The acceptance of interns aims to internationalize the organization and invigorate communication.

Q.Why did your company decide to take on interns? What did you aim to achieve?

Our company, Forward Co. Ltd., has the slogan "Everyone's Trusted Plumber," and is based in Adachi Ward, Tokyo. We conduct investigation and repair work on water supply and drainage piping and equipment in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures. We decided to accept Ms. Pham as an intern at a time when we were considering increasing our staff due to the administrative workload in the management department becoming increasingly demanding. Currently, we are focusing on internationalization in our recruitment and organizational development, and by accepting students from overseas, we aim to further internationalize our organization. Additionally, since we already have a member of Vietnamese nationality working with us, we hoped that the intern could act as a bridge in communication to invigorate the organization, which led us to choose a Vietnamese intern.

Aiming for a fruitful internship for both parties, we are focusing on enhancing the understanding of each individual task.

Q.What kind of internship did you run? What difficulties did you face and how did you resolve them?

Ms. Pham created a rulebook and price list for our company, which will remain as long-lasting resources. Both of these are indispensable tools used in our daily operations, and we are very grateful to Ms. Pham for producing such enduring deliverables. Additionally, she contributed to establishing a system for continued Japanese language learning for our Vietnamese employees.

During the internship, we focused on Ms. Pham’s understanding of each task. Given the limited 30 business days of the internship, assigning tasks that are neither memorable nor educational would provide no benefits for either party. Therefore, we ensured that Ms. Pham understood the purpose of each task, who it benefits, and the extent of its impact before starting it. To achieve this, we made sure that she repeated the instructions given by her supervisor and identified specific customers or employees who would be directly affected by the tasks.

By ensuring Ms. Pham fully understood each task, we believe it enhanced her ability to produce results and her imagination, allowing her to recognize the value of her work even within a short period.

The positive attitude of the interns has brought about a shift in mindset among both Japanese and Vietnamese employees.

Q.Comparing before and after the internship, what effects did it have on you, your employees, or your organization?

I believe the perception of our employees toward overseas personnel has significantly changed. While we already have employees with specific skills working at our company, there have always been communication challenges. This is partly because, in the daily course of our work, language learning and our efforts to understand each other gradually became neglected. However, seeing Ms. Pham actively strive to communicate with our staff allowed us to relearn many important aspects.
For our Japanese employees, it served as a valuable opportunity to reconsider the importance of mutual understanding. For our Vietnamese employees, I believe they were inspired by Ms. Pham's positive attitude of "continuing until she succeeds."
Through this internship, our organizational dynamics have been revitalized, and we have gained numerous insights from Ms. Pham.