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Viva Engage

Connect with the SUNY community through Viva Engage – Microsoft’s enterprise social network and the platform for the SUNY Learning Commons. Users must be within the SUNY System, using a SUNY email address.

UNDERSTANDING VIVA ENGAGE

Viva Engage (formerly known as Yammer) is Microsoft’s enterprise social network and part of the Microsoft 365 toolkit. Similar to Facebook or LinkedIn in its interface and functionality, it helps SUNY community members connect and engage with each other by sharing information and socializing virtually.

Viva Engage enables both open and private interaction and information sharing while also housing specific interest communities and focused conversations across multiple members of the organization. Among other things, Viva Engage’s functionality includes updates on what others are working on, asking questions, sharing ideas, receiving feedback, creating and editing content, and planning events.

WHEN TO USE VIVA ENGAGE VS. TEAMS

SUNY offers Viva Engage and Microsoft Teams as collaboration tools. And, while both tools aim to connect employees, the systems are complementary and address different needs. Viva Engage is ideal for more social interactions and larger more public group conversations and activities. Teams is ideal for interactions between close-knit teams and groups who are working closely and collaboratively on projects and activities. Below is an overview of when it is best to use Viva Engage vs. Teams.

Viva Engage

    • Infinite number of group members. Enjoy an endless list of stakeholders to engage.

      Teams

      • Teams is better suited for groups of people to work toward shared goals and projects.
      • Best for groups of 20 members maximum.
        • Members need to communicate, store and organize files, chat, and meet.
        • An example for faculty/staff: a group created for academic advisors. In Teams, members can schedule all-staff meetings, post important department updates, discuss their work, and share files.

        GETTING STARTED

        CAMPUS INSTANCE

        Once you log in, you should first see that you are a member of your campus community feed, which consists of all individuals at your campus who have joined Viva Engage. Note, if you post a message to the campus community or feed, all individuals at your campus who have joined Viva Engage, will see your post. You can join other communities hosted by your campus by navigating to “Communities” on the left hand side.

        SUNY INSTANCE

        If you are a member of a SUNY-wide Viva Engage group, you’ll need to toggle your tenant before seeing your SUNY-wide communities. 

        COMMUNITIES IN VIVA ENGAGE

        Viva Engage communities provide a central place for conversations, files, events, and updates.

        Join a Community in Viva Engage

        For communities hosted on your campus…

        1. In Viva Engage, select the Communities tab. The communities that you already belong to are listed under My Communities. 
        2. Select View all communities in the Recommended communities section.
        3. Choose the community that you would like to be a part of and select join. If it’s public, you’ll be added right away. If it’s private, you’ll be added if the community administrator approves your request.

        For communities hosted across SUNY…

        1. Visit the SUNY Learning Commons page on the CPD website. The Learning Commons on Viva Engage hosts over 30 cross-campus collaborative groups.
        2. Expand each community’s description to view details and goals of the group.
        3. For public groups, complete the form at the bottom of the Learning Commons page to request access. For private groups, contact the community’s administrator listed to request access.

        Notifications

        When you’ve been added to a community, you’ll receive an email notification like the one shown here. To access the group, either click the link provided in the email or follow the instructions above on accessing communities hosted by the SUNY tenant.

        Create a Community in Viva Engage

        Interested in a space to host conversation or a community of practice and to collaborate with colleagues across SUNY campuses? Click here to download the Community Admin Guide and Best Practices.

        When creating a community, you have the ability to name the community, customize certain elements like the cover photo, select individuals to include/invite in the community, and choose to make the community public or private. 

        NOTIFICATIONS

        With the convenience of email notifications, you don’t have to worry about checking your Viva Engage feed for updates and new activity. But, prefer to not receive emails? You can control how Viva Engage notifies you about new posts.

        • Click the settings cog (usually at the top right). If you clicked on the settings cog in a browser, choose Edit Settings. 
        • Click on the notifications tab
        • Select when you would like to receive email notifications from the list of options
        • Click Save 
        • Click on Engage (at the top of the screen) to return to your Viva Engage homepage 

        Unsubscribing

        You can leave a Community simply by going to the page of the Community and hovering over the ‘Joined’ badge in the banner. Once you hover over it, ‘Leave’ will appear. If you were successful you will now see a ‘+Join’ badge.

        Explore more of what Viva Engage has to offer! Click here for more resources on the Microsoft website.

        For additional assistance with Viva Engage, contact courtnee.corcoran@suny.edu