Introducing examples of measures that may improve human relations in the workplace [Summary of 2022 Social Activities]

Do you have problems with interpersonal relationships at work?

Hello.
My name is Goto, and I am the chairman of the Beyond 5th Organizational Culture Committee. (*Web Service Division)

often said that most problems at work are related to interpersonal relationships, and whether or not there are good interpersonal relationships at work has a lot to do with motivation at work.

Therefore, Beyond's "Organizational Culture Committee" provides a place for communication within the organization, and plans events and takes measures to improve the internal environment with the aim of building fulfilling human relationships.

This time, as the chairperson of the Organizational Culture Committee, I would like to take a look back at the measures implemented throughout the year by the 5th term of the Organizational Culture Committee.

this content will be helpful to those who are thinking of starting something to improve interpersonal relationships in the workplace

also introduce initiatives that were not popular we hope that you will also use us your teachers

Well then, here we go.

Issues related to human relations in the workplace (Beyond case)

First of all, I would like to share with you my impression of the issues regarding human relations within the company, which I heard from the representative when I was first appointed.

• There aren't many opportunities to talk about things other than work.
• There is little interaction across generations and departments.
• I want to increase measures that will lead to psychological support for members.

As a premise, I personally feel that Beyond has always had good interpersonal relationships in the workplace, but I do think that there is a certain difference in temperature between those who have a lot of interaction within the company and those who don't. By the way. Therefore, the 5th term Organizational Culture Committee decided to consider measures to resolve the above issues.

A second youth? !Activity policy set by the 5th term Organizational Culture Committee

In order to resolve the above issues within one year, the four committee members first devised an activity policy.

Here is the activity policy that was born from this.

• A second youth beyond
• Communication that respects diversity

Below I will explain what the above activity policy means and the background behind it.

Why youth?Background of decision on activity policy

 

I thought you might get bored with the content soon, so please excuse me for sharing cat images while I'm taking a break.

Oh my, I can't get enough of it. So please continue.

 

Now, why did we establish the above activity policy?

The first activity policy , ``A second youth beyond,'' is that even after becoming a working adult, where life tends to pass by more quickly than when you were a student, it is generally more difficult than when you were a student.

to create memories and relationships that can be called youthful through BEYOND is encapsulated.

``Youth'' was an idea that I proposed half-jokingly, but the committee members gave a positive opinion and said, ``Isn't it good?'' so we decided to adopt it.

Every time we announced in our in-house activity report that ``we aim to provide a second youth,'' people would say, ``Oh, this is really embarrassing...'' I don't know.

Regarding the other aspect of ``communication that respects diversity,'' he said that he wants to be careful not ``impose youth'' on people, considering that what people think of when they hear the word ``youth'' I adopted it with great care.

For example, a typical way for working people to have fun is to have a drinking party, but it's not just about having a good time while drinking alcohol, it's also about playing musical instruments, playing board games, etc. In the 5th season, I wanted them to enjoy their youth , such as climbing a mountain

 

Below, we will introduce the activities carried out in line with this activity policy, broken down by production, policy, and event.

An opportunity for communication that transcends departments and generations! Start of club activity system

▲Group photo taken during Beyond Sauna Club activities

The club activity system was designed with the idea that shared hobbies could be an opportunity to build deeper interpersonal relationships

The system officially started in January 2021, and as of November 2022, more than half (34 people) of the nearly 60 members belong to some kind of club activity

One of the successes of the club activity system is that it smoothly created opportunities for employees to naturally meet each other on their days off

After all, it's easier to make friends when people with common interests get together.

Details of the club activity system are introduced below.

Working people also want to be young! A story about starting a club activity system

 

Eliminate anxiety after joining the company? New graduate training and welcome/farewell party

This is the content that Beyond regularly carries out every time, not only at the 5th Sosibun (Organizational Culture Committee).

When a new employee joins the company, Sosibun usually holds a welcome party

When gathering online, in most cases the number of participants is 20 to 30 or more, so we divide the meeting into breakout rooms of about 4 people and have new members go to each room.

When I first joined the company, they held a welcome party for me, and it was a great help as helped ease my anxiety and tension after joining the company

By the way, if the number of members increases in the Canadian office, the meeting will be held on Saturdays from 10:00 to 12:00 Japan time and Fridays from 20:00 to 22:00 Canada time (varies depending on the season).

 

In addition to a welcome party for new graduates, hold communication games with senior members as part of post-employment training

In the 5th period, participants interviewed each other in pairs and introduced the other .

When I see how communication between new members and existing members naturally increases as a result of this kind of training, I am glad that it was held.

Once you start talking, it will be easier to communicate naturally, but the speed at which you become friends will depend on whether or not there is an initial opportunity.

Bringing seasonal colors to a city with only buildings (lol) Implementation of seasonal events

In the 5th period, in addition to the above initiatives, we also held seasonal events.

The main events that were actually held are as follows.

■Winter event example
Christmas gift exchange event

■Spring event example
Ehomaki marukajiri with everyone

Looking back on it now, it's a surreal event...

■Example of summer events
Tanabata event ~A gathering where everyone writes their wishes on strips of paper~ (with the announcement of the Best Tanabata Award)

As it was the day of Tanabata, the number of strips of paper has increased considerably compared to the first day!
Thank you to the organizational culture committee who always come up with fun events 🙌
I'm looking forward to next year's Tanabata 🌟 pic.twitter.com/2YOtalkwwQ

— Beyond Co., Ltd. (@beyondjapaninfo) July 7, 2022

Just to add a comment, one of my wishes , ``I don't want to gain weight even if I eat Jiro,'' but I don't think that would be impossible even if I wrote it down on a strip of paper.

■Autumn event example
Halloween Horror Night (watching a horror movie together while eating sweets)

As you become a working adult, the number of times you go out for fun decreases, and your life becomes less seasonal.

For those reasons, it's a great opportunity! That's why the 5th generation Soshibun held many seasonal events involving company members.

When it comes to seasonal events, my honest opinion is that once you try them out, they're surprisingly exciting

 

I think it's good to do seasonal events because even if you only have to commute between home and the office, you can feel the sense of the season

Planning and progressing various parties

▲A scene from the 15th anniversary party

In addition to the above initiatives, we sometimes collaborate with the Human Resources Department to plan parties when the company holds them.

Even at parties like this, we take care in arranging the seats so that everyone who attends can enjoy themselves, and we choose a venue that looks nice and puts people in a good mood.

Also, in April 2022, Beyond's 15th anniversary party was held, so I was in charge of entertainment that looked back on Beyond's history in a fun way.

It was quite interesting to go and ask my senior colleagues who have been with the company for a long time about the funny incidents that happened at Beyond in the past, and the incidents that are still funny today lol.

▲Entertainment slides shown at the 15th anniversary party

In addition, when searching for a relatively large banquet hall, Venue Best Search was convenient and helpful.

Create content on Google Sites to get to know the members

In addition to planning other events, I also create content for internal use.

The site was created using Google Sites, which enables speedy site creation with no code.

Production ① Beyond picture book

The Beyond Illustrated Book, which introduces each member working at Beyond, was released internally in November 2021.

The most common use case is when new employees join the company, and I feel that communication has become much smoother because new members can quickly learn about existing employees through this guide.

Production ② Production of internal portal site and internal album

I am also in charge of creating a portal site that includes the in-house newsletter that exists within Beyond, the Beyond Picture Book that I introduced earlier, and other in-house systems created as part of new employee training.

To summarize what we have done in this way, Sosibun has a lot of activities related to internal public relations.

We also created an internal shared album at the same time as creating the internal portal site.

If you can easily look back on your memories in this way, it can also become a good topic for internal communication.

Can you create “concentration”? Work environment improvement verification

▲Part of actual verification data

Although this is a little different from promoting the building of human relationships, we also examined how work productivity changes by specifying food, smells, and sounds during work hours.

In order to work on this, we prepared aroma diffusers, collected questionnaires about healthy restaurants near the workplace, and researched convenience store meals, etc., and provided a different environment every week.

Details of the initiative are introduced below by Koide from the 5th term Organizational Culture Committee.

[Improving work environment] I tried an experiment to see if productivity changes due to smells, food, and music.

It is difficult to say anything about the significance of the verification results as it was limited to our company and the number of samples was small, but this verification allowed each member to ask themselves what foods, smells, and sounds bring out their own performance. I think this gave me an opportunity to think about this.

One thing to keep in mind during this verification is that everyone in the office was wearing masks, so many people said they couldn't smell the scent as much as they expected, so when making aromatherapy, prepare a fairly large diffuser or prepare a separate diffuser. It may be necessary to devise such measures.

Is demand for online interaction on the decline? Initiatives that have been abolished

Up to this point, we have introduced the measures implemented at various social institutions.

If you would like to try , please consider implementing it!

 

Now, I would like to introduce some initiatives that have been abolished.

・Coffee break

(There is (almost) no relationship between the image and the coffee break.)

A coffee break is a measure for members to gather and chat online for 30 minutes during work.

Coffee breaks were originally a measure that started in 2020 with the aim of avoiding stress due to the fact that almost everyone was working remotely due to the influence of the coronavirus, and the amount of casual communication decreased. At the time, this helped members avoid stress, but from around 2022, regulations on remote work were eased, and the number of participants gradually decreased.

Therefore, we continued to make improvements such as starting at 3:00 PM every day → starting at 12:30 PM after the luncheon, which would be easier for people to participate → holding it only on Fridays, but eventually the number of participants increased. It has been discontinued because it is no longer rare to see someone absent.

・Fellowship with Canadian members

▲Canada office

Beyond established a Canadian office in November 2020. When the Canadian office was first established, there were only two members from the Osaka office, so I would like to talk to the Japanese members from time to time! There is a request, can you make that wish come true? We have decided to hold online chat sessions once or twice a month. This initiative was interesting and a good opportunity for the Japanese members to hear about Canada.

However, although this event was a success at first, the number of participants gradually decreased each time it was held.

Moreover, the number of participants decreased not only in Japan but also in Canada lol

The participation rate of Canadian members decreased just as the number of Canadian members began to increase through local recruitment.

From this,

(Ah, I guess they're already having fun over there...)

As a result, the fellowship was also abolished.

By the way, recently, Japanese members have been regularly visiting the Canadian office to make long-term claims.

As a result, the Canadian office is now even more lively.

・Online lunch exchange meeting

The purpose of this event is similar to the coffee break mentioned above, but the original intention was to provide an opportunity for members of the leadership and higher positions to interact and gain a variety of stimulation.

For this reason, we used to hold meetings in groups of one leader or higher and three members, but as we held them, it gradually became more and more like a simple chat session, and it no longer served its original purpose. That was the issue.

If it still provides a good opportunity for small talk, there is a point in implementing it, but after considering it comprehensively, we have decided to abolish it as we have often heard people say they are tired of simple online exchanges without any theme. It became.

What do the abolished measures have in common?

As mentioned above, we introduced the measures that have been discontinued, but if there is one thing they all have in common, it is that they are in an online format.

When online drinking parties first started to become popular, they were very popular because of the novelty of being able to have a drinking party even from the comfort of your own home, and the comfort of falling asleep instantly after drinking. Perhaps it was because they were unable to communicate meaningfully, but their popularity tended to decline.

Now that coronavirus restrictions are being eased, more and more events are being held offline, but there may come a time in the future when you will only be able to meet people online, so in preparation for that, we are thinking about how to enjoy online interactions. I would like to keep it.

In addition, when 5th term Soshibun holds an online social gathering, the first meeting (about 2 hours) will be a normal interaction, and after the second meeting there will be a room for werewolf games, a room for drawing games, a room for mahjong, etc. , rooms were divided by theme.

In addition, the board game club, which is one of the Beyond club activities, seems to be enjoying board games online.

[Summary] Various relationships are born depending on the opportunity

The main measures we implemented are listed above.

After working on various measures as a member of the Organizational Culture Committee for a year, I realized that what is needed to build human relationships is an ` `opportunity.''

For example, I think it's quite rare that a situation arises where a member in their 40s and a member in their 20s go out on a holiday.

Therefore, by creating opportunities for interaction across generations through club activities, and opportunities to get to know a different side of the members through seasonal events, etc., each member is able to get along well within the company. There was a flow of interaction with people other than the ``regular members,'' so I felt that focusing on ``creating opportunities'' from all directions led to the building of deep human relationships.

Our term of office ended at the end of October 2022, but I hope that the 6th and subsequent generations of Sosibun will continue to build good human relationships within Beyond.

That's all.

I would be happy if I could find some reference!

Thank you for watching until the end.