What challenges did EY face before AI implementation?

Difficulty in measuring and improving employee engagement across hybrid and remote environments. Disconnect between employer perceptions and actual employee experiences in flexible work models. Frontline staff required accessible, simple tools, yet often lacked the digital resources of office-based peers. Retention, productivity, and inclusivity emerged as key challenges in a competitive talent market. Need for actionable, real-time data to support continuous improvement in leadership and management strategies.

Source

MicrosoftProductionEvidence: Medium50/100

EY transforms employee experience for hybrid and frontline workers

Use case typeCustomer experience analyticsUpdated Jun 13, 2026

EY, a global professional services firm, partnered with Microsoft to enhance its employee experience for both knowledge and frontline workers, leveraging advanced Microsoft technologies. The deployment included Microsoft Viva, Microsoft Teams, and Azure AI-powered insights to provide a holistic, data-driven approach to flexible and hybrid work. Key focus areas included using digital feedback and digital exhaust data to analyze employee engagement, foster connection across distributed and remote teams, and empower frontline staff with mobile-friendly solutions. Continuous monitoring and analysis helped close the gap between employer intent and employee experience, while enabling new models of collaboration and learning. Technology facilitated both targeted manager insights and broad organizational culture-building. Strategic outcomes included more actionable data for leadership, reduced administrative overhead, greater inclusivity, and higher productivity. The approach also addressed current workplace shifts, supporting the cultural and operational recalibration needed to thrive in a state of constant change.

Organization: EY
Industry: Professional Services
Location: United States

Why do we believe this?Outcome claims, sources, and evidence checks

Normalized claim

Quantified impact: 20%

ey.comUnknownInferred claimMedium evidence strength

Up to 20% difference in financial return associated with high employee engagement levels (based on Microsoft study).

Why do we believe this deployment?Customer identity, provider attribution, maturity, and source checks

Customer: EY
Provider: Microsoft
Maturity: Production
Linked source: ey.com

The approach also addressed current workplace shifts, supporting the cultural and operational recalibration needed to thrive in a state of constant change

Customer identity supportedSource describes one deploymentMaturity supported

Primary read

Use case focus

Showing 3 of 4

1Data-driven employee engagement for hybrid and frontline workforce
2Mobile experience enablement for deskless employees
3Continuous feedback cycles via digital exhaust and surveys

Difficulty in measuring and improving employee engagement across hybrid and remote environments.
Disconnect between employer perceptions and actual employee experiences in flexible work models.
Frontline staff required accessible, simple tools, yet often lacked the digital resources of office-based peers.
Retention, productivity, and inclusivity emerged as key challenges in a competitive talent market.
Need for actionable, real-time data to support continuous improvement in leadership and management strategies.

Partnered with Microsoft to deploy Microsoft Viva and Microsoft Teams for employee experience management.
Leveraged Azure AI-powered digital exhaust analytics for continuous measurement of engagement and productivity.
Enabled managers to gather targeted, anonymized feedback via digital surveys integrated into daily workflows.
Provided mobile access and simplified tools to support frontline and mobile workers in the flow of work.
Applied data-driven methods to link engagement data, operational metrics, and business outcomes for leadership decision-making.

Technologies

Microsoft Viva Microsoft Teams Azure AI

Sources & evidence1

Evidence: Medium50/100Evidence strength