Viva Engage and Microsoft Stories put the connections of Yammer inside Teams – TechRepublic

Viva Engage and Microsoft Stories put the connections of Yammer inside Teams – TechRepublic

Viva Engage and Microsoft Stories put the connections of Yammer inside Teams
Your email has been sent
Hybrid work makes work social networking more important than ever, so Microsoft is updating the way Yammer works inside Teams and Outlook.
Because of customer demand, Microsoft has repeatedly increased the number of people you can include in a Teams team: It’s now up to 25,000, but chats and meetings have much lower limits, and if you want to have everyone in your organization in a single team, that tops out at 10,000.
That’s because Teams is designed for focused tasks between people who work closely together rather than general social connections. For that broader social networking that relies on open conversations rather than building a tight-knit team, there’s Yammer and SharePoint itself — and now Viva Engage.
Viva is a set of apps that mostly appear inside Teams to improve the employee experience, with each module doing something specific like making it easier to find training, understand your work habits, turn big picture strategy into realistic goals and metrics, or handle specific roles like sales. Taken together, the Viva modules are about making people more effective at working together by addressing the mechanics of working with colleagues, whether that’s collaborating with peers or managers acting as the intermediaries between upper management and the people who report to them.
SEE: Windows, Linux, and Mac commands everyone needs to know (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Creating and maintaining company culture and informal connections is also part of that, because people have friendships at work as well as purely business connections. That kind of support makes for more successful teams with higher productivity. The weak ties between broader groups of employees matter too, and Microsoft’s own research shows that remote work tends to form silos where a team might do well but not be in contact with colleagues across the business, and these shrinking networks may mean that innovations and improvements may not ripple out from each team to the rest of the organization.
Some organizations have pushed for employees to come into the office to build networks of relationships in person. In fact, the CEO of Goldman Sachs suggested that the “secret sauce” of networking could only happen in person.
But that rejection of hybrid work is uncommon and unpopular, and generally the return to the office is slow and far from guaranteed: Kastle’s office “occupancy barometer” suggests only one-third to one-half of office workers across the U.S. are back at their desks. Microsoft itself expects six to nine months before it’s clear how many staff will ever come back to their campus full time. Up to 80% of workers want either remote or hybrid work, and some are prepared to sacrifice a certain amount of their salary to get it.
Even when everyone was in the office, they weren’t all in the same office in all but the smallest companies. That’s why enterprise social networks like Yammer became popular in the first place. Integrating those into the tools that support remote and hybrid work is a logical step, with research showing that what Microsoft calls AI-curated online communities can break down silos and get information flowing more widely.
Last year Microsoft integrated Yammer communities into the Viva Connections app and switched Yammer to use the same way of organizing company information and communities as Viva Topics.
With organizations needing to double down on building community and connections between hybrid and remote workers exhausted by constant video meetings, Viva Engage — which Microsoft says “builds on the strengths of Yammer” — aims to be another way to give employees more tools to have conversations that don’t depend on them being online at the same time.
“Think of Viva Connections as connecting employees to company resources, and Viva Engage as connecting employees to each other,” a Microsoft spokesperson told TechRepublic. “Many of the world’s largest companies use Yammer for community sharing, virtual events and knowledge sharing. Viva Engage is the evolution of this experience and offers an easy-to-use engagement platform that scales up or down to the needs of the business.”
“Viva Engage offers a way for our customers to strengthen relationships amongst their employees, integrate into the Viva apps, and deliver a whole new variety of ways for employees to engage with each other and with leaders.”
The pandemic has made the idea of bringing your “whole self” to work more practical by bringing colleagues right into each other’s homes, with pets often proving the highlight of online meetings. Microsoft envisions Viva Engage covering those personal interests, with communities about pets alongside official company news.
Viva Engage will replace the existing Yammer Communities app in Outlook, Teams and the Teams Mobile app. It includes both the existing Yammer capabilities — running polls, congratulating colleagues publicly, highlighting the best conversations  — and new features like Storyline and Stories, which Microsoft refers to as “personal expression tools” for sharing thoughts, ideas, expertise and passion.
Stories are short videos and photos that you can quickly upload so people you share them with get access. They’re stored in Microsoft Stream and OneDrive for Business, and Teams will handle permissions.
Storylines are more like blog posts with links, files, photos or videos included. They will show up on a Storylines tab inside Viva Engage, Yammer, Outlook and Teams through the Engage app.
Yammer isn’t being replaced by Viva Engage, and you will need a Yammer license to use it. Yammer.com and the Yammer mobile apps will continue to be part of Microsoft 365, and Microsoft told us they “will receive many of the new capabilities also flowing into Viva Engage.”
If you don’t use Viva, Teams is also getting a video message recording option in September: Video Clip lets you record and send short videos in a Teams channel if you’d rather make a recording than write an email. This isn’t a live stream or a formal presentation that you expect lots of people to watch — instead, it’s more like the video equivalent of voicemail. It will likely appeal to younger workers who have made short-form videos popular online.
From the hottest programming languages to commentary on the Linux OS, get the developer and open source news and tips you need to know. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays
From the hottest programming languages to commentary on the Linux OS, get the developer and open source news and tips you need to know. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays
Viva Engage and Microsoft Stories put the connections of Yammer inside Teams
Your email has been sent
TechRepublic Premium content helps you solve your toughest IT issues and jump-start your career or next project.
This is a comprehensive list of the best AI art generators. Explore the advanced technology that transforms imagination into stunning artworks.
Find the perfect payroll service for your business without breaking the bank. Discover the top cheap payroll services, features, pricing and pros and cons.
Is NordVPN worth it? How much does it cost and is it safe to use? Read our NordVPN review to learn about pricing, features, security, and more.
Free project management software provides flexibility for managing projects without paying a cent. Check out our list of the top free project management tools.
Australian and New Zealand enterprises in the public cloud are facing pressure to optimize cloud strategies due to a growth in usage and expected future demand, including for artificial intelligence use cases.
The end of a year provides an ideal opportunity for revisiting the previous year’s goals and performance, reviewing personal and professional aspirations and prioritizing the upcoming year’s initiatives. But where to start? Tech pros can implement these seven planning steps from TechRepublic Premium to successfully set and track goals and subsequently prioritize initiatives. From the …
The role of a technical copywriter is recognized as a cornerstone in defining and conveying a company’s identity in the ever-evolving landscape of today’s business, where the online presence and narrative of a brand have outstanding value. This hiring kit from TechRepublic Premium provides an adjustable framework your business can use to find the right …
With artificial intelligence being more popular than free alcohol at a tech conference, it’s wise to stay informed about all things AI or even implement policies for its correct usage. This TechRepublic Premium pack provides readers with seven downloads for a bargain price. The bundle comprises two glossaries about AI and machine learning; three features …
A successful chief digital officer drives their organization’s digital transformation and creates value while rationalizing business processes and the customer experience. This hiring kit from TechRepublic Premium provides a workable framework you can use to find the best CDO for your organization. From the hiring kit: EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE Candidates must have a degree in …
Get the web’s best business technology news, tutorials, reviews, trends, and analysis—in your inbox. Let’s start with the basics.
* – indicates required fields
Lost your password? Request a new password
Please enter your email adress. You will receive an email message with instructions on how to reset your password.
Check your email for a password reset link. If you didn’t receive an email don’t forgot to check your spam folder, otherwise contact support.
This will help us provide you with customized content.
Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye out for a confirmation email from our team. To ensure any newsletters you subscribed to hit your inbox, make sure to add [email protected] to your contacts list.

source