Report on the Fifth Meeting of the Group DEI Promotion Council

Photo: Diverse employees, CEOs of operating companies, and Panasonic Group CEO Yuki Kusumi participating in the Group DEI Promotion Council Photo: Diverse employees, CEOs of operating companies, and Panasonic Group CEO Yuki Kusumi participating in the Group DEI Promotion Council

The Group DEI Promotion Council is a forum for continuous dialogue on group-wide initiatives, based on a shared understanding of the DEI issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve the Panasonic Group’s commitment to ensuring management that enables each employee to reach their full potential.

The Fifth Meeting of the Group DEI Promotion Council was held online in June 2023. Nine CEOs as well as CHROs from the operating companies, Panasonic Holdings Corporation, and Panasonic Operational Excellence Co., Ltd. participated in the Council meeting. The theme of the Fifth Council was “how to create an environment, in a highly homogeneous organization, where diverse human resources can make the most of themselves, including so-called ‘genius’ or ‘divisive’ talent.”

All information and persons is accurate to the time of the events.

Message from Yuki Kusumi, CEO

At the beginning of the meeting, Yuki Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic Holdings Corporation, spoke to the participants.

“What should be achieved through the Panasonic Group’s DEI initiatives? I believe there are three goals:

  • The first: that diverse individuals constantly perform at their best.
  • The second: that people’s ‘genius’ or ‘divisive’ talents are utilized to advance new initiatives to a point where we have no competitors.
  • The third: that diverse knowledge and opinions will be gathered quickly, making it possible for swift, competitive decision-making.

“I believe that the themes taken up in our DEI activities cover these three goals to yield major advancements, which has strategic significance in management.

“To me, ‘genius’ or ‘divisive’ talent does not always mean a group of gifted people. Someone with ‘divisive’ talent is able to present brand-new perspectives from their experiences or showcase knowledge or experience quite different from ours. I feel that each one of you have ‘divisive’ talent. So, I hope everyone discusses how we can have a corporate culture that is open to wide range of knowledge and opinions, and how that can take root in Panasonic Group. That is what I am looking forward to hearing from your discussion.”

Sharing DEI Action Case Studies

An action case was presented by Panasonic Operational Excellence on how a manager coaching program yielded unexpected contribution for DEI promotion.

Changing the Workplace Environment through Support to Managers

In Panasonic Operational Excellence, 25 managers in the Matsumoto factory of Panasonic Automotive Systems underwent a coaching program over six months from July to December of 2022. Coaching is a communication technique to facilitate voluntary actions in each of the participants. In the program, the participants took time for discussion once or twice a month to put problems in their everyday work into words, as well as determining goals for the next six months. The purpose of the program was for participants to find and express issues, as well as ways and actions to settle them. In the course of the program, many participants hoped for the well-being of each team member in their work life, which proves that the program had significance in promotion of DEI.

Image: Summary of Coaching Program including schedule, details of the program, and results of the questionnaire

Material showing result of coaching program

Group Discussions

In the second half of the session, the participants were divided into five groups and engaged in in-depth discussions on “how to create an environment, in a highly homogeneous organization, where diverse human resources can make the most of themselves, including so-called ‘genius’ or ‘divisive’ talent.”

On the common ground that each Panasonic Group member has ‘divisive’ talent, as they have diverse personalities, participants discussed on how to make diversity into a competitive force for the company. The discussion led to the ideas below.

  • To allow more diverse values by reducing peer pressure
  • To create an organizational culture where each employee is willing to undertake challenges, not to avoid them through fear of failure
  • To let a leader take the initiative for more discussion regarding differences in opinions
  • To ask, “What this rule is for?” and have awareness that “Rules can be changed.”
  • To not have the wrong understanding of inclusion, such as only letting someone in if they fit into the existing homogeneity
  • To create a company, any section of development, manufacturing, and sales, can work together to yield customer-friendly ideas
  • To have more outside experience in different corporate cultures, not limited to the one in Panasonic Group
  • To set the directions to take, the goals to achieve, and the purpose to work together on common ground

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