WORK101 (Work 101) launched
It's been a while. This is Harazawa, the sales representative.
The spread of COVID-19 has caused major changes in the way we work. It is precisely because of these circumstances that we need to act positively, thinking about what we can do now and what kind of world will be waiting for us when the situation is resolved.
This time, as part of my "my project," I would like to report on the BAGN (described below) team training camp held in January 2020 by the newly launched WORK101 (Work Culture Exploration Center) (tentative name).
WORK101 is a place for thinking about the "work environment" with the theme of "future work-in-residence". Specifically, we will hold off-site meetings and team building support programs based at our newly opened base in Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture, where Monosus' satellite office is located.
The name WORK101 comes from the address of Kamiyama (101-1 Kamikado, Kamiyama-cho, Tokushima Prefecture), but the number 101 also means "Basic Introduction" in American universities. The nickname "Work Culture Exploration Center" was chosen in the hope that it will become a place where various activities can take place by gathering and interacting with a variety of people who are thinking about the future of "work."
By thinking about "work" from the ground up, we want to improve the "work environment" of the future. WORK101 is a project that embodies this idea.
The spread of coronavirus infection is causing major changes in the way we work. Now is the time to explore what it means to work.
The training camp will take place in Kamiyama
One day in December, Shuichiro Sakaguchi, the CEO of BAGN (Bagn), a company based in Tokyo and Kagoshima that plans and manages various events and open spaces, including GOOD NEIGHBORS JAMBOREE, and who we previously interviewed on the Monosus website , approached us with the following question.
What I'd like to ask for is an update on our meeting.
Currently, BAGN has nine employees split between two locations, Tokyo and Kagoshima, with one employee in Tokyo also on secondment outside the company.
We meet online once every two weeks, but each of us is involved in a different project, and the genres and clients are so diverse that it has become just a case report meeting. Information is concentrated somewhere and cannot be shared with others. Even though each project is different, the challenge is to share the learning and knowledge gained there. Can we "share deep learning" at the meeting and strengthen the meaning of gathering as an organization? I wonder if we can do something about that during the meeting.
After hearing this request, we thought it would be a good idea to have a shared experience for the whole team and to think about the "work environment" again at the WORK101 base, so we planned this team training camp. The three-day training camp was held in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture, where Monosus' satellite office is located.
Our new base, WORK101. While the exterior remains as it was when JA was established, the interior has been renovated to be more comfortable.
The first day of the camp. BAGN members gathered at WORK101. Some members had been traveling in Kagawa until the day of the camp, and members came all the way from Tokyo and Kagoshima to gather. The camp is a precious time when all the members gather once a year.
The facilitator for this training camp was Masayuki Aoki. Mr. Aoki is a facilitator who lives in Awajishima and is active all over Japan, facilitating a wide range of meetings, from family meetings to international conferences.
After a brief introduction by Aoki-san, the BAGN members, and the Monosus management staff, we started with lunch. We sat around the stove in the middle and ate our bento. Perhaps because we were tired from traveling, everyone seemed to be eating quietly.
First, let's fill our stomachs! We all enjoyed Matsubayan bento lunches.
After lunch, Aoki suggested we take a walk around the area. We went to a shrine to pray for the success of the training camp. The signal to depart was sounded by Aoki, who also climbs mountains as a yamabushi (mountain priest) and does training!
Many of the members were interested but struggled to make a sound, but Sakaguchi, a professional trumpeter, produced a beautiful sound in one try! A brave sound befitting the signal to begin reverberated throughout Kamiyama.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Kamiyama that day, with a crisp, clear blue sky. We were able to start the event feeling warmly welcomed by Kamiyama.
What kind of training camp do you want to have? Get to know yourself and your team members
The workshop was held with nine members and Aoki sitting around a stove. Aoki gave a theme, and everyone wrote down their opinions on paper and presented them.
The themes are varied, such as "What kind of training camp do you want to have?", "I'm actually ___!", "Questions I want to ask the other members", etc. Everyone will take their time to honestly think about what is on their mind and present it.
Among them, one person who was seconded to another company started talking with a bit of nervousness. He said that he doesn't usually have many opportunities to meet with the other members, but he honestly told me what was on his mind. "I'm on secondment, so I don't usually meet everyone, and I don't go to the office. I'm not good at talking in these situations."
"I'm worried because I don't know if I'm contributing to the company (because I'm usually seconded)."
Then, another member said, "When I explain our company, I mention that we have a member on secondment to XX, and I'm proud of that." The seconded member looked relieved.
When you face your inner self and talk honestly about even the smallest things, you will get unexpected reactions from those around you, and your relationships with them will change.
Time passes as I reflect on the fact that I too often neglect to convey my honest feelings to others.
Along the way, it's time for some sweets. A wide variety of local snacks are lined up, including Awa bancha tea, dried persimmons, and sweet potato chips.
What kind of company should it be?
After that, we talked about a few other topics, and then we went to the nearby Kamiyama Onsen. After soothing the fatigue of the first day, we returned to 101 and it was time for dinner.
Dinner on the first night was catered by Kamaya, a restaurant in Kamiyama .
The colorful dishes made with local ingredients and rice balls with Kamiyama plums and bonito flakes are as delicious as they look, and will put a smile on everyone's faces.
We wanted to eat right away, but first we had to set up. We all worked together to quickly prepare, setting up the chairs and tables, and serving the food. By working together on even the smallest things like that during the training camp, I think it was a good opportunity to reaffirm that we are all colleagues who work together.
Once the meal was over, Aoki announced the final theme of the day.
"I hope our company will become like this in the future."
Using a technique called "talking sticks," each person will speak one by one.
What was impressive at this time was that one member said, "I want to improve our employee benefits." In response, another member said, "I haven't really thought that deeply about employee benefits up until now. I didn't realize that the other members had thought about it that much." This shows that he had a different perspective.
By spending the day together and talking calmly and honestly, the views we each saw gradually became clearer.
The doors of everyone's hearts slowly opened, and when they were half-open (?), the first day of the camp was over. Tomorrow, the second day of the camp, will be a day to think more deeply about the company, asking questions such as, "What does a good company look like for us?" and "What can we do to make that happen?"
To be continued in the second part .
HARASAWA Shogo