Five years since Fujitsu began Purpose-Driven Management: Specific measures and their effects

The "Purpose" of a company, which is the reason for its existence, is considered more important than the traditional "Corporate Philosophy"

Going beyond the traditional definition of "Corporate Philosophy," the term "Purpose" defines a company's reason for being in society with an eye toward solving social issues. This global trend began around 2019, and Fujitsu was one of the first companies to establish its own purpose in 2020. We will introduce the background to the establishment of Our Purpose, which goes a step further than corporate philosophy and considers the company's "Social Significance."

Background to Our Purpose and the revamp of the Fujitsu Way

The establishment of Our Purpose and the revamp of the Fujitsu Way, which marks its fifth anniversary this year, were triggered not only by the need to tackle social issues, but also by a change in awareness within the company. The project to establish Our Purpose was started in 2019 based on Our CEO, Tokita's desire to define a single direction for all employees to share a mutual understanding of what Fujitsu has accomplished since its founding in 1935 and where it is headed in the future.

We conducted interviews within the company to find out what Fujitsu should do in the future, and to identify the strengths of Fujitsu. By interviewing the international regional heads, capturing their honest impressions of Fujitsu from an international perspective. We aimed to establish a purpose that would be accepted as a global company.

Defining Our Purpose with a single message prompted discussions about whether to revise the Fujitsu Way, established in 2002. The current Fujitsu Way values Aspiration, Trust, and Empathy. These three values were identified as core principles, reflecting the values cherished by successive Fujitsu presidents, their key messages, and the enduring DNA they sought to protect.

Our unique initiatives: Strategies and Results

Measures

Since the establishment of the new Fujitsu Way in 2020, promotion activities have been carried out within the company. First, we decided that the heads of each unit and representative directors / presidents of group companies would take on the role of "Fujitsu Way Promotion Leaders" who lead Fujitsu Way in each unit and group company.

We made this decision based on the idea that all employees of a large organization, both in Japan and international, needs to understand a single direction and Our Values. It was necessary for the top management to first deepen their understanding and take responsibility for promoting it themselves.

We have held eight Fujitsu Way Meetings as a place for them to be together and to report on their activities. At these meetings, reports were given on the numerous ways in which Our Purpose and the Fujitsu Way are being promoted among employees. We often hear the word "Penetration" used to describe the process of instilling a company's philosophy and purpose, but at Fujitsu, terms such as "Empathy" is used instead, based on Our CEO, Tokita's desire for all employees to work autonomously to achieve Our Purpose.

Recently, there have been more opportunities to promote the Fujitsu Way not only within the company but also in business meetings. We support sales activities by giving presentations on purpose-driven activities to customers who are looking for ways to promote their own company's purpose.

Fujitsu is engaged in specific purpose-driven activities on a global scale, and we often receive positive feedback from our customers, such as "It's very progressive" and "The presentation was very helpful". We have also succeeded in deepening the engagement between Fujitsu and customers, by holding in-depth discussions, such as by asking about the issues they are currently facing in their purpose-driven activities.

Effect

Fujitsu measures the level of understanding and empathy regarding Our Purpose through an “Engagement Survey” conducted once a year for all employees. In this survey, which began in 2021, some changes were made to the wording of the questions in response to changes in the level of understanding and phasing within the company, there was an increase of 6 points overseas and 9 points in Japan after three years of efforts.

There is another indicator that shows the high level of engagement and interest that employees have in Our Purpose. The number of visits to the internal website that explains Our Purpose and Fujitsu Way in detail is about three times higher than that of other sustainability-related websites.

The comments by employees when interviewed at internal events about the Our Values of Fujitsu Way: Aspiration, Trust and Empathy, show that Our Purpose is having a significant impact within the company.

"Systems that make it easy for individuals to take on new challenges, such as the internal posting system, are actually being used in Fujitsu. Compared to before the establishment of Our Purpose, the company culture has become more open."

The comment we received from an employee who had recently joined Fujitsu from another company was, "One of the things that surprised me when I joined Fujitsu was that I had the opportunity to come into contact with Our Purpose in all kinds of situations, and I could feel Our Purpose at the heart of all the employees."

We are celebrating our 90th anniversary this year. We will pursue activities aimed at further transformation while continuing to communicate the Fujitsu Way, which can be a message that carries on the words and thoughts of successive generations.