Introducing the new Microsoft Viva Connections Dashboard

The new Microsoft Viva Connections Dashboard allows you to create adaptive cards that give users easy access to key information and quick actions in Teams and SharePoint.??

We’ve already spoken about?the power of Microsoft Viva Connections in a previous blog. But, in short, the simple way of describing Viva Connections is “A SharePoint Intranet inside a Microsoft Teams App”; users can access company news, policies, and other published information without having to leave Teams.?

The?Microsoft Viva Connections Dashboard makes it even easier to improve employee experience with quick links to the latest news and information that is relevant to them.

Here’s how it looks in SharePoint and how it will look in the future Viva Connections tab in the Teams app (yet to be released):

How to set up your Microsoft Viva Connections Dashboard.?

In this video, Tony walks you through how to set up the Viva Connections Dashboard.

You can create the Viva Connections Dashboard inside SharePoint.?

1. Go to SharePoint.
2. Click?Settings?and?Manage Viva Connections.
3. Select?Create Dashboard. A blank page will appear.??
4. Select?Edit?in the top right-hand corner (similar to editing a SharePoint site).?
5. Add cards to your dashboard (see more about cards below).?
6. Hit?Republish?to save your Dashboard. It is now ready to add to your SharePoint page.??

Tip: Switch between the Mobile and Desktop view to ensure it looks great and is compatible on both desktop and mobile devices.?

Add a card to your Microsoft Viva Connections Dashboard.?

Cards in Viva Connections are similar to the cards and web parts in SharePoint. They can be set up to pull key information from Microsoft 365 and Active Directory in a user-friendly way.?

1. Select?Add a card?to open up the different card options.?
2. Select the card you wish to add (descriptions of each card can be found below).?
3. Add a heading and description.?
4. Select the size you would like the card to be.?
5. Choose a target audience (optional).??

Tip: Rearrange your cards by selecting them and dragging and dropping them. You may want to place more recent cards towards the top of your dashboard to ensure they’re seen.?

You have a good range of built-in card options, including:??

• Assigned Tasks?– Manage your team’s work, assign tasks and track tasks.?
• Approvals?– Vacation requests, sign-off documents, approve expense reports?
• Card designer –?Create your own cards.?
• Shifts?– Display info about the next or current shift from the Shifts app in Teams?
• Teams app?– Open a Teams personal app?
• Top News?– Shows news from SharePoint?
• Web link?– Access a site without leaving the Viva Connections app.??

We have also created our own Viva Adaptive Cards, exclusive to our customers:?

Highlight Employee Viva Adaptive Card.?

Showcase an employee on your dashboard with the Highlight Employee card, allowing users to click on the card to email and chat with the highlighted user.?

There are quite a few reasons you may want to highlight a specific employee. For example,?to celebrate an employee’s achievements, or share their details with your team if they need to contact the person to RSVP to an event.??

To set up Highlight Employee:?

1. Add the?Highlight Employee?card to your dashboard.?
2. Type an employee’s name and select from the drop-down list.
3. Choose whether to show their job title.?
4. Select the card size and audience to target.?
5. Hit?Republish?to publish this card.??
6. Users will now have the option to email and chat with the highlighted employee.?

Line manager Viva Adaptive Card.?

Display a profile of the user’s manager with the Line Manager card, allowing users to click on the card to email and chat with the highlighted manager.?

To set up Line manager.?

1. Add the?Line Manager?card to your dashboard. This will look up in Active Directory who the user’s line manager is and automatically pull in their details.?
2. You can edit the title, card size and audience for this card.
3. Hit?Republish?to publish this card.?
4. Users will now have the option to email and chat with their line manager.??

Word of the day card.?

The Word of the Day card automatically update your dashboard with a new word every day. It is similar to our?Word of the Day web part that we created for SharePoint.?

1. Add the?Word of the Day?card to your dashboard.??
2. You can edit the card title, size and target audience.?
3. You can also choose from different Word Banks (that we will expand over time).?
4. Hit?Republish?to publish this card.?
5. This will automatically update your dashboard with a new word every day.?

Add your Viva Connections Dashboard to your SharePoint page.?

1. Go to your SharePoint home page.?
2. Create a new section by selecting the plus icon in the left side panel.??
3. From here, you can add the Dashboard for Viva Connections like you would add a SharePoint web part.??
4. This automatically pulls in your cards from your dashboard.??

When the Viva Connections App is released, you’ll be able to access your cards via your mobile app and do quick actions at the touch of a button.??

Microsoft is going to be developing Viva Connections heavily over the next year, so we’re really excited to see it evolve into something really handy for employees.??

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