How to motivate and increase engagement of your Japanese staff Presentation to the ACCJ, March 30, 2017

Transcription

1 How to motivate and increase engagement of your Japanese staff Presentation to the ACCJ, March 30, 2017 Rochelle Kopp, Japan Intercultural Consulting

2 Speaker Introduction: Rochelle Kopp Rochelle works to help clients increase profitability and employee engagement through improved communication and working relationships in multicultural environments. She is currently focused on helping Japanese companies be more successful in their global operations, supporting effective human resource management practices, organization development, and cross-cultural training and teambuilding. She also works frequently with American firms that have Japanese customers, joint venture partners, and suppliers. Rochelle is the author of The Rice-Paper Ceiling: Breaking Through Japanese Corporate Culture, The Lowdown: Business Etiquette Japan, the upcoming Creating Engaged Employees in Japan and Valley Speak: Deciphering the Jargon of Silicon Valley, and over twenty-five books in Japanese. Managing Principal Japan Intercultural Consulting

3 Today s participants which one are you? Non-Japanese working at foreign companies Non-Japanese working at Japanese companies Japanese working at foreign companies Japanese working at Japanese companies

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5 Looking to bring out the best from your Japanese team? Companies in Japan often struggle with how to motivate their Japanese staff. Surveys show that globally, Japanese employees have the lowest levels of engagement and trust in their companies. There are also special challenges for non-japanese managing Japanese subordinates What can you do in your department to overcome the challenges to motivation in Japan? And how can you influence your company overall?

6 Our focus for today Why motivation in Japan tends to flag What techniques work best in the Japanese context to get your team members more excited about their jobs Things you can do personally, as well as measures your company could potentially take

7 Group discussion What motivation problems have you observed in your Japanese staff?

8 Typical factors affecting employee motivation in Japan, and how to overcome them

9 Japan-specific issues Management style of Japanese managers Expectations and training needed Are you yourself modeling Japanese managers style? Long working hours / lack of work-life balance Not just cutting work hours, changing how work is done Too many time wasters (meetings, bureaucracy) Lack of trust in the company Gathering feedback and acting on it Compensation

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11 Cultural issues in working with a non-japanese supervisor Lack of confidence to speak up about concerns Learning the art of kikubari Difficulty building a relationship Taking the first step Being shitashimiyasui (approachable/likeable) Expectation of micromanagement and horenso Setting expectations The language barrier

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13 Special issues for foreign firms in Japan larger firms Concern about a bamboo ceiling Is this an issue in your firm? Succession planning Difficulty getting exposure at the parent company Formal visit and rotation programs What can be done virtually if no budget for travel? Not sure how to get mentoring Formal mentoring programs, or informal efforts Executive coaching

14 Special issues for foreign firms in Japan smaller firms These issues can also apply to smaller Japanese firms Small office size leads to lack of career path and variation, and people stuck in roles and mindsets Job rotation or cross-training Cross-functional teams Sabbaticals Continuing education Job enlargement / special missions

15 Special issues for foreign firms in Japan firms of all sizes Lack of team-building activities (recently an issue in Japanese firms as well due to budget issues) Nommunication Teambuilding exercises Company trips Jealousy about treatment of expats Discretion advised Having people over to home may not be the best idea Compensation

16 Thanks Coming up May 30 th :!! Daytime: Working Effectively with Japanese seminar in Roppongi Evening: Presenting this same program in Shinjuku

17 For further reading