Managing telecommuting and remote work in the Japanese company environment

The Japanese workstyle has traditionally been focused on everyone being in the same place at the same time, which has worked against the adoption of telecommuting. But with increasing emphasis on work-life balance, promoting women’s workforce participation, and now COVID-19, more firms in Japan, and Japanese companies’ operations in the U.S., are introducing work-at-home arrangements. Remote teams are also becoming more common. This 90-minute course will cover techniques for getting the best results from remote working situations. The following topics are covered: • Why telecommuting is not popular in Japan • Concerns that Japanese managers typically have about remote workers • Best practices for remote work • Setting your communication and software tools • Including the remote worker in the informal communication processes • Tracking progress and task management • Visualizing results - a challenge of remote work, and how to solve it • Effective teleconferences and videoconferences • Techniques for increasing team spirit when everyone is in different locations The course is taught by Japanese business culture expert Rochelle Kopp and management consultant Susan Doctors, who both have long experience supporting Japanese organizations in effectively managing remote work situations. The contents are relevant for Japanese firms, and for non-Japanese firms with operations in Japan. A Japanese language version of this course is available.  Course name: リモートチームのメンバーとの効果的なコミュニケーション方法を探る Japan Intercultural Consulting is also available to consult with companies on effective management of at-home workers and remote teams.  Please contact us.