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Koichi Masaki
President
Komyo America Co., Inc.
Sharing company circumstances and plans with employees
Would like to discuss eye to eye
2 years after establishment and 200 employees
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We offer services as American Honda's parts division.
Our job is to ship Honda vehicle parts from Japan to 9 parts centers nationwide.
The warehouse operates 24 hours and has 3 shifts. Including associates, we have
200 employees.
In May 2002, this company was established in America
and we began operations in Chino in November, so in a little more than 2 years,
we have become substantially large. Although we are a Japanese corporation, there
are only 3 assignees and the job is 100% conducted in English. There are many
Hispanic associates so it would be good if I could speak Spanish...
Meetings and Events
How can the motivation of the 200 employees be maintained
high? The key is none other than communications. As an organization, there are
7 supervisors that directly manage associates, above them are 2 assistant managers,
and further above is a manager. Not only the vertical hierarchy is considered
but we also emphasize the importance of the horizontal relationship between managers
and that is why we constantly have meetings. If we do not, because we operate
on 3 shifts, we will lose the opportunities of facing each other.
Recently, we started an experiment called Family Meeting.
This is to explain the company's current circumstances and future plans to employees.
We receive questions and answer them. The purpose is to further provide them with
motivation to participate in company related matters. By letting them have such
feelings, I think there is a possibility of reducing the turnover rate.
Separate from organizational efforts, once a year,
we have a company picnic for all employees and their family members to promote
interaction among families as a whole. Furthermore, during the holiday season,
we invite employees and their spouses to a holiday party. Last year, we rented
out a restaurant at a nearby golf course. There is no dress code per se but there
are many participants that arrive in formal attire. After the party, there are
many employees that directly tell me, "It was very fun so please do this
again next year", and that makes me happy.
A company's growth is dependent on the people
The key to company growth is no doubt the people.
This depends on how to hire capable personnel. What kind of personnel do
I think are capable? Well, first, someone that can stand in the other person's
spot and communicate well with other people. This is a condition that is especially
sought after on the management side. As for myself, rather than ordering people,
I like to get consensus with the people I work with. Why I wear a company jacket
is to create an atmosphere of making it easy for me to speak eye to eye with everyone,
starting with the associates. If it's a suit, it's harder to strike up a
conversation. I would like to continue growing the company into one that can constantly
increase the number of people; that is the scale I would like to develop the company
into. This is our mission.
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