Episode #49 How To Keep Departure Damage To A Minimum

The classic brutalist image of a departure from the firm is from the finance industry. The departee is handed a garbage bag to collect their chattels and are unceremoniously stripped of their entry badges and marched out of the building by security. No one is told anything and no explanations are given. When I was studying Chinese politics at Griffith University, I remember that Chinese Communist Party leaders who have fallen out of favour, were subsequently airbrushed from memory in group photographs. Finance industry departures are a bit like that when people are disappeared. How are people fired at your company? What do you tell the survivors or do you say nothing? Japan is a very group oriented society and disappearing their colleagues is always felt strongly by those left behind. What about when people leave of their own accord, how do you explain that or again are you silent on the matter? Japan has a few requirements you might like to think about.

Before we get into this week’s topic, here is what caught my attention lately.

A hypothetical eruption of Mt Fuji could rain volcanic ash on Tokyo and push the capital into a state of paralysis, according to a government report. My Fuji is an active volcano located only 100 kilometers from Tokyo. If more than ten centimeters of ash fell in Tokyo’s twenty three wards, it would render roads useless, stopping the flow of people and goods to the city. Just zero point five centimeters of ash could cause mechanical problems for cars, and adverse health effects, particularly for the eyes and lungs. More than one centimeter of ash could cause power outages, and water filtration systems to fail. The government estimates the damages and losses would total twenty three billion dollars. Mt Fuji has shown no signs of volcanic activity since the nineteen sixties, but there have been ten large scale eruptions since the year seven hundred and eighty one. We get a lot of earthquakes here, but we rarely consider the possibility of a major volcanic eruption. After the 2011 triple nuclear reactor meltdowns, a radioactive cloud swept over Tokyo and we all stopped drinking the water from the taps, until it had been flushed out of the water filtration system. I didn’t leave town then, but if we had a major volcanic eruption, then I think I will be packing up the car and hightailing it north immediately.

In other news, the Japanese government is expected this year to ease rules so drone pilots can fly multicopters even without visual tracking. This is a prerequisite for the start of drone deliveries of goods to homes. Last year in the city of Ina in Nagano prefecture, they tested drone delivery. This is considered an effective means to deliver daily necessities to elderly people who have limited mobility. Takashi Ueda senior manager of the postal business planning division at Japan post says, “we are looking into the possibilities of new technologies that can improve efficiency. One candidate is drones”. Japan Post has been running tests in rural areas to see where the potential problems are located for drone delivery. Rakuten has also been testing deliveries. The company said, “People can order what they need now with an app and then a drone will bring it to them immediately. We believe a world like this will come”. The Drone Pilot Association estimates that one hundred and forty thousand drone pilots will be needed by 2020. The number of drone pilot schools jumped from forty three to one hundred and fifty four in nine months, from June last year to March this year. Brave new world here we come.

This is episode number #49 and we are talking about How To Keep Staff Departure Damage To A MinimumSoredewa ikimasho, so let's get going.In most Western economies, a colleague’s farewell is no big deal, just a part of the general tapestry of business. If there is some turnover and the recently departed are being replaced, then that is considered the natural order of things and life moves on. Managers applying a typical Western business approach to departures in Japan however, may skip the need to communicate with those left behind. Underestimating the emotional component of colleague separations here is a big mistake.

Most Western enterprises are “Dry” rather than “Wet” ecosystems. Dry meaning logical, ordered, efficient, unemotional, competitive and oriented around Darwinian survival of the fittest. Wet on the other hand is more emotional, nuanced, interdependent, harmonious, inefficient and more forgiving of human frailties. Japan much prefers Wet to Dry work environments.

The unexpected announcement of the coming disappearance of a workmate can cause a degree of consternation amongst the troops, that is probably not anticipated or even sensed by Western trained managers. If there is no boss awareness of the issue, there is no imperative for communication around the departure topic.

Voluntary departures should not be ignored as chances to direct the communication amongst the team. Just because staff departures are no big deal to you, the Japanese staff don’t necessarily share your Dry view of the working world. Don’t let the rumour mill crank up and the information vacuum be filled by negative messaging. If the departure is voluntary, don’t assume there is no assurance needed for those who remain to know that everything is still stable, safe and predictable.

Explaining to each person what is going on is the leader’s job. The team want the assurance that they are not also going to be shown the door. They may wonder that the departing colleagues are bailing out early, because they know something the others don’t. Assure them that there are still oodles of opportunity to advance in their careers or your might see good staff leave.

If there has been a poor performance issue that is driving the team member’s departure, those staying need to hear that the survivors are valued and why the person’s departure is the best thing for them and the organization.

In Japan, the group, not the individual, is key. In this type of high density environment, too much individualism is thought to be plain dangerous. The herd feels safety in numbers and in the known. Staff happiness requires as little disruption as possible to the established harmonious order.

Leaders need to explain the Why of what is going on. Three factors determine employee engagement levels in companies – our relationship with our immediate supervisor; our belief in the direction being taken by senior management and our pride in the organization. Departures, when not properly handled, negatively impact all three.

The key emotional trigger to getting higher levels of engagement is feeling valued. Those who are left behind need that conversation with their boss that they are valued. Bone Dry leaders won’t get it or won’t bother. They will subsequently wonder why the levels of engagement, commitment, innovation and motivation are so low in their team. To successfully lead in Japan and beat the competition, you need a more highly engaged team.

When its sayonara time, get Wet.