Welcome to the Internal Communications Strategies with Microsoft 365 Certificate Series!
In this fast-paced forum, you'll get to know your fellow peers, their biggest internal communications challenges, and a few fun facts.

In this session you will learn practical steps to utilize key Viva Engage capabilities to deliver impactful two -way communication, build engagement between employees and leaders, and support critical organizational initiative such as launching Copilot.

Key Takeaways:

• Improve two-way communication
• Strengthen employee-leader connections
• Drive organizational success with Viva Engage

How Blue Cross and Blue Shield has used Viva Engage to amplify employee voices, build connections, and promote executive engagement. What we’ve learned along the away – including hard lessons about content moderation – how the channel has evolved with the emergence of Teams and hybrid work, and recommendations for other organizations seeking to promote employee connections with this platform.

Key Takeaways:

• Viva Engage amplified employee voices and fostered stronger connections at Blue Cross Blue Shield NC.
• The platform highlighted the need for effective content moderation to maintain a positive communication environment.
• Viva Engage adapted to hybrid work, enhancing executive engagement and meaningful employee interactions.

In this session Brandon Martel, intranet support and success specialist will review the aggregate analytics from all the intranets we support to understand which features are worth your time.  We’ll explore:

• the features and capabilities that drive the most intranet traffic and usage;
• the hits-and-misses – features that are highly successful in some organizations, while receiving low usage in others; and
• features that consistently under perform.

If you have intranet analytics – bring them to the session – as we share our intranet hits and low performers in our organizations.

Learn how M365 tools, including SharePoint, Viva, Teams, and Co-Pilot, empower organizations to enhance employee engagement and foster a culture of connectivity. Panelists will discuss practical strategies and success stories illustrating how M365 tools promote transparency, belonging, and active participation among employees.

Key Takeaways:

• Techniques for leveraging M365 tools to strengthen employee engagement initiatives.
• Insights into promoting a culture of transparency and inclusivity with M365.
• Examples of how M365 fosters collaboration and empowers employees to contribute their best work.

Together we will recap yesterday's top takeaways and set the stage for this final day of learning.

Some organizations use Viva Engage to create virtual two-way connections with employees. Others are unsure of how to best use the application. Maybe you’re somewhere in-between? In this session you’ll learn easy techniques for boosting employee engagement and creating influence.

Key Takeaways:

• Create Viva “Engage-ments” with your business teams;
• Further the reach of your internal communication strategies; and
• Use Storylines to boost individual or organizational influence.

M365 tools are powerful and can make a big difference in our daily work – but when and how we bring them into a work environment matters. In this session, we’ll discuss one company’s M365 implementation journey, including the change management approach they developed in response to current events.

Key Takeaways:

• Success requires a change management plan.
• Adapting the approach to current events is key.
• Learn from a communication pro's experience.

In this session, we’ll provide a behind-the-scenes look at Habanero’s Copilot journey. We’ll explore our guiding principles, experiments and scenarios where Copilot can help and where it doesn’t currently add value. We’ll also have time to explore participant’s use with Copilot and what’s working in your organization, and what’s not.

This panel of industry experts will explore how leveraging Microsoft 365 (M365) tools can transform workplace communication. With poor communication cited as a leading cause of workplace failures, the discussion will focus on strategies for using M365 to boost employee morale, foster cohesion, and enhance brand perception through clear messaging and storytelling. Attendees will gain actionable insights on integrating M365 tools to improve communication and collaboration within their organizations.

Key Takeaways:

• Practical approaches to improving communication and collaboration using M365 tools.
• The impact of clear messaging on organizational culture and employee engagement.
• How strategic storytelling, supported by M365, can elevate brand perception and drive business success.