Five promotional measures to grasp the "work style of the future"

StreetSmart's mission is to "enable each individual to thrive and increase the number of people who can turn their work into joy," and we support companies in introducing and promoting the use of cloud tools.

This time, StreetSmart interviewed Roche Diagnostics K.K., a company that has been continuously supporting us for a long time, to ask about the various measures they have implemented to promote the use of Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) since its introduction up to the present, and the results they have achieved.

Introduction to Roche Diagnostics K.K.

This is the Japanese subsidiary of the diagnostics division of F. Hoffmann-La Roche, a world-leading healthcare company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. As of January 2020, the company has 764 employees, branches and logistics centers in nine cities across Japan, and operates in a wide range of fields, including in-vitro diagnostic reagents and equipment, and research reagents and equipment.

This time, we spoke with Mr. Kawamura and Mr. Minamimura, who are in charge of promoting the use of Google Workspace in the IT department.

As a first step towards the "work style of the future," the entire group has introduced Google Workspace (formerly G Suite).

Please tell us how you decided to introduce Google Workspace (formerly G Suite).

The decision was made to implement it across the global Roche Group, and in 2013, the Japanese subsidiary also began using it. Initially, only email and calendars were used, but in the future, it was hoped that "it would become a tool that would support a more flexible and global way of working, allowing collaboration anytime, anywhere, with anyone, and from any device ." The introduction of Google Workspace was the first step towards the "workstyle of the future."

The introduction of Google Workspace also reflected our determination to become an organization that can respond even more quickly to the speed of change in the world . At the Roche Group, our slogan is "Doing now what patients need next," and we place great importance on taking action to quickly deliver the pharmaceuticals and diagnostics that patients need now. To that end, we introduced Google Workspace to become an organization that can adapt even more to the speed of change.

Divide it into phases and gradually introduce the tool into the field.

It started with email and calendars, but how did it expand after that?

We implemented a variety of measures, but one of the biggest was holding an Innovation Workshop in collaboration with Google and StreetSmart in 2016. We were planning to relocate our office the following year, so we wanted to use this opportunity to further promote the use of Google Workspace and increase employee productivity.

In addition to learning about Google Workspace services, we also talked about the corporate culture of Google, known as the "best company to work for," and took a tour of the Google offices. We also had time to think about and discuss how to use Google Workspace effectively.

After that, we focused on utilizing Drive. When compiling data or creating documents, each person updates a file and sends it as an email attachment. This process can be repeated several times, which can lead to someone having to consolidate the files, or the accumulation of multiple files can make it difficult to know which is the latest version. On the other hand, Drive stores files in the cloud and allows for centralized management, so you can access the latest files at any time. We made the most of these features and promoted the use of Drive to ensure smooth collaboration.

After Mail, Calendar, and Drive, what's next?

We use Meet, a video conferencing tool. We promoted its use to facilitate communication even when offices and locations are far apart. Now, a large number of employees are using it. In addition to individual meetings, we are also working to use Meet to maintain constant connections between regional offices.

After that, we introduced Google+ to further promote communication within the company. There are various communities for branches and departments, but there are also communities that all employees can join, and we use them to spread the word, such as by sharing tips on Google Workspace.

We are making every effort to ensure that Google Workspace is widely adopted.

Apart from posting on Google+, how else are you promoting Google Workspace?

We hold training sessions and seminars for our employees. Street Smart also provided us with a variety of training sessions, starting with driving training, training for new employees and mid-career hires, and information sessions for management.

We also recruited evangelists from among our employees to spread the word about Google Workspace, and we held "Evangelist Training" for the approximately 40 employees who gathered.

We also use various unique methods within our company. Members of our IT department act as lecturers and give lectures at branch meetings, or hold short seminars in our company's refreshment space. We wanted as many people as possible to participate, so we even held a seminar titled "Google Workspace: Things you're too embarrassed to ask about now."

You've come up with all sorts of creative ideas.

Last year, we introduced the " Master Program, " a Google Workspace lecture video service provided by StreetSmart. Previously, we had to provide training to new mid-career employees every time they joined the company, but thanks to the lecture videos, this is no longer necessary, which has been a great help.

Employees are encouraged to voluntarily share tips about Google Workspace.

You have implemented a variety of measures, but when do you feel that you have achieved results?

We regularly post tips for Google Workspace on Google+, and recently we've started seeing these posts from members outside the IT department. Other employees often respond to these posts with enthusiastic comments, which gives us the sense that the information is starting to take hold.

The use of Meet for meetings is increasing, and more employees are using Google Workspace to create meeting materials. At first, it was Docs and Spreadsheets, but recently I often see employees using Slides. As the use of Google Workspace increases, I think that the number of documents attached to emails is decreasing, and comments and mentions within files are increasing.

Promoting the use of Google Workspace does not produce obvious results in the short term, but I feel very happy when I encounter scenes like the one I just described.

Each employee can find the best way to use it for themselves.

Do you find it difficult to promote the use of Google Workspace?

Each person's level of tool utilization varies. Some people want to start using tools as soon as possible, while others are resistant to changing from the tools they used previously. It's natural that there will be variations in understanding and utilization, but I feel that changing that mindset is extremely difficult.

It is only when people themselves think that something is useful and want to use it that it will be used, so we don't think it's right for us to "force" it. We see our role as "presenting possibilities" and "providing opportunities for thinking," and we strive to provide useful information and a forum.

These tools do not require independent understanding unless you are a fan of IT or have a pressing need for it. Therefore, rather than just talking about it once, I try to provide information repeatedly so that people can remember it and refer back to it whenever they need it.

We will work to integrate tools to further improve productivity in the future.

You have implemented a variety of measures so far, but what would you like to do in the future?

We have had the opportunity to learn about Google Workspace in various ways, so we believe that we have gained a deeper understanding of each tool. In the next phase, we would like to further improve productivity by integrating these tools .

For example, you can drag and drop an email to add it to your ToDo list, make it a task, and enter a due date, and it will automatically appear on your calendar. These small steps, like incorporating the idea of ​​linking apps together, can add up to big improvements in work efficiency.

Additionally, to promote more advanced use, we would like to consider utilizing Google Apps Script, which can automate routine tasks and increase efficiency.

The training is effective because it emphasizes "experience" and "philosophy" rather than just explaining how to operate the equipment.

StreetSmart has been helping out with training and Master Programs. Please let us know your thoughts on the program.

Without StreetSmart, we would not have come this far. When we conduct training sessions, the lectures are given in a style that encourages hands-on experience and independent learning , which matches our way of thinking and makes it easier to see results.

Furthermore, rather than just talking about the features, they also talk about the concepts and culture of Google, the company that developed Google Workspace , so I found myself getting drawn in. Now that I understand and empathize with the fundamental ideas, I can enjoy using the tool.

In addition, StreetSmart told us that they keep their Tokyo and Osaka offices constantly connected via Meet (video conferencing), so we implemented this in our company and started keeping our regional offices constantly connected. This has been very well received by our employees. It's been very helpful to have them share their know-how on using Google Workspace from various perspectives.