Internal communication is an integral part of any organization, ensuring that employees are informed and engaged with company activities, goals and culture. With the rise of social media and digital communication, enterprise social networking platforms have become popular tools, like Yammer for Internal Communications.
Starting on Summer 2023, Yammer is being rebranded as Microsoft Viva Engage, as part of Microsoft’s larger Viva platform. With this rebranding comes new features aimed at enhancing employee engagement and collaboration in the workplace. Both platforms have been developed by Microsoft and offer features for improving communication, collaboration, and engagement among employees. If you still don’t know how to get the most out of Yammer, you can always refer to the Yammer Guide for Internal Communications.
In this article, you will discover which are the main differences between Yammer and its newer version Viva Engage:
Communication Channels
The first major difference between Viva Engage and Yammer is the communication channels they offer. Yammer was primarily a newsfeed, group and direct messaging platform. While it offered options to organize content into topics and hashtags, it was essentially a simple feed-based platform. Viva Engage, on the other hand, will offer a range of communication channels including public meetings, webinars and live events. In other words, Viva Engage will offer much more advanced content creation and management features, such as document management, content publishing and content targeting.
Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is another important aspect of internal communication that requires to know The Most Important Employee Engagement Metrics. Guess what ? Both Yammer and its new version Viva Engage offer features designed to improve engagement ! To expand Yammer’s basic functionality, Viva Engage will focus heavily on employee engagement and use data analytics to measure and improve employee sentiment. The new platform will offer features such as employee surveys, sentiment analysis and personalized recommendations to increase engagement. Previously, Yammer also supported employee engagement but did not offer the same level of analysis or personalization as Viva Engage. In addition, Viva Engage will be able to offer employee recognition and reward features such as badges, points and certificates to increase engagement and motivation.
Integration with Microsoft 365
One of the main advantages of Viva Engage is its full integration with Microsoft 365, unlike Yammer which was a separate platform that required its own implementation and management. As part of the Microsoft Viva suite, Viva Engage will be easily integrated with other Microsoft 365 tools such as SharePoint, Teams and Outlook. This means that organizations already using these tools can easily implement Viva Engage without having to adopt new platforms.
Personalization
Another improvement to note between Viva Engage and Yammer is the level of personalization offered by the new platform. Viva Engage will be able to provide personalized recommendations for content and connections based on an employee’s interests and activity, while Yammer did not offer the same level of personalization. New features will help employees discover relevant content and connect with colleagues who share the same interests.
Mobile App
Upon release, Viva Engage will have a dedicated mobile app for iOS and Android, whereas before, the Yammer mobile app was integrated with the Microsoft Teams app. This means that employees who were using Yammer had to access the platform via the Teams app, while soon employees using Viva Engage will simply be able to use a standalone mobile app.
Pricing
Finally, there is a significant price difference between Viva Engage and Yammer. Viva Engage has a free version as well as a premium version that offers more advanced features. Also, the free version of Yammer offered limited features and functionality, while its paid version offered more advanced features such as analytics and integration.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, both Viva Engage and Yammer are enterprise social networking platforms designed to improve internal communication, collaboration, and engagement within organizations. Although both platforms have similar goals, they have several differences that are worth considering, including improvements and more advanced features in the new version of Yammer. Viva Engage will offer a wider range of communication channels, more advanced content creation and management features, a greater focus on employee engagement and deeper integration with Microsoft.
Still, why are Yammer and Viva Engage not enough?
An effective use of all Viva Engage features will require a thorough understanding of the usage habits of employees, in order to communicate in the most effective way for each user profile.
Tryane Analytics solutions provides valuable information – necessary to address the unique communication needs of each organization. Tryane Analytics helps you better understand employee behaviour and preferences towards communications.
Through actionable insights, Tryane helps internal communications teams stay on the right track and boost engagement where needed.
Contact us know to discover how Tryane Analytics solutions can help you improve your internal communication impact.