SOMPO Awards - Project Story
Promotion Project of The Sompo Style Children's Cafeteria
in The Chubu Region!
Promotion Project of the SOMPO Style Children's Cafeteria in the Chubu Region / Sompo Care Inc.
SOMPO-style Children's Cafeteria is a children's cafeteria organized at places such as serviced residential complexes for the elderly that are operated by the Sompo Group. Creating opportunities for residents and children to interact and making Sompo Care nursing homes bases for multigenerational interaction for community residents will make residents lively (improving vigor and physical functions) and happy.
At the same time, there are also other benefits, such as strengthening collaboration with local communities and fostering further job satisfaction among employees. In addition, by experiencing up close the Sompo Group's nursing homes and nursing care work, this initiative - which is currently implemented at 436 facilities nationwide in Japan - hopes to contribute toward solving social issues such as improving the social status of care workers and addressing the social issue of a shortage in such human resources. For Sompo Care, in the Chubu region, the SOMPO-style Children's Cafeteria initiative is being undertaken without being limited by departmental boundaries.
Children interacting with residents at a SOMPO-style Children's Cafeteria
Nursing care is an amazing job. I want to eliminate the negative image that society has about nursing care.
This project was launched by Mr. Hoshino, who was originally thinking about taking on a job in another occupation, but was drawn by the words "nursing care is the ultimate service industry" when he coincidentally attended a briefing by Sompo Care. This led him to decide to join the company. However, after joining Sompo Care, he started to feel that something was wrong after learning about society's image of nursing care, seeing it as a "3D (demanding, dirty, and dangerous)" job that can be done by anyone.
Against this sense of uneasiness, as he worked together with resourceful co-workers, he came to strongly feel that nursing care is a job that requires a high level of expertise and ethics, and it is not a job that anyone can do. "I want to eliminate the negative image about nursing care and convey that it is a truly amazing job."
At first, he thought about striking out on his own to achieve the kind of nursing care that he seeks after learning nursing care skills, but with the transformation of Sompo Care, he came to realize that his aspirations were aligned with the company's vision.
That was when Sompo Care embarked on a nationwide mission of establishing SOMPO-style Children's Cafeterias across Japan. Mr. Hoshino wondered if it was possible for this mission to be undertaken by the Chubu region as a whole across all business departments to heighten their sense of unity as a team and, at the same time, improve the image about nursing care work, which is also his personal purpose.
Becoming the ultimate team by sharing the same aspiration, applying individual strengths, and cooperating with each other
First, Mr. Hoshino reached out mainly to nursing home managers - who work in a different department even though they are all under the Chubu region - to form the promotion project team. Seeking to invigorate regional activities, the team started by letting more people learn about SOMPO-style Children's Cafeterias and creating knowhow that allows these cafeterias to be easily and continuous organized at facilities, with a view of expansion to other areas and branch offices. Applying individual strengths, members who are good at energizing the organization were asked to promote operation, while those skilled at serving as contact points and communicating diversely were tasked with publicity activities centered on external promotion.
Promotion project team meeting
One member in charge of publicity activities helped draw people and supported the cafeterias' operation by conveying the significance of SOMPO-style Children's Cafeteria and the greatness of nursing care to local government agencies and the media. At the same time, the member deepened interactions by visiting children's cafeterias in the region, and even supported the activities of other organizations who were facing issues with the establishment of children's cafeterias under the COVID-19 pandemic, including sharing knowhow of operations with them.
The desire to let people know that nursing care is an amazing job that requires a high level of ethics and expertise, to let residents have an enjoyable time through interactions between generations, and convey that nursing homes are cheerful and open places instead of gloomy ones - the ultimate team was formed where everyone shares the same aspiration as Mr. Hoshino, in which members act and cooperate on their own initiative.
Bottom-up instead of top-down - organizing SOMPO-style Children's Cafeterias at 29 facilities in three months!
"I want to do this and that. There are so many things I want to do." "We are able to take in the good points of each other and work on solutions together when there are issues." Although this was a task that initially came down from the top, it has become a bottom-up effort where everyone has their own ideas and unites as one to work on the initiative. As a result, SOMPO-style Children's Cafeterias were organized at all 29 facilities in the Chubu region in a period of three months. Mr. Uchiyama, who participates in this project as a nursing home manager, reflects on the efforts so far. "It is very fun for everyone to share their ideas and think purely about how to let the elderly staying at nursing homes and children from the local communities enjoy themselves. And we were able to put those ideas into action in our area. I am proud to have such a culture." The Chubu region, which has become an ultimate team with a common aspiration, continues to organize SOMPO-style Children's Cafeterias today.
Residents interacting with children from the local community at a nursing home
Winning the Sompo Award Of The Year as well as the Best Category Award in the Building a Unified Culture Category at the SOMPO Awards!
The attitude of Mr. Hoshino, who started this project, in taking on challenges toward achieving one's aspirations while making use of strategies being promoted by the company is a manifestation of the Sompo Group's cherished approach of work being a part of life, rather than life being a part of work. The management of this project was elevated into a bottom-up effort in which the aspiration of each team member was taken in and everyone acted with a sense of unity. This stance serves as an example of SOMPO's unique purpose management, where SOMPO's Purpose overlapped with My Purpose, and the project was selected for the Sompo Award Of The Year as well as the Best Category Award in the Building a Unified Culture Category at the SOMPO Awards.
Through the shared aspirations of Sompo Care and Sompo Group employees, SOMPO-style Children's Cafeterias were organized not only in the Chubu region but at 436 facilities nationwide, exceeding a cumulative total of more than 10,000 meals provided as of August 2023. The circle of activity is getting bigger each day, with more Group employees voicing their desire to participate and contribute in some way after learning about SOMPO-style Children's Cafeteria through the Awards.
Mr. Hoshino, who launched the project, talking about his aspiration at the SOMPO Awards ceremony.
Under the theme of "Our Purpose Begins with You,"
the SOMPO Awards will continue to support all challenges within the Sompo Group going forward.