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Viva Nudge: How Microsoft Added an AI Employee Engagement Tool for Millions
Hybrid and remote work have created a greater need for an employee to feel part of a team, connect with their manager, and feel valued and appreciated. Meanwhile, employers struggle to attract and retain the talent they need to execute their most strategic objectives.
Intentional connection between employees and employers is a key element to a productive workforce, and our client—one of the world’s most dominant retailers—is deeply committed to employee development and managerial responsibility. But lack of time, different time zones, and competing priorities all too often prevented employees and their leadership from connecting and collaborating.
What do you do?
Our retail client knew they needed to break free from siloed employee insights and were aware of a gap in proactive engagement between managers and employees. They needed a secure solution to keep managers engaged and prepared to lead their teams through reviews and beyond. For employees, they sought to strengthen their commitment to nurture and develop their in-house talent.
With no existing tech that fit their needs, the client and Microsoft turned to Launch. We knew the solution was data - and lots of data calls for a data cloud like Snowflake. So we created a custom solution that would help their managers and employees engage more effectively.
Sometimes people just need a little nudge.
Meet Microsoft Viva Nudge, an AI tool for better employee experience and engagement
Working within Office 365 and Viva Insights, Launch Consulting built an AI toolset that helps automate the performance evaluation process between employees and their managers. Initially built for one of the world’s largest retailers, Viva Nudge acts as a virtual assistant to help employees and their managers bypass practical barriers to connection and feedback.
You know those emails HR sends out during performance review season, urging everyone to get their reviews completed on time? Well, 47% of all reviews are late, and half of those are late by over 30 days. Nudge is designed to reduce that friction and enable a timely and continuous feedback loop.
Here’s how
Nudge uses AI to access calendars, find optimal times for individuals to meet, and schedule meetings automatically. As a smart solution on Snowflake, it will “nudge” those who haven’t yet completed the task. Nudge also provides secure, data-driven reporting that eliminates the need for those companywide emails.
It seems simple, but it impacts everyone in the feedback loop. Introducing Viva Nudge completely revamped day-to-day processes for this global retailer by:
- Fostering positive work experiences
- Enhancing productivity
- Encouraging workplace wellbeing
- Encouraging goal setting and achievement
The results were clear: Employees benefited when they felt connected and knew that their manager was making time to meet with them. Managers got timely reminders that they needed to connect with their employees, and Nudge took the task off their plate by proactively finding time and creating a meeting. Finally, HR received a real-time pulse on employee sentiment and the engagement level of their managers, which was a major goal.
Using Viva Nudge beyond performance management
Viva Nudge can help in any industry, in many different scenarios. The employee/manager relationship is often cited as a main reason why employees are dissatisfied and leave a company, but there are other scenarios where AI nudges can help with organizational goals like improving employee wellness and fostering an office culture of connection and proactivity.
Here are some ways Nudge can help out:
- Automatically nudge a person to take a lunch break
- Automatically nudge a person to take a training class
- Automatically nudge a person to sign updated documents
- Create a workflow encouraging people to check in and update their actions and commitments on a consistent basis, which helps track progress
- Provide managers, leadership, and HR with reports and data about who has taken training, who has completed manager check-in, and who is using their time wisely
In conclusion
Remote, hybrid, or in-office, it’s all about creating intentional actions. Viva Nudge doesn’t judge—it simply paves the way for consistent connection and employee engagement at all levels of an organization, all within the familiar Office 365 environment and supported by Snowflake.
Innovation is the cornerstone of any organization in the age of AI, and talent is at the heart of innovation. While technical innovation has given us huge advances in every aspect of our daily lives, our retail client understands that at the end of the day, we need humans to keep us moving forward.
And to get people moving, all it takes is a little nudge.