From Germany to Japan, a Major Challenge

I was working for a global drug development contract research organization (CRO), in charge of toxicity testing. I worked on projects for a variety of companies, which was both fun and very interesting, but I never really understood how my own work contributed to the broader development process.
For this and other reasons I was considering changing jobs. I’d always had an interest in foreign cultures in general, and living in a foreign country was something I’d been thinking about for many years. I was especially interested in Japanese culture and history, and on several business trips to Japan prior to joining Chugai, I’d been very impressed by Japan as a country, and by the Japanese people.
There are three reasons I chose to work at Chugai. First, in my previous job I’d been involved in two research projects for Chugai, and found I could relate to Chugai’s research process. Second, Chugai’s portfolio, with its specialization in biopharmaceuticals and anticancer agents, drew my interest. Third, I was looking for an equitable workplace environment with a friendly, productive atmosphere. After meeting with executives of the company, I knew instinctively that Chugai could offer what I was seeking. This is how I came to join Chugai in April of 2014.

Safety Assessment Department
Werner Frings

The Understanding and Cooperation of Others Created an Environment for Using English

Since I don’t speak much Japanese, before I joined the company I’d assumed that I’d be unable to participate in Japanese project discussions. Once I got here, I found that some of my colleagues spoke English quite well, and were eager to use their language ability, but I also noticed that others weren’t nearly as proficient. With everyone working so hard, they simply didn’t have the time or energy to spend using English. Given that so little information was available in English, I realized it would be difficult for me to do my job perfectly.
Still, I didn’t want to give up. Fortunately, my colleagues generously offered to translate relevant information into English, and did whatever else they could to help, including making English the standard language for meetings in which I participated. While I worked in the Safety Assessment Department, eventually a notice went out to other departments that all materials should at least be in English. More recently, English has become the standard language for monthly meetings in which other departments participate, and it was decided that Japanese would be allowed only when the discussion was too complex for English.
At the time, this situation made me very uncomfortable. I thought that my presence alone was inconveniencing my colleagues. One day, though, I realized that this represented an important change for the future of the company, and my own feelings began to change as well. I realized that with more people able to participate in international partnerships and discussions, our corporate value would improve, and with a more global work environment, more people who may not speak Japanese but are otherwise extremely talented might wish to join Chugai.
In that sense, I began to see my presence not as a hindrance to my colleagues, but as an opportunity for the company. Today, I feel as though more of my colleagues are making an effort to use English more frequently. There may be a long road ahead, but I think we’re moving in the right direction.

Chugai is Taking Solid Steps to Advance Diversity Promotion

I think diversity grows out of three steps. The first step is not to think of differences in terms of positive and negative values, but to realize that everyone is different. This awareness of differences advances when a company hires people like me, who are clearly different from the Japanese. Until now, Chugai didn’t have very many foreign employees. But as the company promotes the hiring of more non-Japanese with real working experience, Chugai has begun to change.
The next step is to clarify individuals’ strengths and weaknesses, as a way of leveraging their differences. The company must then advance those strengths, and eventually find the right workplace and career opportunities for each individual. Chugai has already issued a statement setting out goals for its employees to make an effort in this area, and encouraging them to do so.
The last step is to learn from individual differences. This means recognizing that what’s good for one individual may not be good for another, but it’s also important to recognize this as an opportunity. I think Chugai is already doing well in this area, too. This is because most of its employees work hard at attempting to accept opinions and thoughts that are different from their own, and are proactive about trying to learn from others.
One method Chugai needs to emphasize to further promote diversity is to increase opportunities to use English, even if this may be inconvenient. This will not only build stronger ties with non-Japanese employees, but is useful in better understanding employees of affiliates such as Roche and Genentech. I think there are many things we can learn from them, and many things they, in turn, can learn from Chugai’s employees. Allowing employees of Chugai to gain a better understanding of English will make that process easier.

A new diversity promotion initiative that began in 2015 is the Inclusion and Diversity by Embracing and Accepting (I.D.E.A.) forum, and opportunity to exchange opinions about multicultural understanding. The goal of this endeavor is to further mutual understanding between Chugai’s non-Japanese and Japanese staff, and to improve the work environment by enabling employees to share their experiences and knowledge.
The forum was held once in September of 2015, and twice in November; going forward, we plan to hold similar forums about once a quarter. Employees who have worked in other cultures give presentations about things they realized through their own experiences, and later, the participants break up into teams to engage in group discussion.
28 people participated in the second I.D.E.A. forum held on November 19. Twelve of them were non-Japanese employees, a diverse group of nationalities that included China, South Korea, Nepal, the U.S., England and Australia.
At the forum, two employees--one non-Japanese, one Japanese--presented talks on the beauty and difficulty of using Japanese polite speech, and on the status of diversity management at Roche.

I.D.E.A. Forum

The presence of role models has been successful in spreading a balance between life events and work

Before Chugai began its full-fledged efforts to promote diversity, female medical representatives (MRs) with the company regularly used marriage or childbirth as an opportunity to leave their jobs.
Because this early turnover among female MRs represented a significant loss both for the company and for the individual’s own growth, we issued the message that an organization which recognizes the individual and enables each person to fully enjoy their work leads to growth and success for the individual and the organization. The Marketing & Sales Human Resource Management Department then began a full-fledged effort to create an environment in which female MRs could continue to work. This involved three key components: (1) building programs, (2) enlightening staff, and (3) establishing the right workplace environment.
First, in terms of building programs, we introduced the short-time work for childcare system (flextime work) for MRs, a program that had already been introduced for head office and branch staff. We also worked with the Human Resources Management Department. to revamp other programs, including a transfer assistance plan to allow MRs to live with their spouses after marriage.
Next, as part of our enlightening activities, we held a variety of events designed to raise awareness among female MRs and develop role models. These included forums for female MRs and other female employees, branch office subcommittees and our “Happy Career Cafe.”
Along with these activities, we worked to encourage the understanding of supervisors and colleagues, and to revitalize the organization, began focusing on the third component, establishing the right workplace environment. We focused especially on changing attitudes among management through diversity management training.
By promoting these three core activities, the ratio of married female MRs has risen significantly, while turnover among female MRs has fallen.
Behind this increased awareness among female MRs that they can continue to work even in the face of live events such as marriage, childbirth, and childcare is the significant contribution made by role models who utilize these programs to balance work with marriage, childbirth and childcare. This achievement has come about in part because the realization that life events need not prevent one from continuing to work, that in fact continuing to work is perfectly normal, has begun to take root among the supervisors, male colleagues and others who work with these women.

Making the success of diverse personnel an everyday thing

Another major issue for Chugai’s Marketing & Sales Division is how to create an environment in which employees above the age of 55 can make even greater use of their talents. At Chugai, we offer employees who have turned 55 the option of either continuing to work as full-time permanent employees until the age of 60, or retiring at 55 and then signing on again to work until age 65 as contract employees. We believe that enabling senior employees, with their extensive experience and skills, to fully enjoy their work provides a trigger for revitalizing the workplace.
The ultimate goal of these activities is to see that diversity is no longer treated as a special word. Diversity promotion aims to create a situation in which it is perfectly normal for a diverse workforce to make the most of their individual capabilities and characteristics, but it is a long journey, one that cannot be completed overnight. To achieve that goal, it is essential that we further the understanding of all employees by continuing “building programs, “enlightening staff”, and “establishing the right workplace environment.”
In the Marketing & Sales Division, we are addressing other issues such as the success of senior employees and encouraging men to take paternity leave by first creating role models. We believe that by allowing other employees to see these men and women maintaining a work/life balance while still enjoying their jobs, many of them will gain a greater understanding of the true meaning of “diversity and inclusion,” and we continue to promote diversity with that goal in mind.

Branch Female MR Forum