Sanpo-yoshi Communication

President's Column] Bar Complaints to the Proposal

Our company entered a new fiscal year (58th fiscal year) this month due to our February fiscal year end. It appears that profits will decrease for the consecutive fiscal year.
This could not cover the large investment in a new plant, the increase in labor costs, and the sharp increase in electricity costs. Wage hikes seem inevitable again this fiscal year.... But we will do our best.

Now, we are asking all employees to submit their tax returns directly to us at this time of year.
This is a system that allows employees to express their opinions on anything to the company, and is implemented twice a year. We collect more than 500 letters of frank opinions, including dissatisfaction with the workplace, dissatisfaction with the boss, suggestions for improvement, and wishes regarding transfers. No matter what you write, there is no penalty.
This system is a pain for me, as I am not used to being criticized. However, through this system, we have taken in everyone's opinions and have changed the company's structure and rules little by little. In the beginning, there were people who said, "Even if I write it down, nothing will change," but now no one does. Everyone in the company knows it now. Everyone in the company knows that even you can change the company. The late Masao Ogura, former chairman of Yamato Transport, creator of TA-Q-BIN, and a respected author of the book, "Why not? PHP Research Institute
There is this passage in the

(Citation Beginning, not the full text, but excerpts and summaries)

"Barroom whining as a suggestion."

No matter how favorable the environment may be, there is always some source of dissatisfaction in the workplace as long as people are working together.
No complaints means no room for improvement and betterment of anything.
Complaining about the bar, including bad-mouthing the boss, is the flip side of patriotism.
Behind the scenes, they hide an extremely positive attitude toward the company's operations and their own work.
It is important to take constructive opinions from bar complaints and sublimate them into a single "proposal. To this end, it is important to bring the complaints out from the backstage of the bar and put them on the official communication channels.
The idea is to let people express their dissatisfaction in an official setting, not in a bar. If there is a stage where people can honestly say what is bothering them, what they feel is inefficient, or what is discouraging them, a simple complaint can become a "proposal" with a positive attitude toward changing the status quo.
The vicious circle can be broken if we can think of ourselves as being in a position to influence, or "participate in," the operational plans made by the General Staff, rather than simply being soldiers firing guns in the field as ordered.
Because there is a possibility that you can change the situation yourself.
(End quote)

We have been doing this direct declaration form for more than 10 years now, and we have noticed that it is gradually easing the pain of reading it. It has been a powerful deterrent to various forms of harassment, and we have taken your requests and changed the system and rules from the point where we can compromise as a management. The lower the level of contribution, the more likely we are to receive low-level requests for more pay or more time off, and the higher the level of contribution, the more positive suggestions they give us. And unfortunately, the company's policy that seems to be most on the minds of employees seems to be benefits.
Our company's turnover rate has remained high, and we have not seen any significant improvement, but we will continue to make further efforts.