The document outlines strategies for improving employee communications through Microsoft Viva and AI tools, focusing on aspects like connection, communication, and culture. Effective communication is highlighted as a critical priority for HR leaders, with emphasis on modernizing strategies and embracing technology to engage employees and facilitate meaningful dialogue. Key features include multi-channel messaging, data-driven insights, and tools that empower frontline workers and foster an inclusive workplace culture.

1. Revamp your Communications from
Strategy to Technology
Microsoft
Liz Sundet | Sr. Program Manager
Jeffrey Manning | Sr. Program Manager

2. Liz Sundet
Sr. Program Manager-Microsoft

3. Jeffrey Manning
FastTrack Sr. Product Manager-Microsoft
Copilot & Viva areas of expertise
Regular day

4. Thank You To Our Sponsors!
Stop by the Booths for “Vendor Bingo” to win prizes!

5. Agenda
 Introduction
 Employee Communications and Communities (C&C) -
Strategy
 Connection
 Communication
 Contribution
 Viva Amplify
 Viva Connections
 Viva Engage
 Demo of Technology
 Use Cases

6. Improving employee experience and organizational culture is
CHROs’ top focus for 2024, with 75% listing it as a priority.
22% of CHROs expect retention to decrease over the next six
months (from 18% last quarter).
31% expect engagement levels to decrease in that same period,
up from 25% in quarter three.
HR leaders share top 2024 priority | Fortune

7. Leaders and employees agree that effective
communication
is the most critical skill to have today
96%
Business
decision makers
Employees
Source: Microsoft Work Trends Index Report, 2022 (surveying 20,000 employees, managers and business leaders)
95%

8. Communicators continue to face many challenges
Uncertainty around who has read e-mails/posts/​announcements
Employees don’t see or receive critical messages from leadership.
Communicators are being asked to be change agents for their org.​
Lacking time to methodically manage and scale communications
1
2
3
5
The rise of AI brings both opportunity and uncertainty
6
Knowing how to improve communications to drive engagement
4

9. Multi-speed
Balance urgency, noise and
interruption with a spectrum
of delivery from immediate to
eventual to optional
Modernize internal communications strategies
Multi-channel
Reach your audience where
they work in email and Teams,
as well as in Engage and on
your intranet
Multi-voice
Cascade and amplify
messaging through leaders
and influencers to add
context and relevance
Multi-media
Capture the attention of
today’s workforce using video
and images to share your
message
Copilot, AI and advanced analytics
Improve effectiveness across the comms lifecycle: Inspire and improve content, reach the
right audience, summarize conversations and replies, gain insights into sentiment & themes,
and foster a psychologically safe platform for communications & engagement at scale.
Multi-modal
Leverage a mix of formats
and interactions inspired by
social media including POV,
blogs, events and
#campaigns
Multi-directional
Engage audience, listen &
respond, and measure
effectiveness using sentiment
& theme analysis

10. 10 things we’ve
learned from our
customers about
communications
& culture
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Connect at scale with hybrid teams
Use data-driven automation to drive insights
Embrace the rapid transformation of AI
Reach employees where they are at
Celebrate and foster a diverse and multigenerational
workforce
Be safe and smart in a social world
Have a purpose driven mission
Culture is critical
Focus on the full employee lifecycle
Openness and transparency come with risk, but greater
rewards

11. What has changed in a decade?
2014 Now
Think about and discuss what has changed in terms of internal communications from 2014 to
now?
Nothing radical? Think about the fact this was BEFORE the pandemic
Now, write down some examples of communications in 2014
Then, write down how it’s changed or things that still can change
Post them to the whiteboard when ready

12. Employee Communications & Communities
Designed to keep everyone connected,
informed, and inspired to contribute.
Benefits
• Streamline news and targeted communications directly into
the apps people use every day
• Delver a single employee app that helps people discover the
information, tasks, and resources they need to succeed.
• Create communities to strengthen relationships and facilitate
meaningful dialogue between leaders and employees.
• Leverage AI to help people find solutions, scale knowledge,
and save time.
• Empower frontline workers with the right tools, updates, and
knowledge they need to do their best work
• Get rich analytics to measure engagement and track the reach
and impact of communications.
https://aka.ms/VivaCommunications
Viva
Connections
Viva Amplify
Viva
Engage

13. Value across the business
Mobility, Security, and Compliance backed by Microsoft 365.
As part of Microsoft Viva, C&C connects people
across the organization so everyone can succeed.
Use Microsoft Viva to…
Deliver targeted, modern communications that
engage employees
Strengthen employee relationships
Rollout Microsoft Copilot and manage change
Provide a personalized employee app that
connects people to the resources and tasks they
need
Build communities that support diversity, shared
interests, and business initiatives
Give employees a voice and empower leaders to
listen, learn, and engage everyone
Share and scale knowledge to help employees
solve problems and crowdsource solutions
Viva for different departments and industries
Communications
Modernize and streamline
multi-channel comms and
change MGMT with
announcements, storyline
posts, polls, video and Q&A
that reach your target
audience across applications.
Leadership
Connect leaders to employees
and aign people toward a
shared vision and objectives
to drive organizational
change. Shape culture and
foster two-way dialogue with
employees.
Human Resources
Support diversity and
inclusion, employee advocacy
and resource communities.
Connect everyone to support
hybrid and flexible work.
Marketing
Listen and collect customer
feedback. Amplify messaging
and campaigns. Crowdsource
feedback and ideas.
IT
Drive IT transformation and
change management. Share
announcements, training and
tips. Nurture peer-to-peer
support communities.
Frontline
Give employees the tech tools
they need to communicate
and collaborate.

14. Viva Amplify
A new app for communicators
Streamline communications
Centralize your communication so you can collaborate on
campaigns, create a publishing workflow, and streamline efforts.
Manage campaigns
Help communicate change, strategy, and rollouts through
publication templates and writing guidance.
Multi-channel publishing
Reach employees where they are working, whether that’s in
Outlook, SharePoint, Teams, Viva Connections, or Viva Engage.
Reporting & analytics
Optimize campaigns through detailed reporting and
engagement analytics across channels and audiences.

15. Put people first
Bring a fresh home experience for all your employees
to start their day and find tasks and information
related to their job.
Stay connected to what matters
Surface relevant and actionable content in the
dashboard and feed from across Microsoft 365 apps
and services and third party systems – taking
advantage of the investments you’ve already made in
these tools.
Ready to go out of the box or fully
customizable
Every employee can use Viva Connections "out of the
box" or you can fully customize and brand it for your
unique company needs.
Viva Connections
Your gateway to a modern employee experience

16. Viva Engage
Connecting people through communities
Strengthen work relationships
Encourage conversations and community
activity with colleagues from across the company.
Leadership Corner
Engage your organization in two-way dialog,
participation via social experiences, and through
a dedicated space for leadership’s voice, events, and
campaigns.
Express yourself
Share updates, experiences and perspectives
with your own voice and follow coworkers through
storylines.
Share knowledge
Crowdsource solutions, connect with experts, and
share your own expertise to help the entire
organization succeed.

17. Target adoption scenario example
As someone in…
(Team)
I want to….
(Description of
what I want to do)
Using…
(Specific application
of the technology)
I’ll know this is
successful when….
(Solutions success
measure)
As someone in
Sales Management
I want to
have a single version of the
sales proposal that everyone
has access to rather than
managing multiple versions in
email.
Using
a SharePoint site to centrally
store and share a single version
of a sales proposal that my
team can edit together using
co-authoring in Word and
PowerPoint.
I’ll know this is successful when
my sales team creates proposals
more easily, giving them more
time to close deals.

18. Workshop Survey
https://mn365.org/survey