Enabling Diversity & Shaping Culture (in a chaotic environment)

Online talk given at Runstastic internal Lunch & Learn.

Transcript

1. Enabling Diversity & Shaping Culture in a chaotic environment @tuttiq
2. Hi there! • Tutti (@tuttiq) • From ⇒ ⇒ • Major in Computer Engineering • Software Engineer for ~8 years • Manager @ Mercari, Director of Women Who Code Tokyo • Engineering Office Team • Diversity & Inclusion + Learning & Development
3. Enabling Diversity & Shaping Culture (in a chaotic environment) 1 BOLD CHALLENGE 2 AWARENESS & ADAPTABILITY 3 STRENGTHENING CULTURE 4 SUPPORT SYSTEMS
4. Bold Challenge What do you mean by "Chaotic Environment"?
5. Rapid growth Mercari's headcount in 4 years
6. Diversity taken to the next level Over 40 Countries People from almost all regions of the world.
7. Diversity taken to the next level • 40 different nationalities mostly on the Engineering Division • Japan, and Eastern Asia in general, have some of the most traditional and homogeneous cultures • People from almost all regions of the world: all americas, west, east and north europe, middle east, africa, south, southeast, west and east asia, oceania, etc • No such thing as "everyone is kinda used to western culture" like I've seen in other places
8. Language barrier • Only about 20% of Japanese people can speak conversational English • Less than 10% can speak with business-level fluency • Majority of the foreigners in Japan also speak English as a second language
9. Loose interpretation of our values All For One? Go Bold? Be Professional?
10. Mercari organization in 4 years Organization development
11. Organization Development
12. Awareness & Adaptability Identifying and adapting to the challenges of our culture
13. Communication (written/spoken) • Simplifying English and Japanese communication Article: Using Yasashii Tips To Communicate Better during WFH
14. Communication (written/spoken) • Explicitly setting the tone of written communication • Dealing with awkward silences and miscommunication
15. Cultural nuances & expectations • Mismatched definitions of subjective qualities: ◦ Polite/Rude ◦ Confusing/Clear/Obvious ◦ Bold/Comfort Zone ◦ Professional ◦ High/Low quality • Different expectations for roles & responsibilities
16. Trust & Dependability • Assuming intentions (benefit of the doubt) • Peer pressure vs. inspired collaboration • Taking "the easy path" of siloed non-collaboration
17. Inclusion & Belonging • Workspace infrastructure • Accessibility, same access to information • Safe space to address issues • "Am I expected here?" We know every individual is different from another and we encourage and celebrate diversity. メルカリはそれぞれの人の個性や違いを認識し ダイバーシティを尊重し推し進めてきました 。
18. Inclusion & Belonging Social connections • Someone to ask "the dumb questions" • Casual communities • Friendship
19. Strengthening Culture But keeping it inclusive.
20. Stronger but inclusive values Dream big, take risks Involve stakeholders, deal with conflict ASAP Go Bold Mission focus Alignment and prioritization Empathy, teamwork All For One Always learning, continuous improvement Respectful and reliable, ownership Be A Pro
21. Stronger culture stance An open culture based on trust • No excess rules to restrict employees • Information is fundamentally open to all • Everyone is expected to be responsible to think, act and make decisions on their own We are open-minded to flexibly accept change in an ever-changing environment. Trust & Openness A culture that fosters diversity • Attract, develop, retain and empower diverse top talent from all over the world • Create a fair and inclusive environment where everyone can thrive • Understand the needs of our diverse customers and partners worldwide Diversity & Inclusion
22. Our Values Whatever we thought sounded cool for PR and the employees wanted to hear
23. Principles "on the wall" Changing your words, your careers site and your employee manual is not enough. You will only begin to shape culture if you live and breath your values everyday through your ACTIONS: • Hire according to your principles • Reward/praise (or give feedback to shift direction) • Evaluate and promote the right behaviors/competencies
24. Processes & guidelines Can add objectivity and accountability to shape your culture. • Culture fit interview guideline • Value-based expectations per role/level • Evaluation and promotion guideline
25. Training your employees (specially managers) • Info session, round-table, Q&As, open doors • Interactive workshops • Bring the discussion to hiring managers
26. Support Systems Enabling high-performing diverse teams
27. Supporting communication In-house translators and interpreters for meetings and docs In-house English and Japanese curriculums In-house diversity & communication trainings Global Operations Team Language Education Team Diversity & Inclusion
28. Supporting communication ⚙ Technology: HISASHI is our ML-based bot to help with translations, general affair tasks and questions from employees
29. Cultural nuances & expectations Strengthening the culture, processes and guidelines. D&I trainings: • Unconscious Bias Training • Cross-cultural Communication Workshop • Lunch & Learn
30. Cultural nuances & expectations Activities that reinforce and explain your culture. • Go Bold Day • Hackweek • MVP Awards per value • D&I events (Lunch & Learn, cultural night, etc) • Sponsorships, PR
31. Trust & Dependability Team-building activities and intentional exercises ... Lots and lots of hard work from managers and team members
32. Inclusion & Belonging Multicultural@ Pride@ Women@ Mercari D&I Communities (ERGs)
33. Inclusion & Belonging Social connections • Someone to ask "the dumb questions" • Casual communities • Friendship
34. It's never easy. It's never over. Embrace (and enjoy) the challenge. In summary...
35. Thank you! Questions? Tutti Quintella https://tuttiq.me @tuttiq About Mercari Group: https://about.mercari.com Mercari JP: https://mercari.jp | Mercari US: https://mercari.com Free illustrations on this presentation by Freepik