
70791

13. You'll be able to see the number of viewers, in addition to seeing information about how users
interact with your page or news.
Roadmap ID
70635

14. This is the home for features that help extend list experiences. The existing command buttons for
Power Apps and Power Automate will move into this new top-level drop-down menu.
Roadmap ID
64869

15. When you type in the people picker, the autofill suggestions come from Microsoft Graph
Roadmap ID
70751

16. This new feature gives SharePoint and Microsoft 365 admins streamlined support to migrate content
from Box into Microsoft 365; that's Box files and folders as well as conversion of Box notes into Word
documents - to where you choose as destination into OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams.
Roadmap ID
68816

17. Contents
Microsoft Viva Connections
SharePoint March 2021 Features
Hybrid Work

18. The Next Great Disruption
Is Hybrid Work—Are We
Ready?

19. On the brink of a major disruption as we shift towards a hybrid work model
1. Flexible work is here to stay
Employees want the best of both worlds: over 70 percent of workers want flexible remote work options to continue, while over
65 percent are craving more in-person time with their teams.

20. On the brink of a major disruption as we shift towards a hybrid work model
2. Leaders are out of touch with employees and need a wake-up call
Many business leaders are faring better than their employees. Sixty-one percent of leaders say they are “thriving” right now —
23 percentage points higher than those without decision-making authority.

21. On the brink of a major disruption as we shift towards a hybrid work model
3. High productivity is masking an exhausted workforce
Self-assessed productivity has remained the same or higher for many employees over the past year, but at a human cost. One in
five global survey respondents say their employer doesn’t care about their work-life balance. Fifty-four percent feel overworked.
Thirty-nine percent feel exhausted.

22. On the brink of a major disruption as we shift towards a hybrid work model
4. Gen Z is at risk and will need to be re-energized
An overlooked demographic appears to be suffering right now: Gen Z. Sixty percent of this generation — those between the
ages of 18 and 25 — say they are merely surviving or flat-out struggling right now.

23. On the brink of a major disruption as we shift towards a hybrid work model
5. Shrinking networks are endangering innovation
Put simply, companies became more siloed than they were before the pandemic. And while interactions with our close networks
are still more frequent than they were before the pandemic, the trend shows even these close team interactions have started to
diminish over time. When you lose connections, you stop innovating. It’s harder for new ideas to get in and groupthink
becomes a serious possibility.

24. On the brink of a major disruption as we shift towards a hybrid work model
5. Shrinking networks are endangering innovation
Put simply, companies became more siloed than they were before the pandemic. And while interactions with our close networks
are still more frequent than they were before the pandemic, the trend shows even these close team interactions have started to
diminish over time. When you lose connections, you stop innovating. It’s harder for new ideas to get in and groupthink
becomes a serious possibility.

25. On the brink of a major disruption as we shift towards a hybrid work model
6. Authenticity will spur
productivity and wellbeing
A tough year may have made work
more human. Coworkers leaned on
each other in new ways to get through
the last year. 1 in 6 (17 percent) has
cried with a coworker, especially those
in healthcare (23 percent), travel and
tourism (21 percent), and education
(20 percent).

26. On the brink of a major disruption as we shift towards a hybrid work model
7. Talent is everywhere in a hybrid
work world
This shift is likely to stick, and it’s good for
democratizing access to opportunity. Companies
in major cities can hire talent from
underrepresented groups that may not have the
means or desire to move to a big city. And in
smaller cities, companies will now have access to
talent that may have a different set of skills than
they had before.”