On-site Sentiment: "Regarding Business with Overseas Subsidiaries"

As I've mentioned on my blog many times, our company has a corporation in the Philippines (LH&creative Inc.).
While researching Japanese companies expanding overseas, I found data indicating that the total number of locations (branches) was 77,000 as of 2021.
This translates to 77,000 times less for us, but even for small and medium-sized enterprises like ours, there are many companies that have an overseas base or are interested in doing so.
In fact, our Philippine subsidiary receives inspection inquiries from Japanese companies several times a year.
Late last year, we had an opportunity to host a visit from a listed company based in Cebu who wished to exchange information.
By the way, there's something I'm always asked by Japanese visitors (primarily business owners and those in similar positions) who come for inspections.
It is as follows.

It seems these are the typical concerns and questions that companies and individuals interested in international expansion, to a greater or lesser extent, have.
Certainly, we had the exact same anxieties and questions before establishing our subsidiary, LH&creative Inc. (hereinafter referred to as LH&c), in the Philippines.
This time, rather than answering these questions from a management perspective, I'd like to introduce the real voices of on-site staff who are doing business with overseas subsidiaries.

What "anxieties" did you feel when you decided to ask LH&c to do work that you had previously outsourced to your partner?

When it comes to work, responsibility arises, so everyone seemed quite anxious.
In fact, even after we established our Philippine subsidiary, we didn’t receive any business inquiries for quite some time…

What was it like to actually try it out/interact with it?

It seems there were things that were unexpectedly okay and things that were difficult after all.
For example, when it comes to printed materials such as business cards, there aren’t as many in the Philippines as there are in Japan, so people are simply “unfamiliar” with them to begin with.
This way, if you proceed with the assumption that "they'll understand" from a Japanese perspective, it often doesn't go well.
It is also necessary to select tasks carefully, taking into account their circumstances (such as culture and customs).
Meanwhile, the communication in English, which had been a concern, seemed to have worked out thanks to measures such as using translation tools and screen sharing.

To dispel "anxiety," what specific trial-and-error and creative efforts were made?

Reporting and communication are extremely important, but in reality, simply saying "report your work progress" doesn't get people to act.
You need to specifically instruct them "Report your work progress via chat to the director at 12 PM, 3 PM, and 5 PM."
If given specific instructions like these, they will follow them exactly. (This is the same for Japanese people too.)
Conversely, if they do not comply, you can inform them that they will receive a negative performance review if they do not improve, and thereby encourage improvement.
If there is no improvement, we can impose appropriate penalties according to the employment contract, assuming such a provision is included in the contract.

Japanese people complain that others "only do what they're told," but if you think about it the other way around, it means they "do thoroughly what they're told."
In a contractual society, doing anything beyond what's specified in the contract is a breach of contract.
Vague instructions, a specialty of the Japanese, are completely ineffective in the world.

Are there any useful tools you've used when working with LH&C members (Filipino)?

Since establishing our company in the Philippines, translation tools have become a necessity.
If it hadn't been established, I probably wouldn't have used translation tools much. Considering that, it's a big change.
Some employees have taken this opportunity to study on their own and become fluent in English!
"Piquet" is an online proofreading tool to communicate corrections. We developed it to communicate with them after establishing a Philippine corporation.
It's very convenient because you can communicate specific corrections and share the content with the QA team for internal proofreading.

I believe the "anxiety" I felt initially has significantly lessened now. What was the "trigger" that caused us both to change?

It seems to have been gradually improved through trial and error and creative ingenuity.
Some companies have visited us and established a base in the Philippines, but they seem to be struggling, just like we were. Nothing is achieved overnight, is it?

Based on your experience, what do you keep in mind (and what are your unique strategies) when assigning tasks to LH&C members (Filipinos)?

Don't you look at it and think, "Isn't that obvious?"
For some reason, when Japanese people give instructions to other Japanese people, all of these things are neglected.
It's strange, isn't it? For such low-quality instructions, Japanese people ask for high-quality output... (wry smile)
Actually, we specifically created a subsidiary in the Philippines to provide opportunities for communication in our operations, so that people would understand that "uniquely Japanese ambiguous instructions don't work at all in the world."
These days, being limited to working only with Japanese people is nothing but a risk.

When compared to interacting with Japanese people, are there differences in communication, quality, speed, etc.?
Please tell me if there are any differences specifically because you are working with foreigners (Filipinos).

Many are language-derived.
What if Filipinos could speak Japanese? ... It seems the gap between them and Japanese people would disappear.
So, what about when dealing with English-speaking countries?
Since Filipinos speak English, it stands to reason that English-speaking companies would choose our Philippine subsidiary rather than our parent company (the Japanese entity).
When you think about it that way, Japan doesn't have many advantages (sweat)

Regarding the previous question, if you have any thoughts on the characteristics (strengths and weaknesses, etc.) of Japanese people and Filipino people, please share them.

It seems that, after actually working there, their impression is that “they no longer feel the difference was as great as they had initially thought or felt.”
The anxiety stemming from the language barrier appears to have been significant.
However, without making excuses, both companies were able to improve the speed and quality of their operations through ingenuity and trial and error.
There are also countless
Surprisingly, most communication anxieties seem to be resolved with familiarity.
As a result, the conclusion was: "While it's certainly inconvenient that I can't give instructions in Japanese, it's not to the extent that it interferes with business operations."
There are things that can only be conveyed through nuances in Japanese, but you can also learn English expressions or refer to past projects and say, "In a similar mood as last time."
By continuing without giving up, our mutual business communication will also improve.
Also, as an interesting change, employees and part-time workers who joined after interacting with the Philippine corporation became commonplace now interact with the Philippine corporation's staff as a matter of course.
This is completely different, considering how their seniors reacted negatively to English and other cultures, and communicated with apprehension.
When you create an environment where these things are "taken for granted," things get easier later on.
As I mentioned before, it won't happen overnight.

If there's an opportunity in the future,

I would also like to write articles related to this.
Please look forward to it.