Customer spotlight: Capgemini is turning comms and conversations into AI-ready knowledge
As organizations invest in Microsoft 365 Copilot and AI, many are asking the same question: What knowledge will AI actually use? For Capgemini, the answer isn't buried in documents alone. It's found in leadership conversations, employee communities, company events, and knowledge shared every day across the organization. Through Viva Engage, Capgemini is creating a living knowledge layer that helps employees connect with leaders, learn from one another, and build the organizational context that makes AI more useful. Moving beyond broadcast communications Capgemini's goal is simple: meet employees where they already work. Rather than adding more destinations and channels, the company is focused on creating a connected experience across Teams, Viva Connections, and Viva Engage that makes it easier for employees to find information, participate in conversations, and learn from their peers. For Jeanette Vikbacka Castaing, Global Internal Communications at Capgemini, communities are ultimately about helping people connect, learn, and share expertise. Speaking at Microsoft 365 Community Conference, she described the value of bringing together people who are "passionate about engagement, communications, and products" and creating opportunities to learn, grow, and exchange ideas. Creating the signals Copilot needs One of the central themes of Microsoft's "Engage Everywhere" session was that AI adoption is not simply a technology challenge. It is a communications and knowledge challenge. Copilot relies on organizational context to generate grounded responses. That context comes from everyday interactions between employees, experts, and leaders. Communities capture peer learning. Leadership dialogue provides direction and context. Events create shared moments. Conversations preserve institutional knowledge. At Capgemini, these signals are being created at scale through several key use cases: Executive leadership communications Corporate events Employee challenges and campaigns AI-focused communities Ongoing employee conversations and knowledge sharing Making leaders visible—and discoverable Leadership visibility became one of Capgemini's key priorities over the past year. What began as an experiment encouraging leaders to post directly evolved into a measurable communications strategy. "We have really seen now an increase of the views every time a leader posts directly in our all staff community," Jeanette explained. "It's very clear that people want to hear from the leaders. We can see that in the data." Beyond reach, the goal is trust. By making leaders more approachable and accessible through conversation, Capgemini is creating stronger connections between leadership and employees. "When you're approachable, you also build trust," Jeanette shared. These leadership conversations become more than communications content. They become organizational knowledge that employees can discover later and that AI can reference when surfacing relevant information. Turning events into lasting knowledge Capgemini has also embraced events as a way to create connection and generate knowledge before, during, and after a live moment. Instead of treating events as standalone broadcasts, conversations continue around the event experience. Employees ask questions, share perspectives, and contribute ideas that remain available to the broader organization. Microsoft's vision for Engage events follows the same principle: event conversations create content that can remain discoverable and continue delivering value beyond the live session itself. The multiplier effect of conversation Perhaps the most compelling insight from Capgemini's story is what the team calls the “Multiplier Effect of Conversations” For example: A post creates a conversation. A conversation creates connections. Connections inspire action. Actions drive outcomes. For communicators, this represents a shift in how success is measured. The value of a post is no longer limited to impressions or views. The real value comes from the expertise surfaced, questions answered, relationships built, and knowledge created throughout the conversation lifecycle. As communications strategies evolve, measurement becomes increasingly important. Capgemini has seen this effect firsthand through employee challenges tied to company sponsorships such as the Ryder Cup, America's Cup, and Tour de France. Previously these campaigns relied heavily on email. Today they are powered by conversations in Viva Engage. According to Jeanette, the difference has been "night and day." Employees immediately start commenting, tagging colleagues, sharing excitement, and encouraging others to participate. "We really build momentum," she said. "It's kind of a snowball effect.” Perhaps most importantly, the conversations continue long after the original campaign. Past contest winners often return to encourage future participants, creating a self-sustaining cycle of engagement and peer advocacy. Capgemini's journey reflects a growing need among communicators to understand not only whether content was delivered, but whether it generated participation, engagement, and meaningful outcomes. The goal is helping communicators measure not just reach, but influence. Measuring More Than Reach Capgemini's approach to communications is increasingly data-driven. Whether evaluating leadership visibility, participation in AI communities, or employee engagement with company-wide campaigns, the team looks beyond simple message delivery. "People want to hear from the leaders. We can see that in the data," Jeanette explained when describing the growth of leadership communications. The same focus applies to Copilot communities. Capgemini tracks how employees engage, ask questions, and help one another. Jeanette noted that even large, open communities remain productive because employees arrive with a specific purpose: learn, ask questions, and share knowledge. "You ask a question, you get an answer," she said. "It's really peer-to-peer connection at its best." For communicators, these interactions represent something more valuable than traditional engagement metrics. They are signals of learning, expertise sharing, and organizational knowledge creation—the same signals that help employees today and help Copilot deliver more relevant answers tomorrow. Building an AI-ready culture The most important lesson from Capgemini's story is that successful AI adoption starts with people. Communities give employees a place to learn together. Experts can share knowledge. Leaders can provide clarity. Questions become answers. Conversations become institutional memory. Over time, those interactions create the organizational context that helps Copilot deliver more relevant, grounded responses. One of the fastest-growing examples is AI itself. Capgemini has built multiple communities dedicated to Copilot, including a broad Copilot Chat community, a community for licensed Copilot users, and a separate space for certified Copilot champions. According to Jeanette, each has a different purpose and audience, but all are performing well and generating strong participation. "The reach is just amazing. We measure, of course," she explained. Start, test and, and learn Asked what advice she would give communicators just beginning their journey, Jeanette's answer was straightforward: "Test, test and learn." There is no single formula for building communities or driving engagement. What works depends on the audience, culture, and goals. "Failure is also progress," she said. "Test and see what works and build from there." That mindset reflects Capgemini's broader approach to AI readiness. Create opportunities for people to connect. Encourage leaders to participate. Build communities where expertise can be shared openly. Measure what matters. Over time, every conversation contributes to something bigger: a living body of organizational knowledge that helps both employees and AI work smarter together. For communicators, the opportunity is clear: every conversation is more than a moment of engagement. It is a chance to create knowledge, build trust, and help the organization become more ready for AI. So, the question becomes: what conversations are you creating today that your employees, and AI, will need tomorrow?Customer spotlight: How Foot Locker turned AI curiosity into adoption
When organizations talk about AI adoption, the conversation often starts with technology. At Foot Locker, it started with people. Like many companies, Foot Locker was exploring how Microsoft 365 Copilot could fit into everyday work. Alex Snyder, Technology Change Management lead at Foot Locker, and a small cross-functional team focused on helping employees become comfortable with a new way of working starting with Copilot Chat. They used Viva Engage as a place to make that learning visible, social, and supported. Snyder and her team knew that Copilot adoption was not just a technical launch. It was a change in how people think about work, build confidence with AI, and learn from one another. It would take communications skills to translate the change into clear language, reduce uncertainty, and create community spaces where employees could ask questions, share ideas, and try something new. Start with confidence, not complexity Early in the journey, Snyder and the team recognized that employees needed more than access to AI tools. They needed space to learn, experiment, and ask questions. For Snyder, that perspective came naturally. Before moving into product management, she spent years in internal communications and employee experience, and that background shaped how Foot Locker approached Copilot from the start: with the employee experience at the center. "This is not a tool rollout. This is a different way of thinking about work." — Alex Snyder, Product Manager for Microsoft 365, Foot Locker Instead of leading with technical capabilities, the team focused on helping employees understand what AI could do for them. Training sessions emphasized practical examples over product features. Communications avoided jargon. Security guidance was clear and simple. "We removed fear and demystified AI. People felt safe to try it." — Alex Snyder Make learning social A key part of the strategy was giving employees a place to learn from one another. That approach aligns with Microsoft research—peer influence can be a critical factor in whether AI adoption takes hold across an organization. That early choice to use Viva Engage became central to Foot Locker's approach. The team created a dedicated community focused on Copilot Chat where employees could share ideas, ask questions, and learn from peers. "Let community do what communications can't," Snyder said. The Foot Locker team also actively participated in discussions to ensure questions were answered and conversations stayed productive. Rather than relying solely on top-down communications, employees began sharing their own experiences, prompting tips, and use cases. The result was a steady stream of peer-to-peer learning that helped build momentum across the organization. Give people one place to start Alongside the community, Foot Locker created a centralized AI hub in SharePoint that brought together guidance, training resources, security information, prompt examples, and FAQs. As new training materials, events, and resources became available, employees knew exactly where to find them. The team also kept training intentionally simple. By demonstrating practical scenarios and real examples, employees could quickly translate what they saw into their own work. "We didn't focus on everything Copilot could do," Snyder said. "We focused on what someone needed to know to start experimenting." — Alex Snyder Build momentum before you scale Within six months, more than 25% of Foot Locker employees had adopted Copilot Chat, and usage continued to grow. The success created demand for deeper AI capabilities and helped build support for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing and agent development initiatives. Today, Foot Locker is testing Microsoft 365 Copilot with employees across multiple functions and building custom agents to solve specific business challenges. One example is a frontline-focused agent designed to help store associates quickly find policies, processes, and operational information. "Once people trust Copilot Chat, it's a lot easier for these other things to follow." — Alex Snyder What communicators can take from Foot Locker For communicators looking to support AI adoption, Snyder's advice is straightforward: "Don't wait for something to be perfect. Just start somewhere." Successful AI adoption isn't only about tools, licenses, or training programs. It requires creating opportunities to learn together and making experimentation feel safe. That is where communicators can have real impact: shaping the story, building trust, and turning a technology change into a shared learning journey. We’ll be sharing blog posts throughout June to recap the Engage Track sessions at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference. Follow along on the Viva Engage Blog | Microsoft Community Hub, and learn about all the new and coming soon experiences in Engage that we highlighted at the conference.Customer spotlight: Less inbox, more connection at Nuveen
Helping leaders reach employees in new ways At the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, we explored a challenge many communicators are dealing with right now: employees are surrounded by nonstop signals—email, chats, meetings, and posts—and important messages get lost in the noise. Dan Mulcahey, VP, Internal Comms at Nuveen, a TIAA company, joined us to share how he and his team are evolving their communications approach using Viva Engage to make messages more relevant, visible, and engaging over time. Mulcahey highlighted how moving away from email to Engage marked a strategic shift in how leaders communicate and build connection with employees. Why email wasn’t enough The Nuveen comms team looked at the reality: email volume was high, open rates were going down, and leaders needed a better way to reach employees. From there, they piloted Engage, proved reach first, and built confidence over time. Reach came quickly, while engagement required more patience. “We proved the reach first… But you need patience for the engagement.” — Dan Mulcahey, VP, Internal Comms, Nuveen Create for the channel One of the biggest lessons from Nuveen was that communicators can’t just copy email content into a social channel and expect different results. The team had to create content for the medium. For example, Nuveen’s CEO launched a recurring “Fun with Facts” series that used humor and short videos to make even routine topics, like compliance training, more engaging. That shift in content style reflects a broader change toward making communications feel more like what people already consume outside of work: more visual, more direct, and more conversational. What people experience on social platforms and consumer apps shapes what they expect at work, and internal communications need to keep up. “People don’t come to work and suddenly turn off their brain. They don’t forget the platforms they use in the real world.” — Dan Mulcahey Mulcahey reported that since June 2023, for a business unit of around 3,700 employees, that approach generated 2.5 million impressions, 25.5K reactions, and 2K comments on Engage, along with what the team described as “one executive team of believers.” In a video shared during the session, Josh Shamansky, Chief Human Resources Officer, said Engage had become central not only to communications distribution strategy, but also to content development. He also shared that employees and leaders were engaging in ways that email and the intranet could not support in the same way. “Viva Engage has become the most important channel for leaders and employees to stay connected across the organization. It is hard to remember that we did it any other way.” — Josh Shamansky, Chief Human Resources Officer, Nuveen Start small, build momentum The Nuveen team described a phased journey that started small in one business area, expanded to a 3,700+ person Nuveen business unit community, then grew to 10 more communities before expanding to the TIAA all-company level. They focused first on the parts of the organization most ready to adopt, used those wins as proof points, and let leadership advocacy help the model spread. Mulcahey and members of his team — Chris Dickey, Comms Business Partner, and Chris Martin, Communications Operations Lead — talked openly about the importance of “starting small and sending wins up the chain,” democratizing communications operations, and enabling non-communicators to help carry the story forward. That meant communicators weren’t the only people creating momentum: leaders, advocates, and business-area contributors became part of the engine. That matters even more in an AI era, where the opportunity isn’t just to create more content faster, but to build more distributed participation around the messages that matter. If there is one takeaway, it’s this: relevance comes from building communications that fit the channel, reflect how people consume content, and unfold over time in a way employees can follow. We’ll be sharing more blog posts throughout June to recap the Engage Track sessions at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference. Follow along on the Viva Engage Blog | Microsoft Community Hub, and learn about all the new and coming soon experiences in Engage that we highlighted at the conference.What’s new and next in Engage: June 2026
Stay up to date with the latest innovations coming to Viva Engage in June 2026. This update highlights new capabilities designed to enhance community engagement, streamline leadership communication, and empower employees to connect, share, and collaborate more effectively across your organization.
Not an FTE. How can I get access to Amplify ?
I am an external worker supporting EMEA DCOPs. I was trying to use Amplify for some of my team's needs as we seem to be doubling up on work by not using a single tool but I have no access to create campaign on Amplify. How can I request access? Thank you.Leadership communication in the flow of work
Leadership today is less about occasional broadcasts and more about consistent, credible presence. Employees expect leaders to: Provide clarity amid constant change Show follow-through, not just direction Communicate in ways that feel human and accessible Why this matters This playbook scales based on a leader’s scope and audience size – from company-wide executives to function and team leaders. Research from Engage UX Researcher Paula Wellings, shared during our Masterclass series, outlines what employees expect from leader communications. This research (and our internal experience) consistently show that visible, two-way leadership communication is a key driver of trust, engagement, and successful change. When leaders participate directly, downstream employee engagement increases. Ongoing dialogue—through posts, responses, and visible follow-through—is the foundation of leadership presence on Engage. Structured moments such as ask-me-anything (AMA) sessions and organization-wide events can reinforce that dialogue and deepen trust at scale. At the same time, leaders face real constraints: limited time, channel overload, and high scrutiny. Engage is designed to help leaders communicate once, in the right place, and stay visible in the flow of work without adding meetings or increasing email. Where Engage fits in the flow of work Leaders communicate across many channels today, including email, meetings, and the intranet. Each has a role, but not all support visibility, persistence, or two-way engagement at scale. Engage is designed for leadership communication that benefits from reach, context, and dialogue—where updates need to travel beyond immediate teams and employees can respond, not just receive. Read about Microsoft executive Ravi Vedula’s Viva Engage adoption journey, and chart your own course. Choosing the right surface based on intent Engage gives leaders two complementary avenues for communication. Each serves a different leadership intent. The choice between storyline and communities depends on the leader’s scope, audience size, and communication intent. Storyline Storyline enables leaders to reach both their intended audience and people across teams and hierarchies, making it well suited for visibility, alignment, and leadership presence. Share perspectives, priorities, or decisions Recognize people or progress publicly Cascade or amplify important updates Close the loop in a visible way Communities Communities bring together people organized around a shared variable (org, role, region, topic). They typically feature multiple voices, curated content, and ongoing discussion aligned to the purpose of the community. Use communities when you want to: Engage a specific group or function Invite discussion, Q&A, or feedback Go deeper on a topic over time Build shared understanding within a domain Communities are ideal when the goal is conversation rather than broadcast. How leaders typically use both Leaders do not choose between storyline and communities based on title or level. They choose based on audience scope and communication intent. Storyline is typically used when the goal is broader visibility: Sharing perspective or context that benefits cross-team awareness Reinforcing leadership presence beyond a single org Public recognition or commentary that should travel widely Communities are typically used when the goal is focused dialogue: Communicating with a defined audience (org, region, function, topic) Hosting discussion aligned to the purpose of that group Sustaining ongoing conversations within a curated space In practice, leaders often use both surfaces together — for example, sharing a visible update on storyline and continuing deeper discussion within a community. Leadership presence isn’t just posting Leaders often pair posting with lightweight engagement—replying to comments, acknowledging questions, or reacting—to reinforce trust and dialogue. Building blocks for effective leadership communication To ensure clarity and reach, two things need to be in place: Leader identification Leaders must be identified as such in the system. This enables: Appropriate visibility across Engage Access to leader-level insights and analytics A consistent experience for audiences This ensures that leadership communication is surfaced and measured correctly. Delegates enabled Leaders can designate delegates to support their communication on Engage. Delegation is about support, not outsourcing leadership voice. Delegates can: Draft posts on behalf of the leader Publish updates with the leader’s voice and attribution Help manage cadence, timing, and follow-up Help leaders stay engaged by surfacing conversations, questions, and moments worth responding to This allows leaders to maintain an authentic presence while scaling communication – especially during busy periods or major moments. Audiences built in (no set up required) Engage provides built-in audiences based on organizational data, such as the reporting hierarchy, so leaders can reach the right people by default from their Storylines. Leaders and delegates can define audiences when they publish, with no setup required. Audiences provide: A built-in followership Confidence that messages are seen Less reliance on follow-up email Clear expectations for who an update is for Core leadership use cases Engage helps leaders put leadership behaviors into practice in a way that’s visible, consistent, and part of the flow of work. Narrate what’s happening Share priorities, decisions, and context at the appropriate scope so teams stay aligned. Keep updates concise and focused on what changed, why it matters, and what’s next. Acknowledge people and progress Recognize wins, milestones, and contributions publicly to reinforce morale and culture. Specific recognition lands better than generic praise. Call out teams, behaviors, or moments. Close the loop Reflect back what you heard, what changed, and what’s next. This is a key driver of trust. Follow-up posts that reflect what you heard build trust and increase engagement. Even brief responses signal listening and build credibility, especially during change or uncertainty. Host interactive leadership moments In addition to ongoing posts and dialogue, leaders strengthen trust through live and structured interaction. Ask-me-anything (AMA) sessions and broadcast events are powerful ways to: Provide clarity in moments of change Address questions transparently and at scale Demonstrate accountability Reinforce alignment across teams A common pattern is to use Engage end-to-end: Solicit questions in advance on storyline or in communities Host the live broadcast event Follow up with key takeaways or clarifications Interactive moments often become anchor points in a leader’s communication strategy, complementing regular posts and dialog. For setup guidance and event mechanics, refer to Ask me anything events in Engage. Measuring leadership impact Engage provides leadership analytics to help leaders understand how their communications land. Leaders and delegates can view: Reach: how many people saw a post Engagement: reaction, replies, and sentiment to understand the tone and quality of responses, not just volume. Conversation signal: whether people are responding, not just reacting Trends over time: consistency and momentum in leadership communication These insights are not about scoring or ranking leaders. They are designed to help leaders: Understand what resonates Know when follow-up is needed Communicate with more intention over time Leaders who consistently respond and engage tend to see stronger momentum over time, not just higher reach. Getting started (10 minutes) Choose the right surface: Storyline for broad context and visibility Communities for focused dialogue Confirm your audience and delegates Writing guidance: Quality over quantity: Consistency matters more than volume. One thoughtful post a month is better than frequent updates if there isn’t something meaningful to say. Sound human: write conversationally. Share perspectives – not corporate language. Be timely and relevant: Address what’s top of mind for your audience right now. Invite engagement: Ask a question or prompt reflection when appropriate. Use visuals when possible: Images or short videos help posts stand out and travel further. Choose the right tone: Use announcements, polls, or praise intentionally based on your goal. Plan time to engage after posting: even a few replies can meaningfully increase trust and participation. Example posts that leaders can model Employees value leaders who show up, respond, and follow through — not just those who post. Team recognition: “Proud of the team for delivering this milestone. The collaboration across groups really showed up in the final result. Thank you for the focus and persistence.” Leadership reflection: “This month I’ve been reflecting on how we balance speed with quality. Both matter, and I’m encouraged by the conversations I’m seeing across the org.” Amplifying an announcement: “Today’s company announcement is an important step forward. I appreciate the work behind it and encourage everyone to take a look at the full update.” Culture and values: “One thing I consistently see here is people showing up for each other. Those moments define our culture more than any slide ever could.” Change and transparency: “As we move through this transition, I want to acknowledge the adaptability I’m seeing across teams. I’m committed to keeping communication open as we go.” The bigger picture When leaders use Engage intentionally: Important context travels faster Teams feel more informed and connected Reliance on broadcast email goes down Leadership presence becomes more continuous and human Note: Storyline announcements, targeting, the ability to identify leaders, some advanced analytics, and related capabilities described in this blog post are available with a Premium Viva Engage license (for example, Viva Employee Communications & Communities or Viva Suite). Resources Case study: Authentic leadership at scale Identify and manage leaders View analytics for posts and engagement Leadership corner Engage adoption resourcesRelevance is the new reach: modern leadership communications in Viva Engage
Leadership communication has never been more important... Or more complex. Leaders want to communicate clearly and consistently, but every message comes with a risk. Broadcast it broadly, and employees tune out. Narrow it manually, and someone important gets left out. This isn’t a leadership or strategy gap. It’s a tooling gap. Most platforms still force you to choose between reach and relevance. But research from Viva Engage UX Researcher Paula Wellings, shared during Viva Engage Masterclass Season Two: Session 3 – Campaigns & Storytelling, confirms what corporate communicators have long suspected: Employees don't ignore leadership communication because they're disengaged. They ignore it because it doesn't apply to them. When messages aren't tied to an employee's role, location, or reporting chain, they're not just ignored. They create active disengagement and information anxiety. That's why precision targeting is no longer optional. It's a prerequisite for engagement. That insight is exactly why Viva Engage is investing in a next generation of capabilities designed specifically for leadership communication through Storyline. How Storyline targeting changes the game By enabling Leaders, and their Delegates, to define audiences directly at publish time using existing organizational attributes like reporting chain, department, or role, Storyline announcements make it easier to confidently notify the right audience without relying on static distribution lists or organization‑wide alerts. This allows leadership teams to move from volume‑based communication to relevance‑based reach — ensuring that the most important updates are delivered with precision, not noise. Storyline announcements = Precision, not volume Real‑world example: targeted HR updates without the overhead Scenario: HR needs to share a benefits update that applies only to employees in the United States. Before Build and maintain a US-only distribution list Or send org-wide and create confusion for EMEA/APAC teams Rely on email, with no visibility into reach or engagement With Storyline announcements: Select Country = United States at publish time 2,400 relevant employees notified automatically, with optional notification channel delivery customization (Engage, e-mail, Teams) Engagement tracked through analytics No list management required Targeting isn’t just about who sees a message, it’s also about how they’re notified and whether that audience can be reused. With Storyline Announcements, leaders and their delegates can customize notification channels and save audiences for reuse, making repeat communications faster and more consistent over time. And soon with smart notifications for Storylines, Engage will send alerts to an employee’s preferred delivery channel first, helping reduce duplicate notifications across Teams, email, and Engage. Why use Storyline announcements (instead of sending another email)? Storyline gives Leaders a direct, measurable channel for communicating with their audiences, while still supporting dialogue and participation. Unlike email broadcasts, Storyline posts: Appear across Teams, Outlook, mobile, and desktop Support engagement and feedback Can be measured using audience analytics Allow Delegates to manage communications on behalf of the Leader Leaders’ Storyline posts can complement community‑based communications, and the same principle applies more broadly across corporate communications: the best tool depends on both the audience and the level of amplification a message needs. Cascading messages with added relevance Reinforcing organizational priorities Sharing context and perspective Building leadership visibility and authenticity This makes Storyline an ideal channel for business updates, organizational changes, initiative rollouts, policy notifications, campaign reinforcement, event reminders, or action‑oriented leadership messages - all delivered to the people who actually need them. To explore these upcoming Storyline announcement targeting capabilities, sign up for the public preview and read more about Storyline announcements. Another way to increase reach without extra noise Featured conversations offer another way to increase reach without adding noise. For posts in public communities, communicators can now choose whether to feature a conversation to everyone in the network or to community members only. That makes featuring a useful option when the goal is to increase visibility without defaulting to a broad notification for every message. Featured conversations and storyline announcements are separate capabilities in Viva Engage, but they reflect the same principle: giving communicators more control over how broadly a message is amplified. Storyline announcements remain the right fit for targeted leader communications, while featured conversations give corporate communicators another way to match reach to relevance in community-based campaigns and updates. Learn more about featuring a conversation in Viva Engage. How analytics help communicators measure leader reach Analytics in Viva Engage help communicators understand whether a message reached the right audience and resonated once it got there. Understand a post’s reach across audiences and platforms Measure reactions, replies, and shares to understand engagement Extract important themes and sentiment from comments Now, the Frequent contributors leaderboard view in network analytics can help communicators understand which leaders’ posts are catching employee attention and compare engagement trends across leaders and top creators. Note: Storyline announcements, targeting, frequent contributors, and related capabilities described in this blog post are available with a Premium Viva Engage license (for example, Viva Employee Communications & Communities or Viva Suite).Planning for Communities in Teams: What Admins and Communicators Should Do Next
Imagine if employees could spend less time sorting through messages and more time engaging with what actually matters, whether it’s a leadership update, a company announcement, or an important change…all in one place where they can understand, react, and respond. Communities are becoming a more visible part of Teams, making now the right time for admins and communicators to align on readiness, governance, and content. This 3-step post helps you plan your rollout: How to get ready How to reset All Company How to address concerns about noise as adoption grows You’ll also learn the key decisions admins and corporate communications teams should make to ensure Communities add clarity, not noise as adoption increases. And in case you missed it, the Teams blog covers what’s new and why it matters. (If you haven’t read the announcement yet, start here: Introducing communities in Teams: Unifying company communication and connection) What’s changing... and what’s not What’s new: Communities are easier to discover and access in Teams Visibility of posts and announcements increases What’s not changing: Governance is still in your control Communities still follow your existing structure and purpose The opportunity isn’t to rebuild everything, it’s to refine what already works. Start from where you are We recognize that not every customer is starting from the same place. For organizations already using Viva Engage, Communities in Teams is less about reinventing your strategy and more about extending it into the flow of everyday work. Communities are now easier to find and engage with inside Teams, raising the stakes for clarity, governance, and content design. As access becomes simpler and participation grows, it’s important to have your policies, onboarding, and launch plan in place. "Bringing our Viva Engage communities into Teams was an instant win for our organization. By standardizing on a single pane of glass, inside of Teams, we've made it easier and more enjoyable for staff to communicate with other, using a trusted tool that requires no additional enablement overhead. Cognizant has over 350,000 employees - and managing communities at scale requires us to leverage Viva Engage - by now having those live inside of Teams, we get the best of both worlds: the ability to participate in communities with 30k+ employees while still maintaining the notification and organization we've come to depend upon inside of ad-hoc Teams groups and more traditional Teams channels. This further reinforced the idea that Viva Engage Communities are where work gets done - they aren't an optional location for employees - and staying on top of groups and communities together helps make us better at supporting our clients! Best of all - we like to say we "drink our own champagne" here at Cognizant - we can now go to those clients and use our story to show them how an integrated Teams/Viva environment can drive positive business outcomes and enhanced employee experiences." Reed Wiedower, Cognizant, Innovation and Enablement Leader If you are new to Viva Engage, or have not used it strategically in some time, start by defining a few high-value communities, setting clear governance, and giving employees simple guidance on where to go, what to expect, and how to engage. Start by understanding where your organization is today: What governance looks like the next 30 days: Revisit All Company and determine if its purpose or usage should change. Define “official communities” strategy. Start with a small set (e.g., employee news, leadership updates, IT help, communities of practice), seed them with content, and actively promote them. Establish a naming convention to support discovery as Communities become visible in Teams. Define governance and moderation: who creates communities, who can post announcements, and how moderation works. Communicate these changes to community admins and encourage them to activate or refresh key communities. Not using Viva Engage yet? Start here. If you’re unsure where to start, start small: define the purpose, set expectations, and publish a simple guide for employees on how to follow, post, and manage notifications. With a few well-run communities in place, you’ll have the proof, and the playbook, to expand with confidence. Once you’ve defined your starting point and aligned on governance, the next critical step is resetting how your most visible community, All Company, should be used. If you need more guidance or a starting point, check out the Communities in Teams Playbook! Reset All Company for the Teams experience As Communities become more visible in Teams, All Company becomes even more important. This is the moment to reset its purpose: one place for company-wide updates that matter to everyone. For Admins (IT / Network Admins): Set the guardrails Your role isn’t just to enable Communities, it’s to prevent noise before it starts. Start here: Limit who can post (e.g., Corp Comms + delegated leadership voices) Document what qualifies as a post vs. what belongs elsewhere Define when announcements should be used (not every post needs one) For Corporate Comms: Reset how you use All Company Think of All Company as your broadcast + engagement layer inside Teams. Use it for: Leadership narratives and context (not just links) Major moments that need visibility and dialogue Posts that invite reaction, questions, and discussion Decide: What qualifies as a new post vs. a reply Who moderates, and when to step in Expected cadence (not every update = an announcement) Write for Teams behavior: Lead with “what this means” (not just “what’s new”) Keep posts scannable (short, clear, structured) Use announcements sparingly—overuse reduces trust Once All Company is clearly defined, look for follow-on communities (like Copilot Adoption Community) where more targeted conversations can happen. Address concerns about noise early As Communities expand in Teams, one concern comes up quickly: Will this create more noise? Done right, the answer is no. Start with this mindset: more posts ≠ more value. Engagement doesn’t mean more content. It means more relevant content, in the right place. If everything is posted everywhere, or if everything is an announcement employees will tune out. Admins: Control where content shows up Next Steps: Ensure communities are purpose-driven (not duplicates of the same topic) Guide teams to use the right community for the right audience Review the Governance of the network and Watch session: Mastering admin and governance in Viva Engage for community management, moderation capabilities and more. Review moderation and theme moderation in Viva Engage Corporate Comms: Be intentional with reach More visibility is powerful, but only when used carefully. Clarity reduces noise more than volume control ever will. Reminders: Use announcements for high-signal moments only Reserve broad reach for content that applies to most employees Let smaller or targeted communities carry more specific conversations The goal is trust, not volume As Communities become easier to access in Teams, the priority is making them feel useful, intentional, and worth employees’ attention. Done well, Communities don’t add noise, they make important communication easier to find, easier to understand, and easier to trust. Continue the journey Join Us live via Start Strong Webinar Deep Dive with the Engage Masterclass Series Modern Employee and Corp Comms Resources Click Through Demo Join our customer community! PS. Want access now? Communities in Teams is available now for Engage customers who opt into public preview, with no migration required. All existing community content, permissions, and governance settings carry over automatically. Review the network and tenant requirements to ensure your network meets the criteria. Make sure the engage experiences in Teams toggle is on for your tenant. Opt-in to the public preview through Teams. Learn more about the full experience for communities in Teams.Effective, engaging events in communities and storylines
Whether you’re running a company-wide broadcast, a training session, a Reddit-style “ask me anything” (AMA) or an in-person gathering, Viva Engage and Microsoft Teams help you host and manage more effective and engaging events. Events have always been central to employee communications. Viva Engage and events play a critical role in building trust, encouraging authenticity, and listening at scale. From highly produced hybrid all-hands to asynchronous AMAs, the new Viva Engage features are helping our leaders connect with employees, address what matters most, and build trust—all in one platform. - John Cirone, Senior Director of Global Employee and Executive Communications We are upgrading existing community live events and storyline AMA features with a simple model: three event types—broadcast, meeting, async—from any community or storyline, super-powered with a long list of event features you have asked for. The result: improved experiences for organizers, presenters and attendees both before, during and after the event. This blog post will detail what this means for you! These new events features start rolling out April 27 th . And guess what? All of these new features will be available to all Microsoft 365 commercial customers with access to Engage and Teams—no “premium” license will be required for events up to 10,000 attendees. New features: the highlights The new capabilities of Engage events—particularly the moderated feed with support for anonymous questions and upvotes—has transformed the way we empower our leaders to listen and respond to questions from employees. - Alexander Bradley, Senior Director of Executive Communications With that in mind, let’s start by exploring the new features for every event in every community and storyline: Events listing: Each community and storyline has a calendar of upcoming and past events—a destination for people to register for future events and catch up with events they missed. Event page: The home for your event is a branded landing page with a custom cover photo (coming soon), the event details and description. This is the “micro site” for your event to which you drive attendees. They can learn about the event, engage with it, join the live session, and catch up with the event if they missed it. Event feed: A new event feed enables you to share updates, solicit questions, ideas and feedback, and support engagement between attendees and presenters. The new event feed introduces support for optional anonymous posting and moderation which allows organizers to approve posts before they are made visible to attendees. The feed allows you to tune the event experience for the engagement you want to encourage and support; you can enable or disable questions, comments, reactions, and upvoting; and you can change the settings at any time. The event feed is available before, during and after the event, showing up on the event landing page in Engage and in the “Q&A” panel of Teams. Event recording: After the event, the recording is available on the event page, so attendees can review both the recording and the feed. You can now update the recording link, allowing you to make edits to the video. Calendaring options: Events in Engage support two models to support your efforts to drive demand and attendance. First, you can invite attendees directly from Outlook, putting an invitation directly in their calendar. This model supports scenarios where their attendance is expected. Or, you can drive attendees to the event page where they can add to calendar, supporting an “opt-in” model that gives attendees control of what is on their calendar. Or you can mix and match, inviting those attendees who really need to have it on their calendar and letting others opt in. Event analytics: You’ll have access to analytics throughout the lifecycle of your event. You’ll be able to see how many people attended, how they engaged in the event feed, and how people consumed the recording after the event. For broadcasts, you can also access Teams insights. Mobile app choice: Attendees can join events from either the Teams or Engage mobile apps, across both iOS and Android. Integration with enterprise search and Copilot: Content from public events serves as grounding for Microsoft 365 Copilot and enterprise search, amplifying the reach and impact of the knowledge and information you share in your event. Event types Now, let’s explore the three event types and what is different. BROADCAST is best for company-wide or large-scale events, launches, keynotes and organizational “town hall” or “all hands” events. Key characteristics: Deliver a high‑quality live stream that scales to large audiences Organizers control what appears on screen Attendees watch the event and participate using Q&A and reactions This experience is an upgrade to the legacy “live event” broadcast, with an advanced feed and a rich suite of production features. MEETING is best for collaborative sessions, presentations, training workshops, expert panels, and all of the regular “rhythm of business” events your team or department conducts. Key characteristics: Share camera, microphone, and screen in real time Organizers can control who can present and share Up to 1,000 people can participate in the live event A collaborative event can feel exactly like a Teams meeting, where anyone can share. Or it can be like a presentation or webinar, where only presenters can share. Or anything in between. ASYNC is best for soliciting questions, collecting feedback, and crowdsourcing ideas from employees. Conduct an offline, asynchronous event with no live presentation or video stream Host an "ask-me-anything" (AMA) during which leaders or experts answer questions Enhance an in-person event by engaging your audience before and after This experience features an event page and event feed, but no real-time video experience powered by Teams. You can gather questions, ideas and feedback before an in-person event, or host a text-only (asynchronous) event like a Reddit-style AMA that can connect people with experts even over longer periods of time. Why host events in a community instead of creating them from your calendar? Until now, you’ve had one way to create events: From your Teams or Outlook calendar, you can create a Teams meeting, a Teams webinar, or a Teams Town Hall. Why would you want to change where you create and host events? An event isn’t just a calendar entry; its impact continues outside of the event confines. New event features help employees who missed the live event catch up quickly, help moderators engage attendees, and help leaders close the loop by responding to remaining questions. The result is a richer, more durable record of the event, so your organization benefits from the information and knowledge long after the event ends. Here’s the short list of what you can do better when you create your event from a community: Provide a calendar of upcoming and past events. Communicate effectively to drive awareness and attendance. Engage your audience before, during and after the event. Leverage event analytics to measure and improve effectiveness. Amplify information and knowledge shared at the event, after the event. Integration with community objectives and experiences. If you have experience with Microsoft 365 and events, think of it this way: By creating an event in a community, you’re taking a Teams event and wrapping it with the superpowers of Engage to reach and engage your audience at scale, before, during and after your event. And remember communities are not just for Engage anymore! Communities (powered by Engage) will be available in Teams Chat, alongside your chats, channels, and meetings; so, your events and their content will be seamlessly integrated into the flow of work in Teams. Preview customers have used these new event capabilities at scale, for company-wide “all hands” events, departmental rhythm-of-business meetings, and an extraordinary number of internal AI learning events. We look forward to celebrating your successful events as you apply these features to share news and information, train people, and engage employees. Resources Organize an Engage event - Microsoft Support Attend an Engage event - Microsoft Support Monday Masterclass Season 2 – Week 4 Designing Events Employees Remember | Microsoft Community Hub
