Introduction
This guide is designed specifically for RhythmsAI customers who are transitioning their organization from Microsoft Viva Goals. With the upcoming retirement of Microsoft Viva Goals, ensuring a smooth transition for your users to RhythmsAI would be a top priority.
RhythmsAI ensures a seamless transition with no data loss, preserving your OKRs and historical progress, while introducing powerful AI-driven features to enhance OKR management and your strategy execution. This article equips you with the tools, key messages, and templates needed to inform your team, minimize disruption, and help them quickly adopt RhythmsAI as your new platform for OKRs and connected execution.
Effective Communication is Key During This Transition
As you migrate your users from Viva Goals to RhythmsAI, clear communication is essential to:
Inform Users: Explain the reason for the change
Ensure Continuity: Confirm that a robust replacement platform is ready with familiar interface.
Highlight RhythmsAI's Value: Showcase the benefits and improvements that RhythmsAI offers.
Guide Adoption: Provide clear instructions on how to access and start using RhythmsAI.
Minimize Disruption: Reduce confusion and proactively address potential questions.
Key Messages
The "Why": Microsoft is retiring Viva Goals, our OKR management platform. We are proactively transitioning to RhythmsAI, a dedicated AI-native strategy execution platform, to continue managing our goals effectively.
Introducing RhythmsAI: RhythmsAI is our new tool for setting, tracking, and aligning Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), ensuring seamless continuity from Viva Goals.
The Benefits: RhythmsAI is an AI-native solution, built by the team behind Ally.io (acquired by Microsoft and evolved into Viva Goals), and is seen as the trusted evolution of Viva Goals by several customers. RhythmsAI offers:
Seamless Migration and No Retraining: RhythmsAI comes with full Viva Goals compatibility, a familiar interface, and uses a flexible OKR model.
AI-Powered OKR Management: RhythmsAI reduces OKR grunt work through AI-powered OKR creation and automated check-ins, helping you focus on delivering impact.
Connected Execution: RhythmsAI connects all work to our OKRs for improved visibility and business performance.
The Timeline: Key dates to share:
Viva Goals access ends
RhythmsAI pilot group rollout begins
RhythmsAI go-live date
OKR Continuity: All OKRs, historical progress, and users will be migrated to RhythmsAI with no data loss, ensuring a smooth transition.
Addressing Concerns: RhythmsAI’s familiar interface means there’s no steep learning curve, and your OKRs will remain intact, allowing you to focus on execution without disruption.
Support: Find help through internal champions, the Rhythms Help Center at help.rhythms.ai, training materials, or your support contact.
Phase 1: Planning Your Internal Rollout & Communication Strategy
Before communicating with your end-users, establish your internal plan. This section is intended for your project or administrative team responsible for the migration.
Assemble Your Internal Migration Team: Identify stakeholders from departments like IT, Strategy, HR, or key user groups who will help champion the RhythmsAI rollout within your organization.
Confirm Migration Details & Timeline: Work closely with your RhythmsAI Customer Success team to finalize the schedule for data migration from Viva Goals and set your official RhythmsAI go-live date.
Define Key Messaging for Your Users: Focus on the advantages and improvements RhythmsAI offers as the path forward, along with the continuity from Viva Goals. We have provided templates for the same later in the article.
Select Communication Channels: Determine how you will reach your employees (e.g., Company-wide emails, posts on your internal collaboration platform like Teams/Slack, intranet announcements, team meetings, all-hands calls).
Establish Support Paths: Define where users can direct questions, such as to internal champions (e.g., your IT or Strategy team leads), the Rhythms Help Center (help.rhythms.ai), or training materials. Set up a dedicated support channel (e.g., a Slack/Teams channel or email alias like [email protected]) to ensure timely assistance.
Phase 2: Customizing and Sending Communications to Your Users
Below are customizable email templates to adapt and send to your employees, helping inform them about the transition from Viva Goals to RhythmsAI.
Key things to customize in these templates:
Replace all bracketed [ ] information with your organization's specific details (dates, internal contacts, specific benefits, training links, etc.).
Adjust the tone to match your company culture.
Include links to the RhythmsAI login page (app.rhythms.ai) and the RhythmsAI Help Center (help.rhythms.ai)
Include links to any internal training materials or support content you've prepared.
Communication Template 1: Initial Announcement (Recommended ~2 weeks before RhythmsAI Go-Live)
Subject: Important Update: Transitioning from Viva Goals to RhythmsAI
Hi Team,
Microsoft has announced the upcoming retirement of Viva Goals, our OKR management platform. To ensure we continue to have a robust and effective platform for OKRs and strategic execution, we are transitioning to a new platform called RhythmsAI.
We’ve selected RhythmsAI to ensure continuity with no data loss, maintaining your existing OKRs and historical progress, while introducing enhanced capabilities to benefit our team. RhythmsAI provides:
Seamless Migration and No Retraining: RhythmsAI comes with full Viva Goals compatibility, a familiar interface, and uses a flexible OKR model.
AI-Powered OKR Management: RhythmsAI reduces OKR grunt work through AI-powered OKR creation and automated check-ins, helping you focus on delivering impact.
Connected Execution: RhythmsAI connects all work to our OKRs for improved visibility and business performance.
What This Means for You:
Starting on [RhythmsAI Go-Live Date], RhythmsAI will become our primary platform for OKR management.
We are migrating all existing OKRs to RhythmsAI to ensure a smooth transition.
Viva Goals will remain accessible until [Your Viva Goals Sunset Date]. Please make a note of this date – after this date, Viva Goals will no longer be available.
We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible. Please look out for follow-up communications with details on how to access RhythmsAI, available training sessions, and where to find support.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we make this important move to RhythmsAI.
Best regards,
The [Your Department/Team Name] Team
Communication Template 2: Preparing for RhythmsAI Go-Live & Training Details (Recommended ~1 week before RhythmsAI Go-Live)
Subject: Get Ready for RhythmsAI! Training & Access Information
Hi Team,
This is a reminder that we are launching RhythmsAI on [RhythmsAI Go-Live Date], as we transition away from Viva Goals. Here’s what you need to know to prepare:
1. Accessing RhythmsAI:
Starting [RhythmsAI Go-Live Date], you will access RhythmsAI here
You will log in using: [Clearly explain your organization's RhythmsAI login method. Examples:
"Your email address - You will receive a one-time code from RhythmsAI."
"Microsoft/Google SSO."]
Need help logging in? Visit the RhythmsAI help article
2. Important Dates & Data:
RhythmsAI Go-Live Date: [RhythmsAI Go-Live Date] - Start using RhythmsAI for all new and ongoing [OKRs/goals] from this date.
Your existing [OKRs/goals/data] would have been migrated to RhythmsAI and will be available for you. We encourage you to log in on or after this date to review your migrated data.
3. Training & Support Resources:
To help you quickly get started with RhythmsAI, please utilize these resources:
RhythmsAI Help Center: Find comprehensive guides and how-tos.
[Your Company Name] Internal Guide: [Link to your internal guide if applicable].
Training Sessions: [Include details or links to scheduled training, if applicable].
We encourage you to review and utilize these resources to ensure a smooth switch before the Viva Goals shutdown.
Best regards,
The [Your Department/Team Name] Team
Communication Template 3: RhythmsAI Go-Live Announcement (Recommended on RhythmsAI Go-Live Date)
Subject: RhythmsAI is Live! Start Using Your New OKR Platform Today
Hi Team,
RhythmsAI is now live! As of today, please begin using RhythmsAI as our new platform for OKR management, replacing Viva Goals.
Access RhythmsAI Here: app.rhythms.ai
How to Log In: [Briefly reiterate the login method - e.g., Use your corporate email and you will receive a one-time code/ Use the SSO option (e.g. Continue with Microsoft)] If you need assistance with your first login, please refer to the RhythmsAI help article
Need Help Getting Started?
Explore the RhythmsAI Help Center
Access Training Resources: [Link to Training Resources - e.g., Internal Guide, Recorded Training]
For support questions, please contact [Your Internal Support Contact/Team, e.g., the IT Help Desk at [email protected] or [Link to internal support portal]].
We’re excited to have RhythmsAI as our new platform, helping us reduce manual overhead and improve visibility into our OKRs. Thank you for your prompt adoption!
Best regards,
The [Your Department/Team Name] Team
Remember to tailor these templates and plans with specific dates, links, contact persons, and company-specific details relevant to your users.