In fall 2023, the Viva Pulse product team collaborated with Microsoft’s HRBI (HR Business Insights) team to develop a strategy for continuous listening using Viva Pulse. We designed a comprehensive employee data collection approach that includes the existing semi-annual Viva Glint engagement survey, supplemented by new, manager-driven Viva Pulse surveys in the interim.

“We leverage Viva Pulse as a strategic tool within our broader Employee Listening System. It provides special value between large survey cycles to track progress and drive action taking, and the opportunities are endless as this tool flexibly enables our managers/project leads democratized access to robust surveying functionality.” – Dante Myers, Director of Employee Listening Systems

The HRBI team created an organization-specific pulse survey template tailored for managers at Microsoft. This custom template was designed to help managers regularly check in on their team’s progress on the focus areas identified from the previous Viva Glint engagement survey cycle and to make any necessary adjustments to their action plans. Six weeks after the release of the Viva Glint engagement survey results, in early 2024, the HRBI team sent an email to all managers, encouraging them to use Viva Pulse to act on their Viva Glint engagement survey feedback.

Following the communication, Microsoft conducted a research study with managers who used Viva Pulse to learn more about the effectiveness of the tool to support actioning. From the study, the manager participants highlighted the importance of acting on survey feedback to build trust and demonstrate that leadership listens. They emphasized the value of regular surveys to provide leaders with ongoing insights and maintain connection with their teams in between survey cycles. Additionally, they see surveys as a tool to reinforce organizational culture, unify the team, and communicate that employee opinions are valued and impactful.

When the next Viva Glint engagement survey was released, the Research team re-connected with some of the manager participants to follow up on their Viva Pulse experience and any impact it may have had on their Viva Glint engagement survey experience. The Managers noted a significant increase in response rate in their interim Pulses and Glint engagement survey.

One manager participant was unable to review his direct team’s fall 2023 Viva Glint engagement survey scores as responses were too low. This round – 88% responded. He noted it was because of the continuous listening and action taking. He said, “I’m just taking the time from those Pulses and bringing them up on team calls and immediately sharing the results. The higher result happened; I believe [it is] from people being more familiar & comfortable, developing that muscle with the process.”

The manager participants we spoke to attribute these response improvements to Pulse building trust within respondents, further emphasizing that their feedback is being heard, and action is being taken. Additionally, these manager participants took the time to process the Pulse data after each survey, share it with their team, and create an environment for discussion, which we believe is crucial to closing the feedback loop.

Another manager participant noted, “Pulse is a great way for people to know that leadership is doing [things] or trying to do [things]….It signals that we’re not just doing this because [our CEO] wants us to do all these surveys and check sentiment…No, we’re doing this independently.” Managers appreciated the opportunity to seek feedback directly, instead of waiting for the next engagement survey to receive sentiment from their teams. They found Viva Pulse’s stock templates and question library particularly useful as a starting point, and by customizing the survey to match their team’s needs and focus areas, the managers were able to gather insights during critical moments.

As this initial experiment concludes, the Viva Pulse team will continue to invest in Viva Pulse as a follow up to engagement surveys. With deeper integrations planned between Viva Pulse and Viva Glint, we aim to support manager enablement in driving employee engagement, culture, and inclusion. Our goal is to develop Viva Pulse in a way that empowers managers to take ownership of driving employee engagement.

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to comment. Furthermore, if you would like to get involved with Viva Pulse, please comment below to learn about our customer engagement opportunities.

Until Next Time,
Viva Pulse Team

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