From Feedback to Action: How Viva Pulse Empowers Managers at Microsoft to Drive Employee Engagement

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

“We leverage Viva Pulse as a strategic tool within our broader Employee Listening System. It provides exceptional value in tracking progress and taking action between large survey cycles, and the opportunities are endless as the tool provides managers/project leaders with the flexibility to democratically access powerful survey functionality.” – Dante Myers, Director of Employee Listening Systems

The HRBI team created an organization-specific pulse survey template for Microsoft managers. This custom template was designed to help managers regularly check in on their teams’ progress against the focus areas identified in previous Viva Glint engagement survey cycles and make any necessary adjustments to their action plans. In early 2024, six weeks after the Viva Glint engagement survey results were released, the HRBI team emailed all managers to encourage them to use Viva Pulse to take action on their Viva Glint engagement survey feedback.

Following the communication, Microsoft conducted a survey of managers using Viva Pulse to learn more about the effectiveness of the tool in supporting implementation. In this survey, manager participants emphasized the importance of acting on survey feedback to build trust and demonstrate that leadership is listening. They emphasized the value of regular surveys to provide leaders with ongoing insights and to maintain connections with their teams between survey cycles. They also see surveys as a tool to strengthen organizational culture, unify teams, and communicate that employees’ opinions are valued and influential.

When the next Viva Glint engagement survey was released, the research team re-contacted some of the manager participants to follow up on their Viva Pulse experience and the impact of the Viva Glint engagement survey experience. Managers saw a significant increase in response rates from the interim Pulses and Glint engagement surveys.

One manager participant was unable to review his direct team’s Fall 2023 Viva Glint participation survey scores because the response rate was too low. This round had 88% response. He attributed this to ongoing listening and action. He said: “I take the time out of that pulse, mention it in a team call, and share the results immediately. I get better results, I believe. [it is] As people become more familiar and comfortable, they develop that muscle through the process.”

The manager participants we interviewed attributed this improvement in response to Pulse building trust among respondents, further emphasizing that their feedback was being heard and acted on. Additionally, these manager participants took the time to After each survey, we process the Pulse data, share it with your team, and create an environment for discussion.We believe this is critical to closing the feedback loop.

Another administrator participant noted: “Pulse is a great way for people to find out what leadership is doing. [things] or trying to do [things]….it’s a sign that we’re not doing this just for some reason. [our CEO] “We want to do all these surveys and check the sentiment… No, we’re doing this independently.” Managers valued the opportunity to solicit feedback directly from their teams, rather than relying on sentiments from their teams in subsequent engagement surveys. They found Viva Pulse’s built-in templates and question library to be particularly useful as a starting point, and customizing the survey to fit their team’s needs and focus areas allowed managers to gather insights at key moments.

As this initial experiment comes to a close, the Viva Pulse team will continue to invest in Viva Pulse as we follow up on the engagement survey. With deeper integrations planned between Viva Pulse and Viva Glint, we aim to support manager activations that drive employee engagement, culture, and inclusion. Our goal is to develop Viva Pulse so that managers can take ownership of driving employee engagement.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment. Also, if you’d like to get involved with Viva Pulse, leave a comment below to learn about customer engagement opportunities.

Until next time,
Viva Pulse Team