The Corporate Section is formed of back-office staff, supporting front-office staff to carry out their daily work with confidence. One of our key roles is comprehensive risk management. Preventing potential issues before they arise is a critical mission in business. Even if an issue does occur, early reporting can uncover better options which may not have been apparent at the initial stage. To enable this, we make ourselves approachable to all employees so that they feel comfortable in consulting us.
My personal approach to work is to “proactively look for tasks that need attention”, so I try to speak with colleagues as much as possible and create opportunities for open dialogue. I also strive to ensure that everyone feels glad reaching out. For example, I listen carefully and always offer suggestions instead of simply hearing concerns and keep seeking multiple possibilities rather than jumping to one conclusion”. It is also important to acknowledge everyone what the Corporate Section does and to properly recognize team members who identify and address issues early. I believe these approaches enhance active internal communication, leading to discover new perspectives and providing best solutions for our clients.
We also promote sustainability initiatives through communications with employees. We get involved in various activities, such as introducing sustainability-sourced coffee, participating in the “Farm Solari Supporters Club”, and engaging in the “Minato-area Cleanup Activities”. Moreover, sustainability training sessions for all Dentsu Runway employees will be continuously refined and improved.
Another sustainability initiative is to have a mini library in our office, which began in response to a request by one of employees. When we conducted an internal survey regarding the mini library, many people expressed strong support. This reaffirmed the importance of activities that enrich the mind and encourage skill development.
Our priority in sustainability initiatives is not to create additional burdens. For example, drinking coffee is already a natural part of the workday, so by simply switching to sustainability-sourced coffee beans, we can promote sustainability without changing daily routines. This kind of natural shift enables us to maintain sustainability initiatives.
We also believe it is important to consider “how actions are done to what extent and in what manner”. There is nothing wrong with saying, “Now we switched to sustainability-sourced coffee beans, we can switch to sustainability-sourced coffee snacks next time” or “We have done a cleanup activity in one area, then we can do the same at different area next year”, but these are not necessarily the essence of sustainability.
What is more important than increasing number and scope of initiatives is to ensure our current operations and measures are built on sustainable systems. To prevent sustainability activities from becoming one-off campaigns, we need to make sure that employees can keep engaging in sustainability efforts without added workload and that all actions incorporate a sustainability perspective.
At Dentsu Runway, all employees are brand experience producers – including those in the Corporate Section. We believe that transforming any available resources into valuable contributors for other departments ultimately benefits our clients.
In everyday learning, it is important to understand our clients’ businesses and capture social trends on top of developing expertise in corporate functions. The same applies to sustainability. Various internal systems and initiatives developed by Corporate Section hopefully makes everyone to feel proud of working for Dentsu Runway. When each individual has strong confidence and motivation to grow, we can translate them into greater value for our clients – leading to more opportunities for them to say, “We’re glad we chose Dentsu Runway”.
Managing Partner, Corporate Section
Okada
Joined Dentsu Runway in 2019. Since 2024, Akiko has been overseeing back-office as Managing Partner of Corporate Section.