Training Staff to Speak Their Minds

At Procter & Gamble's (P&G’s) massive research facility in Beijing, they have a saying: "No speak, no thought." No, it’s not a Chinese proverb.  The slogan is P&G’s response to a challenge that the company has faced throughout its Chinese operations for several years; the hesitancy of staff to speak their minds.

More than 500 Chinese scientists and researchers work in the Chinese research and development division. For these individuals, sharing thoughts is not as socially accepted—let alone encouraged—as it is in other parts of the world.  Authority takes on a different meaning in China than in other countries. Questioning authority is strictly frowned upon and even dangerous in some circles.  Some say it is a side-effect of decades of Communist rule.  Others say that it is just a fact of life in a country of over a billion people.  Who really wants to hear that many ideas anyways? 

Well, P&G does.  This makes for a bit of a culture clash of the corporate kind. P&G's corporate culture, especially in R&D, demands that researchers talk openly about their ideas, even if they disagree with one another.  After all, diversity makes a group stronger in the long run and inspires greater creativity.  With its Asian researchers struggling, P&G executives began experimenting in 2006 with a program intended to help Asian researchers develop the confidence to speak their minds. It was called "Gas Station" because it's where workers go to recharge and fill up on their skill set.

New employees will listen to lectures, engage in role-playing, and will play the silly games that define elementary school more than a corporate business. It’s all about broadening one's network of relationships beyond the “inner-circle”. When the participants see Africans, Caucasians, women, and men teaching different aspects of the seminar, they learn that diversity is valued at P&G.  After the orientation, each class of "gas station employees" reunites every quarter for a day or so to check on their adaptation progress and to pick up new concepts.

One of the early foreign investors in the Chinese market, P&G has seen its dominance shaken by growing competition from local and multinational companies.  In order to stay in the game, P&G believes it’s time to start encouraging employees to speak their minds and develop the “team” mentality that has defined the brand globally.  Another great idea from P&G!