Microsoft is infusing a new AI function into its Microsoft Viva employee experience platform. The company announced the addition of ‘Skills’, an AI-focused feature designed to deliver comprehensive insights to employers regarding their employees’ capabilities, with an aim to identify and bridge skill gaps if any.
A Microsoft blog post detailed the launch, further stating that as per a manager-focused survey, an overwhelming 82 percent of business leaders believe that their workers will need to learn new talents as the use of AI continues to proliferate across industries.
“Skills in Viva” Leverages Microsoft Graph and LinkedIn Skills Graph
The ‘Skills in Viva’ operates on the combined power of the Microsoft Graph – a tool that registers employee activity signals across Microsoft 365 applications and services, and the LinkedIn Skills Graph – a dynamic model mapping the vast global skills landscape that includes over 39,000 unique skills and their correlation to jobs and learning content.
By applying AI reasoning on top of this data layer, the ‘Skills in Viva‘ will be able to intelligently deduce an employee’s skill profile and provide Viva customers with a more profound understanding of their current workforce skills.
Employee-friendly Feature to Aid Learning and Professional Growth
Not restricted to institutional utility, employees can also leverage the Skills feature in Viva to verify and manage their skills, and update their Microsoft 365 profile cards with that data. Managers, in turn, can tap into this information to develop learning and education programs tailored towards fostering new skills necessary for their workforce amidst a shifting work landscape.
Microsoft remains tight-lipped regarding the anticipated date for the general availability of the new feature. However, a private preview test for the ‘Skills’ feature in Viva is expected to be rolled out by the end of the year, post which it will be available as part of the Microsoft Viva suite.
Microsoft Viva, a platform based in Microsoft 365, is designed to provide a suite of employee tools encompassing knowledge, learning, resources, communications, and insights. It is a response to the challenges of hybrid work, including a growing disconnect between employees and leaders.
