When Bruce Sánchez, Global Lead for Sales Learning and Development Technology at Dell Technologies, thinks about team members learning new information or skills—like cloud solutions or negotiating—he knows it’s often in response to a tactical obstacle. “In the modern world, we seek and learn in the moment of need,” he says, referring to the range of options available to curious minds, from search engines to instructional videos. “We recognize that our sales team members are no different. They want to find the information they need, when they need it, no matter where they are.”
Sánchez and his colleagues in Sales Learning and Development (L&D) had a vision for a unique approach to L&D, one that more closely aligned with how people learn best. In short, it was time to revamp their traditional approach to learning and development (L&D). “We needed to transform from primarily prescriptive learning to much more self-service learning in the flow of work,” Sánchez says. “We rolled out Microsoft Viva Topics as part of our strategy to focus on the unique needs of our sellers, recognizing that they are selling and learning in new ways.”
It was the first phase of Dell’s exploration of the Viva modules. “We’re using Viva Topics, Viva Connections, and Viva Insights to help us surface knowledge in our organization and support improved ways of working,” says Sánchez. Dell, with its history of innovation and vision to “drive human progress,” knows that the right technology is key to improving how people work, be they Dell team members or customers across the globe. “I am so impressed with our company,” reflects Sánchez. “Whether it’s hybrid work, citizen development, or rethinking learning, Dell employees are always engaged in innovation and interested in doing new things. The use of Microsoft Viva is just the latest expression of how we support team members with technology that helps them achieve more.”
“We rolled out Microsoft Viva Topics as part of our strategy to focus on the unique needs of our sellers, recognizing that they are selling and learning in new ways.”
Bruce Sánchez, Global Lead, Sales Learning and Development Technology, Dell Technologies
A new strategy for knowledge sharing: Dell champions learning in the moment of need
In mid-2020, Sandra Murtagh, Vice President of Global Learning and Development for Sales at Dell Technologies, and Karen Butcher, Head of the Global Sales Learning and Development Transformation Office at Dell Technologies, created a Transformation Office to steer L&D for the sales organization into the future. With the focus squarely on user experience, Murtagh and Butcher made learning in the flow of work a key goal. “We want to make our learning experiences accessible and easy for our sellers,” explains Butcher. “We never want a seller to have to leave what they’re doing and go somewhere else to take a course or find information.”
In the days before Viva Topics, that’s exactly what happened. Sellers in search of relevant information often had to leave the flow of work to get the knowledge they needed. “We relied on legacy relationships,” recalls Murtagh. “Those were the people you contacted all the time.”
Sánchez agrees, remembering the time-consuming, informal system of personal referrals. “You would call this person or that person who might know somebody who knows somebody,” he says. Here, Dell saw an opportunity for change. “Now, we are using Viva Topics to open up new collaboration and relationships between functions.”
Viva Topics takes the knowledge and data inherent in an organization and makes it available in the form of Topic Cards, bringing key information into the Microsoft 365 apps where employees already work. The goal was for Dell to unearth the rich insights that exist within the organization. “We chose Viva Topics because we recognized that we have people, information, and assets all over the company, but we lacked a way to pull them all together into a comprehensive corpus,” explains Sánchez. Using the AI-powered search and surface capabilities of Viva Topics, the Dell sales L&D organization gave sellers a faster, easier way to uncover information and experts at the moment of need. And because Viva Topics is integrated with popular apps like Microsoft Teams, Topic Cards that uncover subject matter experts lead to new collaborations between colleagues. “People will often find a Viva Topics page, see a colleague’s name, and then reach out to that person in Teams,” says Sánchez. “They’re instantly connected to a group of people who have the right expertise.”
The sales L&D organization is pursuing even more opportunities to help sellers grow. The organization has unveiled a new learning platform for tens of thousands of direct sellers that is accessible in Teams. “For the first time, our sellers will be able to access all of our learning content from the place where they do their daily work—Teams,” says Butcher. The new learning experience platform for sales, Edcast, is able to provide additional learning content to sellers directly in Teams. “Edcast and Teams together open up new opportunities for learning in the flow of work, which is a foundational strategy of our sales L&D transformation. We look forward to the ongoing partnership with Microsoft as we explore the value for learning.”
Inclusive and integrated: Viva Connections propels a new global intranet at Dell
Michael Belanger, Corporate Communications Senior Manager at Dell, spent most days focused on collaboration tools and the strategic side of Dell’s intranet. “The vision is to give our team members a unified experience to communicate, collaborate, and be successful. In the case of Dell’s intranet, that means harnessing Viva Connections in Teams to bring relevant information directly to team members where they do their work,” says Belanger. Sánchez elaborates: “We made the decision to move our company intranet onto SharePoint, and Viva Connections was the clear choice for the front end of that portal, particularly in Teams.” Making a Viva Connections–powered intranet accessible from Teams brings resources directly to team members all in one place. The move also helps encourage the types of connections that keep team members engaged.“
“The vision is to give our team members a unified experience to communicate, collaborate, and be successful. In the case of Dell’s intranet, that means harnessing Viva Connections in Teams to bring relevant information directly to team members where they do their work.”
Michael Belanger, Corporate Communications Senior Manager, Dell Technologies
Dell has been on the forefront of hybrid work for years. Microsoft Viva Connections is the latest tool that the company has used to help support collaboration, innovation, connections and efficiency from nearly anywhere. “We need to provide technology that supports our team members and their ability to be their best in the anytime, anywhere reality of hybrid work,” says Belanger. “With Viva Connections, suddenly Teams goes from a place to work to a place where you can also gain knowledge across the intranet,” says Belanger.
Sánchez adds that during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dell team members working from home craved flexibility and worked from a variety of devices. “One of our core design principles here is ‘anywhere, anytime.’ You should always have the same experience and the same information available to you. The fact that we’ve been able to have the mobile version of Viva Connections available to our team members has been tremendously powerful.”
Dell considers Viva Connections a tool for supporting a globally connected, flexible, work-from-anywhere culture that defines work as an outcome, not a place or time. Dell uses the tool to deliver relevant content directly to its team members everywhere, in a coordinated way. “Launching Viva Connections and making it available in Teams means we can now provide improved access to knowledge,” says Belanger.
“Launching Viva Connections and making it available in Teams means we can now provide improved access to knowledge.”
Michael Belanger, Corporate Communications Senior Manager, Dell Technologies
The impacts of insights: supporting employee wellbeing with personalized recommendations
Srikanth Ramaswamy, Global Lead for Modern Content & Collaboration Services, Dell Digital Team Member Experience at Dell Technologies, says. “At Dell, we are committed to helping our team members have a rich and fulfilling career. We’re excited about how Viva Insights can empower team members with information that can help them improve their work/life balance, efficiency and connections.” Currently, the Viva Insights module is gaining traction in Dell’s sales organization, with tens of thousands of additional sales employees poised to follow in the coming months, on an “opt-in” basis.
Michael Gray, Presales Programs & Strategy at Dell Technologies, has already adopted the module. “Viva Insights has already made a big impact on me personally and on my colleagues in the sales organization,” he says. “One of the drawbacks of hybrid and remote work is the tendency to overwork.” Through Viva Insights, team members will be empowered with the information they need to take control of their schedules. “I find that with Viva Insights, I have a better understanding of how I’m using my time,” continues Gray. “The focus time functionality has been extraordinarily helpful. Taking those two hours to work without interruption helps me feel a lot more relaxed at the end of the day.” Gray also appreciates the Praise feature in Viva Insights, which makes it easy to recognize colleagues’ achievements. “It’s great to have that reminder to go tell someone they did a good job,” he says.
Even in the pilot stage, Viva Insights proved to be a great match for Dell’s culture. “It’s the culture that has kept me at Dell,” says Gray. “We have a collaborative culture and a culture of mutual assistance. I’m looking forward to seeing how Microsoft Viva will continue to surprise us as more organizations within Dell begin to adopt the technology.”
“We’re excited about how Viva Insights can empower team members with information that can be used to help them improve their work/life balance, efficiency and connections.”
Srikanth Ramaswamy, Global Lead for Modern Content & Collaboration Services, Dell Digital Team Member Experience, Dell Technologies
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