FAQs
Have Questions?
What is a digital workplace?
A digital workplace is the integrated set of tools staff use to do their work: collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams, document storage like SharePoint, communication tools, intranet content, and line-of-business application access. For Houston SMBs, most digital workplace work centers on Microsoft 365 because that is where the existing stack lives. The work is about removing friction from daily tasks, not adding more tools.
What is Microsoft Viva?
Microsoft Viva is the employee experience platform built into Microsoft 365. Viva includes modules for engagement (Viva Connections), learning (Viva Learning), goals (Viva Goals), productivity insights (Viva Insights), and topic discovery (Viva Topics). Not every SMB needs every Viva module. The right approach is to pick the modules that solve specific business problems and skip the rest.
How do we get staff to actually use the intranet?
Three things. First, design the intranet around the tasks staff actually perform, not around the organizational chart. Second, integrate it into Teams using Viva Connections so it shows up where staff already work. Third, train staff on the new structure and follow up to confirm adoption. Most failed intranets fail on the first point: the navigation is org-centric rather than task-centric, so staff cannot find anything.
How long does a digital workplace redesign take?
For a typical Houston SMB redesign, the engagement runs about 8 weeks. Weeks one and two are staff interviews and journey mapping. Weeks three and four are information architecture design. Weeks five and six are SharePoint build and Teams integration. Weeks seven and eight are content migration, training, and launch support. Larger or more complex organizations may run 10 to 12 weeks.
What does employee experience have to do with IT?
More than most IT teams admit. The systems staff use every day shape how they feel about their work. A slow intranet, a confusing Teams structure, broken search, and inaccessible documents create daily friction that compounds into disengagement. The IT decisions about these systems are employee experience decisions. The digital workplace work makes that connection explicit.