Introducing examples of measures that may improve interpersonal relationships in the workplace [Summary of 2022 Socibun Activities]

Are you having trouble with interpersonal relationships at work?

Hello.
I'm Goto, Chairperson of the Organizational Culture Committee, 5th term, at Beyond. (Web Services Division)

It's often said that most work-related problems stem from interpersonal relationships, andwhether or not you have fulfilling relationships with your colleagues significantly impacts your work motivation.

Therefore, at Beyond, the Organizational Culture Committee provides a forum for communication within the organization and plans events and implements measures to improve the internal environment with the aim of building fulfilling human relationships

In this article, I, as the Chairman of the Organizational Culture Committee, will candidly review the measures that were implemented throughout the year by the 5th Organizational Culture Committee

this informationlooking to start something to improve their relationships at workwill be helpful to anyone

alsointroduce some initiatives that were not well-received, so wemistakeshope you can learn from

Well then, I'll be there

Challenges related to workplace relationships(Beyond's case)

First, I would like to share below the issues I felt regarding interpersonal relationships within the company, which I heard from the CEO when he 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 provide psychological support to members

First of all, I personally feel that Beyond has always had fairly good interpersonal relationships in the workplace, but there is certainly a certain level of difference in attitude between those who have active interactions within the company and those who do not. Therefore, the 5th Organizational Culture Committee decided to consider measures to solve the above issues

A second youth?! The 5th term Organizational Culture Committee's activity policy

In order to resolve the above issues within one year, the four committee members first came up with a course of action

Here is the policy that was born out of this

• A second youth beyond
• Communication that respects diversity

Below we will explain what the above activity policy means and the background to its decision

Why Youth? Background to the Decision on the Activity Policy

 

I thought that people might be getting bored of the content soon, so I thought I'd take a break and share some cat pictures

Wow, it's irresistible. So please read on

 

Now, why did we decide on the above policy?

The first activity policy, "A second youth beyond,"is about how even after becoming a working adult, when life is generally more challenging and hectic than during student days,

Beyondhelp people create memories and relationships that can be called their youthembodies our desire to

"Youth" was an idea I came up with half-jokingly, but the committee members gave me positive feedback, saying "That sounds good, doesn't it?", so we decided to go with it

Every time we announced in our company activity report that "We aim to provide a second youth," I, "Oh, this is really embarrassing..."but in the end, it might have been a clear and easy-to-understand activity policy.

the other point,"communication that respects diversity,"Regarding"youth"on others, considering that what comes to mind when people hear theidea of ​​youth"we adopted it with the intention of being careful not to "impose our

For example, a typical way for working adults to have fun is probably through drinking parties, but in ourtheir youthfifth term, we wanted to encourage

 

Below we will introduce the activities we have carried out in line with this policy, broadly by production, measures, and events

Launch of club activities system to encourage communication across departments and generations!

▲A group photo taken during Beyond Sauna Club activities

The club activity systemshared hobbies could be a catalyst for building deeper relationshipswas designed with the idea that

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

naturally created opportunities for employees to meet each other on their days offOne of the reasons the club activity system worked well is that it

After all, it's easier to become closer when people with common interests get together

Details of the club activities system are provided below

Even working adults want to feel young! The story of starting a club activity system

 

Eliminate worries after joining the company? New graduate training and welcome/farewell parties

This is not just something that the 5th Socibun (Organizational Culture Committee) has been doing every year, but it is something that Beyond has been doing every year as a regular event

When a new employee joins the company, Socibun usuallywelcome partyholds a

When we meet online, the number of participants is usually 20 to 30 people or more, so we divide the meeting into breakout rooms of around four people and have new members rotate through each room

When I first joined the company, they held a welcome party for me, and it really helpedease my anxieties and nervousness about starting work, so I was very grateful.

By the way, if the number of members increases in the Canadian office, the meeting will be held on Saturday from 10:00 to 12:00 Japan time, or on Friday from 20:00 to 22:00 Canada time (this may vary depending on the season)

 

In addition to a welcome party for new employees,part of their post-employment trainingwith senior members ascommunication gameswe also conduct

paired up, interviewed each other, and then introduced their partner to everyoneactivity called "Personal Introduction," where students, we conducted an

When I see how this type of training naturally leads to increased communication between new and existing members, I feel that it was a good idea to hold it

Once you start talking, communication will naturally develop more easily, but whether or not you have that initial opportunity will make a difference in how quickly you become friends

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

In addition to the initiatives mentioned above, seasonal events were also held during the fifth term

The main events that were actually held were as follows:

■Example of a winter event:
Christmas present exchange

■Example of a spring event:
Eating a whole Ehomaki roll together

Looking back at it now, it was a rather surreal event..

■Example of a summer event:
Tanabata event - a gathering where everyone writes their wishes on strips of paper (with an announcement of the best Tanabata award)

Since it was Tanabata day, the number of wish strips increased considerably compared to the first day!
Thank you to the Organization and Culture Committee members who always come up with fun events 🙌
We're looking forward to next year's Tanabata 🌟 pic.twitter.com/2YOtalkwwQ

— Beyond Inc. (@beyondjapaninfo) July 7, 2022

Just to add a comment, one of the wishes"I hope I don't gain weight even if I eat Jiro ramen," but I don't think that's possible even if you write it on a strip of paper.

■Example of an autumn event:
Halloween Horror Night (watching horror movies together while eating candy)

Once you become a working adult, you go out less and less, and your sense of the seasons gradually fades from your life

With that in mind, the 5th Socio-Bun held many seasonal events, involving company members, as they thought it might be a good opportunity to do so

Regarding seasonal events,they're surprisingly fun once you actually try themmy honest impression is that

 

we hold seasonal events,because even if my life consists only of going back and forth between home and the office, I can still feel the changing seasonsI think it's great that

Planning and running various parties

▲A scene from the 15th anniversary party

In addition to the initiatives mentioned above, we also sometimes collaborate with the Human Resources Department to plan parties held within the company

Even for parties like this, we carefully consider seating arrangements so that everyone who attends can enjoy themselves, and we select venues that will put people in a good mood

Additionally, in April 2022, Beyond held its 15th anniversary party, and we were in charge of the entertainment, which looked back on Beyond's history in a humorous way

It was quite interesting to ask senior colleagues with long tenure at the company about funny incidents that happened at Beyond in the past, and incidents that are still funny now

▲Slides of entertainment shown at the 15th anniversary party

Incidentally, when searching for a relatively large banquet hall,the Venue Best Searchservice was very convenient and helpful.

Creating content on Google Sites as an opportunity to get to know our members

In addition to planning events, we also create content for the company

The website was created using Google Sites, which allows for speedy website creation without coding

Product 1: Beyond Encyclopedia

The Beyond Encyclopedia, which introduces each member working at Beyond, was released internally in November 2021

The most common use is when new employees join the company, and since this illustrated guide allows new members to quickly learn about existing employees, I feel that it makes communication much smoother

Production ② Creation of an internal portal site and internal album

We are also responsible for producing Beyond's in-house newsletter, the Beyond Illustrated Guide mentioned earlier, and a portal site that compiles all of the company's internal systems created as part of new employee training

To summarise what we have done, Socibun has done a lot of internal public relations work

At the same time as creating the in-house portal site, we also created a shared album for the company

Being able to casually reminisce like this can also be a topic of conversation within the company

Can we create "concentration"? Validating improvements to the work environment

▲Part of the actual verification data

Although it is slightly different from promoting interpersonal relationships, we also tested how work productivity changes when we specify foods, smells, and sounds that are used during work hours

To implement this initiative, we provided aroma diffusers, collected questionnaires and conducted surveys on healthy restaurants near the workplace and convenience store meals, and provided a different environment each week

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

[Work environment improvement] We conducted an experiment to see if smells, food, and music affect productivity

It's difficult to say for sure whether the results are significant because the experiment was limited to within the company and the sample size was small, but I think this experiment gave each member an opportunity to think about what foods, smells, and sounds bring out their best performance

One thing to note about this test is that many people said that they couldn't smell as much as they expected because everyone in the office was wearing masks, so it may be necessary to use a fairly large diffuser when burning aroma, or to have individual diffusers

Is demand for online communication declining? Abolished initiatives

So far, we have introduced various measures implemented by Socibun

Ifinteresting and would like to try them out, please feel free to incorporate them into your plans!

 

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

・Coffee break

(The image has almost no relation to coffee break)

A coffee break is a 30-minute initiative where members who can get together during work hours gather together and chat online

Coffee breaks were originally started in 2020 as a way to alleviate stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced almost everyone to work remotely and reduced the amount of casual communication. At the time, this helped members to avoid stress, but from around 2022, restrictions on working remotely were relaxed and the number of participants gradually decreased

As a result, we continued to make improvements, such as starting the class every day at 3:00 p.m., then starting it at 12:30 p.m. after the lunch meeting, which would make it easier to participate, and then holding it only on Fridays.However, it became so common that there were sessions where no one showed up that we decided to discontinue the class

・Fellowship with Canadian members

▲The Canadian office

Beyond established its Canadian office in November 2020. When it was first established, the Canadian office only had two members from the Osaka office, so there was a desire to talk with Japanese members from time to time. To fulfill this desire, we decided to hold online chat sessions once or twice a month. This initiative was also a good opportunity for the Japanese members, as they found it interesting to hear about Canada

However, although this event was a great success at first, the number of participants gradually decreased with each event

What's more, it wasn't just Japan that saw a decrease in participants; the same was true for Canada

The decline in the participation rate of Canadian members occurred just as the number of Canadian members was beginning to increase through local recruitment

From this,

(Oh, I wonder if they're having fun over there already...)

It was realized that this was the case, and the fellowship was abolished

By the way, recently our Japanese members have been regularly visiting the Canadian office for long-term discussions

This will surely make our Canadian office even more lively now

・Online lunch social gathering

This also has a similar purpose to the coffee break mentioned above, but the original aim was to provide an opportunity for members to interact with those in leadership positions and above and gain various forms of stimulation

For this reason, we divided the meetings into groups of one person with a leader or higher position and three or so members, but as the meetings continued, they gradually began to resemble mere casual chat sessions, and the original purpose of the meetings began to fall short, which was an issue

However, if it still provides a good opportunity for casual conversation, then there is value in holding it, but we have heard many people say that they are tired of simple online exchanges with no specific theme, so after careful consideration we have decided to discontinue it

What do the abolished policies have in common?

As mentioned above, we have introduced the measures that have been abolished, but if there is one thing they have in common, it is that they were all conducted online

When online drinking parties first started to become popular, they were very popular due to the novelty of being able to have a drinking party from home and the convenience of being able to fall asleep in an instant after drinking. However, their popularity has tended to decline, perhaps because they do not allow for the same level of immersive communication as offline drinking parties

Now that COVID-19 restrictions are being relaxed, we are seeing an increase in offline events, but there may come a time in the future when we can only meet people online, so we should prepare for this by thinking about ways to enjoy online interactions

When the 5th Socibun held an online social gathering, the first meeting (about 2 hours) was a normal social gathering, but from the second meeting onwards, the rooms were divided into themes, such as a room for Werewolf games, a room for drawing games, and a room for Mahjong

In addition, the Board Game Club, one of the Beyond club activities, seems to enjoy playing board games online

[Summary] Various relationships can be born depending on the trigger

The main measures implemented are as follows

After working on various initiatives as a member of the Organizational Culture Committee for a year, I've come to realize that what's needed to build relationships"trigger."is a

For example, I think it's quite rare for a situation to naturally arise where members in their 40s and members in their 20s go out together on the weekend

Therefore, by creating opportunities for intergenerational interaction through club activities and other events, and by providing opportunities to see different sides of team members through seasonal events, a flow of interaction was created where each member interacted with people other than their usual close friends within the company. As a result, Ifeel that focusing on "creating opportunities" from all angles led to the building of deep relationships.

Our term ended at the end of October 2022, but I hope that the sixth generation of Socibun and beyond will continue to build good relationships within Beyond

That's all

I would be happy if even one of these was helpful!

Thank you for watching until the end