TL;DR:
- Microsoft unveiled new capabilities in its employee experience platform, Microsoft Viva.
- Key announcements include an AI-powered Skills in Viva service and the general availability of Viva Amplify.
- Skills in Viva aims to address the growing need for upskilling and reskilling in the era of AI.
- Viva Amplify centralizes communication tools to engage employees more effectively.
- The Skills in Viva service utilizes data from Microsoft Graph and LinkedIn Skills Graph to provide valuable insights into workforce skills.
- Skills in Viva offers strategic workforce planning, upskilling and reskilling, and skill discovery in the flow of work.
- An open and extensible approach allows for interoperability with third-party applications.
- Microsoft Viva’s impact is evident in its growing user base across various industries.
Main AI News:
At the HR Technology Conference, Microsoft unveiled significant enhancements to its employee experience platform, Microsoft Viva. These innovations include an AI-powered skills service and the general availability of Viva Amplify, a multichannel workforce communications hub. These additions are poised to help organizations boost employee engagement and productivity, crucial elements in achieving high-performance organization (HPO) status.
Unlocking the Power of Skills with Viva
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the need for continuous upskilling and reskilling has become paramount. Microsoft acknowledges this challenge and has introduced an AI-powered Skills in Viva service. This service empowers organizations to gain insights into workforce skills and gaps, offering personalized skills-based experiences across Microsoft 365 and Viva applications.
The Growth of AI and Its Impact on Skills
With artificial intelligence advancing at an unprecedented rate, job requirements are shifting, necessitating new skill sets and evolving roles. A staggering 82 percent of leaders believe their employees need new skills to adapt to AI-driven growth. However, the pace of learning isn’t keeping up with innovation, with 60 percent of individuals reporting that they lack the necessary capabilities for their work.
Skills in Viva addresses this gap by providing seamless access to new skills, supporting employees in embracing AI-powered work paradigms. Moreover, it encourages organizations to shift from traditional job-based talent management to a skills-based approach, promoting agility and aligning workforce development with strategic priorities.
The Power of Data and AI
Skills in Viva leverages the Microsoft Graph, which gathers employee activity data across Microsoft 365 applications and services, and the LinkedIn Skills Graph, a dynamic model mapping global skills. AI reasoning is applied to this data, intelligently inferring an employee’s skills profile, offering organizations valuable insights into their workforce’s current skills.
Importantly, it’s worth noting that individual LinkedIn member data remains disconnected from Viva skills services, ensuring privacy and data protection. Only aggregate skills data from the LinkedIn Skills Graph is shared with Viva.
Key Scenarios Enabled by Skills in Viva
- Strategic Workforce Planning: Leaders gain real-time insights into their organization’s talent landscape, facilitating agile workforce development. Viva Insights dashboards provide skill metrics to assess capabilities, gaps, and opportunities, while also revealing skill distribution across teams and levels.
- Upskilling and Reskilling: HR, Learning and Development teams, and managers can utilize Skills in Viva insights to create targeted learning academies or paths for quick upskilling and reskilling. Viva Learning suggests new content based on employees’ developing skills or interests.
- Skill Discovery in the Flow of Work: Skills are intelligently suggested for employees based on Microsoft Graph signals. Employees can confirm and manage their skills within Viva, and these skills will be visible in their Microsoft 365 profile card, accessible across various Microsoft applications.
An Open and Extensible Approach
Microsoft understands that every organization may have different requirements and existing systems. Therefore, Skills in Viva takes an open, extensible approach, allowing interoperability with third-party applications. This ensures a holistic and unified view of skills within an organization. Skills in Viva will enter private preview by the end of 2023 and will be included in the Microsoft Viva suite.
Real-World Impact: Lloyds Banking Group
Sharon Doherty, Chief People & Places Officer at Lloyds Banking Group, emphasized the importance of developing skills for their transformation journey. The collaboration with Microsoft on Skills in Viva promises to supercharge their workforce with the latest AI-powered skills technology, aligning with their growth ambitions.
Elevating Communication with Viva Amplify
Microsoft recognizes that engaged and inspired employees are key to high-performance organizations. Viva Amplify, now generally available, is a vital component of Microsoft Viva’s communication and community capabilities. It centralizes campaign management, publishing, and analytics, allowing leaders and communicators to connect meaningfully with employees.
Enhancing Employee Engagement
Engaged employees are more likely to view their companies as strong communicators and have confidence in leadership. Viva Amplify equips organizational leaders and communicators with the tools to elevate company strategy, create two-way dialogues, and energize their workforce.
Conclusion:
Microsoft’s latest innovations in Viva represent a significant step in addressing the challenges of upskilling and improving employee engagement in the modern workplace. These developments indicate Microsoft’s commitment to enhancing the employee experience, which is likely to resonate positively in the market, as organizations seek effective solutions for workforce development and communication.
