You're about to introduce one of the most exciting features for employee experience: the Employee Space. Don't view this as just another homepage; instead, it's a personalized hub in each user's profile.
As an admin, your task is to set up the default space for all your users, but the real success comes when you allow your employees to build their preferred spaces by choosing which widgets to show, pin, or hide.
Use cases for the Employee Space
Before you start adding widgets, take a moment to think about what you'd like this personal hub to do for your employees. That decision will guide your entire setup process.
- Individual Workstation Focus: This approach takes a holistic view, aiming to give employees a clear overview of their important internal work data, such as tasks, files, and meetings, using personal widgets. It turns the workspace into a warm, personal dashboard where employees can easily keep track of their daily contributions. This setup works especially well if you're using the Microsoft add-on.
- Cultural Connection Focus: This approach promotes a welcoming sense of community. By featuring social widgets such as New colleagues, Suggested communities, and Upcoming birthdays prominently at the top, it creates a warm and inviting atmosphere that helps everyone feel connected.
- Resource Center Focus: This approach keeps things tidy and easy to navigate. It highlights key self-service information, like Time off and Launchpad links, that employees can use to manage their administrative tasks quickly and smoothly, avoiding unnecessary searching on the main intranet.
Thinking about how to organize the Employee Space can also give you a chance to refresh your homepage layout. For example, by adding more personal widgets to the Employee Space, you could make your homepage focus more on important updates and news.
Widget examples
Use these specific use cases to align widgets with the strategic focus you chose for the space:
| Focus Area | Recommended Widget(s) | Visibility Setting | Employee Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workstation Oversight | M365 Tasks / My Tasks | Visible by default | The central point for managing personal daily to-dos and priorities. |
| Data Aggregation | Latest M365 files, M365 emails | Hidden by default | Surfaces personal work data (recent files/emails) without leaving the platform. |
| Self-Service HR | Time off, Complete profile | Hidden by default | Key self-service tools for managing personal admin tasks and records. |
| Easy Access | Launchpad links, Subscriptions, My Bookmarks | Visible by default | Showing the top links or bookmarks employees need to visit constantly for fast access. |
| Cultural Pulse | New colleagues, Upcoming birthdays | Visible by default | Makes the Space a welcoming daily stop for social connection. |
| Guidance | Callout (Static) | Visible by default | For helpful messages, like how users can personalize the space. |