Introduction
Transitioning your OKRs from Viva Goals to Rhythms unlocks powerful AI-driven capabilities that streamline goal tracking and alignment, making your OKR journey even more impactful. While some data may not transfer due to export limitations in Viva Goals today and differences in how Rhythms optimizes OKRs, we’re here to help you manage these gaps with ease.
Whether you’re an admin overseeing the migration or preparing your team for success, understanding what to expect ensures your organization can maintain alignment and visibility. Rhythms mitigates data loss where possible, such as using AI to estimate missing progress updates, but some manual adjustments may be needed post-import.
Migration Impact on the OKR Lifecycle
Below is a breakdown of what data is included and key considerations for your migration from Viva Goals to Rhythms, organized by the OKR lifecycle stages.
Setup (Configuration and Teams):
Included: Teams are created using the Viva Goals user export, and time periods are inferred from objective start/end dates to keep your setup intact.
Data Considerations:
Team hierarchy isn’t exported, so teams lack parent-subteam structures; you can recreate these structures easily in Rhythms. See manage teams in Rhythms.
Team ownership data is missing; Rhythms assigns organizational/team owners to all teams they’re members of, and you can adjust as needed.
Time periods without objectives aren’t created, meaning only periods associated with active objectives in Viva Goals will transfer; you can set up additional time periods in Rhythms to align with your planning cycles, such as quarterly or annual cadences.
Admin settings, including invite policies (who can invite users to Rhythms), allowed domains (email domains permitted for access), OKR model (rules governing OKR structure), and terminology (custom labels for OKR components), aren’t exported, so you’ll need to configure these in Rhythms to match your organization’s preferences. We recommend setting up your invite policies and terminology in Rhythms’ admin settings to ensure seamless access and consistency with your existing OKR framework. You can learn about Rhythms OKR model here.
Integrations with external tools are covered in the Check-in/Review section, as they primarily impact progress tracking.
Creation (Defining OKRs, Hierarchy, Ownership):
Included: Objectives, key results, and initiatives are imported, including names, descriptions, and current metrics. Ownership, weights, and multi-parent relationships are imported as they appear in the Viva Goals export, with weights applied to progress calculations in Rhythms.
Data Considerations:
Objective owners are assigned by name; since Viva Goals references owners by name rather than a unique ID, duplicate names may result in incorrect ownership assignment to the first matching user, so you can review and correct ownership post-import to ensure accuracy.
Permissions aren’t exported from Viva Goals, meaning settings that control who can view or edit OKRs won’t transfer; this allows you to customize access in Rhythms to align with your team’s needs, ensuring data privacy through role-based access (e.g., restricting sensitive OKRs to specific users or teams) and maintaining clear accountability across your organization.
Objective version history isn’t exported, but you can start fresh with new changes in Rhythms.
Tasks for initiatives aren’t exported, but you can recreate them to align with your goals.
Check-in/Review (Tracking Progress, Updates):
Included: Manual check-ins are imported, and Rhythms uses AI to backfill roll-up check-ins based on available data, ensuring you can continue tracking progress. Current metric values are included.
Data Considerations:
Integrations and data links to external tools aren’t exported, offering a fresh start to configure new connections in Rhythms for enhanced progress tracking.
Automated check-ins (roll-ups, integrations) aren’t exported, but Rhythms’ backfilled roll-ups provide a starting point, and you can set up new integrations for accuracy.
Historical metrics and phased targets aren’t exported, and Comments & attachments are also not available in the export.
Check-in owners and delegates aren’t exported, but you can reassign responsibilities to keep reviews on track.
Close-out (Final Evaluation, Historical Data):
Included: Objectives and key results are imported with their latest state, enabling you to perform seamless final evaluations in Rhythms by assessing OKR success through the completion of objectives and achievement of key results. Rhythms provides AI-generated insights to analyze performance trends, offering real-time visibility into outcomes and supporting data-driven decisions for future cycles.
Data Considerations:
Activities and objective version history aren’t exported, meaning past changes to OKRs won’t be visible; you can start tracking new history in Rhythms and document key updates manually, using Rhythms’ reporting tools to maintain a record for future reference.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Can I migrate OKRs from Viva Goals to Rhythms?
A: Yes, Rhythms makes it easy to migrate OKRs from Viva Goals with minimal effort. Export your data, then import it into Rhythms to keep tracking your goals. See the Importing OKRs Guide for detailed steps.
Q: What should I do after importing OKRs from Viva Goals?
A: Verify team hierarchies, ownership, and permissions to ensure alignment. Recreate tasks for initiatives if needed, and set up integrations to enhance tracking in Rhythms.
Q: What happens to my OKR permissions after migration?
A: Permissions aren’t exported from Viva Goals, but you can set them up in Rhythms to control access, ensuring data privacy and role-based accountability. See roles and permissions guide.
Q: What if my objective owners were assigned incorrectly due to duplicate names?
A: If duplicate names in Viva Goals lead to incorrect ownership, review and correct assignments in Rhythms to ensure the right team members are accountable.
Q: How does Rhythms support my migration experience?
A: Rhythms offers comprehensive support to help you maximize the platform’s value. Our white-glove onboarding service ensures a smooth transition, including dedicated migration support for Microsoft Viva Goals, so you can get started without disruptions. Our team will assist with workflow setup, best practices, and tailored training to ensure seamless adoption across your organization.