Viva

Viva Goals is the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) module of the Microsoft Viva employee experience platform. It gives organizations a single, shared place to define objectives, set measurable key results, assign ownership, and track progress in real time. Because Viva Goals lives inside Microsoft 365, goals are visible directly in Microsoft Teams, surfaced through dashboards, and connected to the systems where work already happens.

The value of Viva Goals is alignment. Most organizations do not fail because they lack goals; they fail because goals are invisible, disconnected from daily work, or measured inconsistently. Viva Goals creates a transparent line of sight from company strategy down to team and individual key results, so everyone understands what success looks like and how their work contributes. Done right, a Viva Goals implementation turns the OKR framework from a quarterly ritual into a continuous operating rhythm.

Viva Goals supports the full OKR lifecycle and a range of strategic execution use cases:

• OKR creation and cascading. Define company objectives, then cascade and align team and individual OKRs so every key result rolls up to a larger goal.
• Alignment and transparency. Visual alignment maps and dashboards show how objectives connect across departments, eliminating silos and surfacing dependencies early.
• Check-ins and progress tracking. Regular check-ins capture status, confidence, and updates, giving leaders a real-time view of progress instead of stale end-of-quarter reports.
• Integrations. Viva Goals connects with Microsoft Teams, Azure DevOps, Power BI, and other systems so key results can update automatically from the data already flowing through your business.
• Reporting and reviews. Built-in dashboards and reports power weekly check-ins, monthly business reviews, and quarterly retrospectives without manual data wrangling.

Common use cases include cascading company strategy across departments, aligning engineering and product roadmaps to business outcomes, running structured quarterly OKR cycles, and giving executives a live dashboard of organizational health.

A successful Viva Goals implementation is part technology and part change management. ARC delivers both. Our approach moves through clear stages:

Discovery and strategy. We start by understanding your strategic priorities, current goal-setting habits, and reporting needs. We define how OKRs should map to your organizational structure and which integrations will drive automated progress.

Configuration and setup. We handle Viva Goals setup end to end: provisioning, organizational hierarchy, teams, permissions, and templates. We configure the OKR structure, alignment maps, and dashboards so the environment reflects how your business actually operates.

Integration. We connect Viva Goals to Microsoft Teams, Power BI, Azure DevOps, and other source systems so key results update from real data, reducing manual entry and increasing trust in the numbers.

OKR design enablement. Strong OKRs are a skill. We help leaders and teams write objectives that are ambitious and key results that are genuinely measurable, avoiding the common trap of confusing tasks with outcomes.

Rollout and adoption. We plan a phased rollout, train champions, and support the first OKR cycles so the program sticks rather than fading after launch.

Technology alone does not create alignment. Based on our experience, these practices separate a thriving Viva Goals program from a dormant one:

• Start with a focused pilot. Roll out to a few teams first, learn, and expand. A controlled start builds credibility and reveals how OKRs should fit your culture.
• Write fewer, better OKRs. A small number of clear objectives with measurable key results beats a long list nobody can track.
• Make check-ins routine. Tie check-ins to existing meeting rhythms so updates become habit, not homework.
• Connect goals to data. Use integrations to automate progress updates wherever possible, which keeps the system trustworthy and reduces overhead.
• Train champions. Equip a network of OKR champions to coach peers and sustain momentum after the initial rollout.
• Review and iterate. Run honest retrospectives each cycle and refine objectives, ownership, and cadence over time.

ARC is a 3x Microsoft Solutions Partner with deep Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Viva expertise. We bring 13+ years of experience, 300+ engagements, and 100% client retention, along with the AI-powered delivery approach that defines our work. Recognized on the Inc. 5000 (#749) and Inc. Regionals (#57) with 557% growth, ARC pairs technical configuration with the change-management discipline that adoption demands. Our Chicago (Bolingbrook, IL) and Karachi teams deliver responsive, accountable service across time zones.