DeNA Co., Ltd.

What was the motivation for the event?

The increase of employees and rapid growth of our company lead to poor communication within the company and it was costing us work productivity.
Nobody really knew who was responsible for what duties. Internal communication became more and more problematic. The Management team knew they had to do something.

What measures did you take to stimulate internal communication?

We knew we had to create opportunities for our staff to interact, so we held dinner parties, incentive trips, recreational and club activities, etc.

What were your thoughts when Global Produce proposed the idea of holding a sport event?

Honestly, we were uncomfortable with the idea and did not think it was suitable for our corporate culture. However, Global Produce organized a plan that was specifically tailored to DeNA’s culture and would attract the attendance of our staff. The more we talked about the event, the more we were able to envision how the sports event would look like. And eventually our management team made the decision to hold our first ever sports event.

How did your staff respond to the first sports event?

Since it was the company’s first corporate event ever, it was challenging to introduce what a sports event would look like and we needed to focus our efforts in encouraging staff to attend. We were just happy that there were more people who wanted to join the event organizing team than we had imagined.

What strategies did you incorporate to make the event more exciting?

First of all, we did not want any negative response so we were quite particular about how we announced the event. We made sure that the color of the print “Sport Event” was not too bold and we gradually released details about the competition during the event. Furthermore, we planned additional sports competitions for our staff before the big event to get them in the mood.

Mr. Yano and all the staff at GLOBAL PRODUCE helped us consistently, from the beginning to the end, so we were able to plan thoroughly. Of course, the one unpredictable factor is weather. But we were confident that in so long as the weather was good, our first company sport event would be a success.

How did the first sports event turn out?

It was a great success and exceeded the expectations of DeNA's employees, including ourselves. It was an incredible sight to see everyone with such enthusiasm as they marched through the entrance of the venue. At that moment, we were already thrilled to have made this happen. We also conducted a survey after the event and found that over 93% of the attendees were fully satisfied with our first sports event.

Too often our staff communicate and hold conferences online. Through this sports event experience, we learned how essential it us for staff to communicate offline in real spaces. Itsallowed our employees to interact in person through friendly competition, such as tug-of-war games and relay races.

What kind of feedback did you receive?

We received feedback like:
"Because of this event, I feel more valued as an employee of the company.”
"Honestly, I really did not want to participate but I am happy that I did because it was better than I thought it would be. In fact, it was fantastic."
We felt, the event has brought our staff closer. We saw changes in the company. For example, people greeting each other, exchanging opinions, simply communicating more. It was apparent that the atmosphere in our company had transformed.

What kind of sports event would you like to do next time?

Since our sports event was more successful than we had imagined, we would like to organize another sports event to involve our management team, as well entice our staff who do not like to play sports.