Top 6 Yammer Benefits To Elevate Idea Sharing

In this report, I have outlined the Yammer (Viva Engage) benefits as well as how it could be used to solve common issues in modern day corporations.

The world of business is now more competitive than ever, and organisations are being forced to work harder, smarter and faster to stay relevant. In addition to this, technology has fundamentally changed the way people, and society at large, interact.

To combat this, among other issues, there has been a recent ‘digital transformation’ trend where companies are increasingly looking to technology to improve communication, collaboration, efficiency and ultimately the bottom line. This is why Microsoft created Yammer (in Office 365) and below I will discuss the top reasons why you should be using Yammer (Viva Engage) in your organisation.

Before going into the details of how Yammer (Viva Engage) benefits your business, you must first understand exactly what Yammer is, and what it hopes to achieve. The dictionary definition of Yammer is a ‘loud and sustained or repetitive noise’ and the software does live true to its name.

In short, Yammer (Viva Engage) is a collaboration tool, or more technically an enterprise social network, that enables people to openly and securely share ideas and information. Also known as the workplace friendly version of Facebook (like, follow, join groups and share content), it is less formal, more social/modern and will help cut down on your company’s emails, getting to the source faster and with greater ease.

According to Microsoft, 85% of Fortune 500 companies use Yammer (6). Don’t rest on your laurels; be part of this digital transformation and read my top Yammer (Viva Engage) benefits!

1.      Internal Collaboration and Engagement

In my opinion, this is one of the most important reasons why you should be using Yammer (Viva Engage) right now! For all companies alike (big and small), communication is one of the most vital, and yet so difficult, things to get right. The larger the organisation however, the more difficult and complex this becomes.

Imagine taking a coffee break at a random time and unexpectedly meeting the exact colleague you needed to see.

This lucky encounter is rare, but Yammer (Viva Engage) ensures it’s not left to chance. It lets you connect with colleagues and groups, keeping you informed about projects, news, and common issues.

Engaging on Yammer (Viva Engage) is simple. From small teams to the entire company, you can ask questions and share ideas easily.

Yammer (Viva Engage) excels at connecting you with internal experts in focused communities. Open discussions allow others to learn and contribute, enriching the conversation.

Yammer’s (Viva Engage) capabilities to connect with your employees is almost endless. A notable example is HR notifications and benefits. Instead of sharing this information on a weekly newsletter email – essentially a one-way communication channel – that most automatically delete, you can set up a group that enables conversation about the benefits.

Since this would be open for all employees to join a diary/archive will start to form, ultimately streamlining the communication process and reducing confusion.

2.      External Collaboration

Yammer (Viva Engage) cannot only improve your corporate communication internally, but its functionality enables an open dialogue with your external stakeholders (e.g. clients, vendors, contractors) too. In my opinion this extended communication capacity, within a single software package, is what sets Yammer (Viva Engage) apart from the competition.

All of the benefits discussed in the section above (1. Internal Collaboration) also apply to external partners.

Another factor to consider is the power of this extended communication channel and the impact this could have on your creativity and innovation. By involving your external partners, you have essentially doubled the number of people to input ideas into the innovating process and as such increased the probability of improving your product or service.

3.      Work seamlessly, wherever you are (seamless integration with Office 365)

Yammer’s (Viva Engage) seamless integration with Office 365, including Teams, streamlines its use alongside other applications.

Looking ahead is crucial for staying ahead of competitors and adapting to market shifts. The last two decades have seen a technological revolution, with devices becoming more compact and mobile, leading to a more mobile workforce.

I firmly believe that tablets and wearables will dominate as work devices within the next ten years. Thus, adopting Yammer (Viva Engage) now is something I strongly advise. Its flexibility frees you from being tied to a single location or device, enabling work from anywhere.

4.      Discuss

This is something that I have already highlighted within the internal and external collaboration points, however due to its importance I thought discussion deserved its own separate section. To reinforce and reiterate the points previously made, Yammer (Viva Engage) allows you to start a discussion to find out the knowledge and expertise you need from the people within your organisation that hold it.

On top of asking questions, Yammer (Viva Engage) enables your employees to also make suggestions (e.g. team activities, events etc.) and tag colleagues – by @… them – so that they are notified about any advancements and when their input is required.

5.      Search

Yammer’s (Viva Engage) search function allows you and your employees to discover groups, colleagues, files, projects and conversations. Whatever it is that you’re looking for there will be a group or conversation about it on Yammer (Viva Engage).

6.      Efficient Information Sharing

Finally, and perhaps the most impressive of Yammer’s advantages, is its ability to dramatically increase the speed of information dissemination. The conventional approach, still employed by the majority of organisations, relies on a top-down communication strategy. This method involves a senior employee relaying a message to their team, who then cascades it down to subsequent levels. Yammer (Viva Engage) revolutionises this process, ensuring that information flows swiftly and directly.

Although this can be effective, it isn’t very fast and there is almost always a break down in communication by the time the information gets to the lower of the hierarchy: this can result in cultural issues and ultimately cause fractures within teams and hierarchy levels.

Yammer (Viva Engage) on the other hand enables a corporation to directly communicate to a specific section, or the whole of the organisation, with a single action – through the Yammer (Viva Engage) post.

This feature empowers users to control how widely they share their information, ranging from a single individual or team right up to the entire corporation.

Moreover, Yammer (Viva Engage) streamlines communication by eliminating the need for repetitive postings and the traditional top-down information chain. Consequently, messages are clear, direct, and efficiently delivered.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the evidence overwhelmingly supports the integration of Yammer (Viva Engage) into your company’s technology strategy, presenting a compelling case for immediate action. The clincher? If your organisation already subscribes to Office 365, then Yammer (Viva Engage) comes at no additional cost whatsoever! If that is not enough, consider the importance of communication (fundamental to Yammer development) to your business and its daily operation.

I am almost certain that it is a cornerstone to your company’s success. In the technologically advanced society of today, innovation has given birth to an enormous opportunity to create which has resulted in vast choice for the consumer (you and me). However, it is this vast choice itself which has now become a problem today for many organisations and individuals.

Think about the current collaboration tools you have in place, including email, chat, telephone as well as the vast library of others on offer. It can quickly become a mess! I believe that Yammer (Viva Engage) is the perfect solution to provide effective, efficient and powerful communication to your company today. The Yammer benefits are endless!

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We’re Yammer (Viva Engage) experts and can answer all your questions as well as help your organisation to embed Yammer in days, not months. Contact us via the form below or at [email protected]