HR-ON Invited to Tokyo: Japan Wants to Learn About HR Digitization

With digitalization on the agenda, HR-ON’s CEO, Ali Cevik, is invited to Tokyo along with the Minister for Digital Government and Gender Equality. During the trip, Ali Cevik will also be able to present how HR-ON operates with value-based management in a meeting with Corporate Rebels organization.

“For 12 years, we have been assisting Danish public enterprises, regions, and municipalities with digitalization, which enables us to share experiences and knowledge. It also provides us with the opportunity to be inspired by how things are done in Japan and to strengthen our relationships with our Japanese clients and partners,” says Ali Cevik.

Japan’s interest in and growing need to work more digitally in both private companies and the public sector opens doors for Danish companies like HR-ON. However, in addition to the digital aspect, the Japanese visit is also a good opportunity for Ali Cevik to explain how the company, headquartered in Odense, operates daily.

“Japan is a strategically important location for us, as it is a digitized country located geographically far from Europe. At the same time, HR is a discipline whether you are in Denmark or in a time zone 8-9 hours away from Denmark, HR remains HR,” says Ali Cevik.

You might also like: What Does Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mean? Your Company Is Like “A Box of Chocolates”

HR-ON is a company that operates based on value-based management. This way of running a business is new to most, regardless of whether the nationality is Danish, Japanese, or something entirely different.

This means that HR-ON has bid farewell to fixed meeting times. This allows employees to have flexible working hours and to plan their workday in collaboration with colleagues in their respective teams. The same applies to taking vacation and parental leave. In addition, there is an unlimited number of sick days for children.

At the Odense-based company HR-ON, there is what’s known as value-based management. Trust, dialogue, and empowerment prevail over control, hierarchy, and orders. Photo: Jonas Normann

It’s a model that Ali Cevik hopes will spark thought among the companies he will present to in Tokyo.

“People are people, no matter where we are in the world, and the need to develop, create, and motivate good conditions for people is the same regardless of location. Although the culture may vary widely, the need remains the same. Therefore, the approaches will be different, so the way it can help the Japanese is that they can see some opportunities for how we have succeeded in creating a working community where it’s not rules and strict frameworks and punishment and such that are governing, but where it’s relationships and trust that are fundamental,” says Ali Cevik, adding:

“I have no ambitions whatsoever to lecture the Japanese on how things should be done. But I believe they can draw inspiration from how we do things, and from there, they can find their own path.”

You might also like: How to Ease Your Work With an HR System