Microsoft Viva – Learning

Part 3: Viva Learning

We continue our series on Microsoft Viva with Viva Learning. Microsoft announced at Ignite 2021, the first employee experience platform (EXP) that brings resources, communications, knowledge, insights, and learning together into an integrated experience that empowers its users and teams to the best that they can be from any location. The first EXP is Microsoft Viva which currently consists of four modules:

1. Viva Connections;
2. Viva Insights;
3. Viva Learning; and
4. Viva Topics.

In our first article, Microsoft Viva Part 1: Viva Connections, we took a look at how and why Viva Connections is important to the wellbeing of the individuals of an organization. In our second article, Microsoft Viva Part 2: Viva Insights, we delved into how Viva Insights helps leaders, managers, and individuals see areas for improvement for their wellbeing, and recommend actions that can be taken to combat stress, fatigue, and anxiety. Today, we will delve into Viva Learning and how it not only addresses skill gaps but how it subtly encourages employees to learn, thereby increasing their skills and reducing the skills gaps within an organization.

Viva Learning

An organization is only as good as its talent that it employs and with Viva Learning, an organization can invest in its employees and provide opportunities for growth through learning. Viva Learning creates a work culture that makes daily learning a natural part of every employee’s day.

As a central hub located in Microsoft Teams, the Viva Learning app teams up with AI, recommending the correct content at the right time. Individuals can easily discover courses, share training courses, and participate in microlearning. They can organize, search, and share training in chats, channels, and tabs – all within Microsoft Teams as they would for other types of content in the collaboration tool they are already using daily. Because Viva Learning is in Microsoft Teams, groups of people and Teams can organize their learning tab by customizing and including relevant learning content ranging from formal training videos to informal learning from decks stored in SharePoint.

Content is aggregated from your organization’s custom content, Microsoft Learn, LinkedIn Learning, and training content providers like Coursera, Pluralsight, Skillsoft, and edX. Viva Learning easily integrates with the leading learning management systems like Cornerstone OnDemand, SAP SuccessFactors, Saba, and more.

The deep integration with LinkedIn Learning and Viva Learning will provide learners from Viva Learning and LinkedIn Learning access to the full LinkedIn Learning catalogue. This will all be accessible through an embedded content player in Microsoft Teams. Learning has never been easier and more accessible.

There is a clear connection between an organization’s business performance, employee engagement, and employee learning. With Viva Learning, it motivates and inspires your people to learn new skills, update their present skills, and become agile thinkers that propel your business forward while addressing skill gaps in a supportive environment.

Not only can managers assign learning, but they can also track courses, due dates, and the status of the assignment. Learners will see what learning has been assigned to them, due dates, and any additional pertinent information regardless if the learning has been assigned by their manager with Viva Learning or by a leading management system that has been integrated with Viva Learning. By providing learners support, managers can foster a learning culture in the organization while ensuring the employees have the most current skills to continue supporting the organization’s growth.

As we all know, finding the time to learn is not always an easy task as our calendars fill up quickly with meetings and calls. To help with focused time, the Briefing email from Cortana and the Viva Insights app for Teams will include actionable cards. These actionable cards will help simplify blocking and scheduling dedicated time for learning.

With Viva Learning, your employees will be recommended opportunities to learn from their colleagues and manager but best of all, they can access, share, and search for learning opportunities from Microsoft Teams. With accountability, managers can track and support their staff in learning, understanding, and implementing new and/or improved skills. By investing in their employees, organizations will have happier, better skilled, and dedicated employees that are ready to help position the organization for its planned future growth.

As can be seen with Viva Connections, Viva Insights, and Viva Learning, Microsoft has created an EXP platform that has the employee as the central focus, ensuring that many of the needs of the employee are met. In Viva Topics, we will see how the first four of Microsoft Viva modules work together to benefit not only the employee but the organization as a whole.