Experiments With Our Culture
Our people are at the center of everything we do. With a value focused on being human-centered, the Moon culture embodies that spirit through work and play. We’ve always believed that if a work environment fosters happy and healthy people, then the work we put out will be happy and healthy, too! Our culture is unique in that we put a strong emphasis on play. So, how do we experiment fast with our culture? We try bold new things with the hope that it will bring our people together and build trust with one another. Not all experiments have worked, but these were the activities that stood out to Moon Mates the most!
Experiments With Our Culture
15 New hires
72 Experiments held at our studios
152 Visitors to our studios
We had visitors from different business units, organizations, and task forces including: Chemical, Energy Solution, Design, Corporate Planning, Global Strategy, Construction, Mobility, Accelerator, Nutrition & Agriculture, New Frontier, Digital Innovation, Japan Pharma, and executives.
Experiments With New Talent
Project Ascend, a new onboarding management system, was built from the ground up by Moon Operating Team members as a way to reimagine the experience of onboarding new hires. The idea was sparked from the tedious manual work our HR team had to do each time a new person was hired at Moon. The question was raised: “What if we were to automate the onboarding process, but make it even more fun for new employees?” Rather than waiting for another team to build this or another company to bring something to market, Ascend Team Lead and HR Business Partner Monique Riley dove right in and got started!
“With building Ascend, I learned that building a minimum viable product is more about getting something out quickly than waiting for something to be perfect. Rather than focusing on all of the possible features, I put emphasis on the product’s key offerings to gather users’ feedback quickly in order to guide our direction.”
Monique Riley, Team Lead, Ascend
Ascend was a huge experiment not only for Monique, who has never had any experience building a product, but the entire HR team – none of whom are product developers. Ascend exemplifies what Moon is all about: rather than just wishing for a product, let’s try building it and figure it out along the way.
Ascend soft-launched in early 2022. It wasn’t perfect by design standards, but it had all the necessary functionality, quick links, and resources employees needed. The best part is the onboarding process was now customizable based on new employees’ needs and ideals.
Ascend is currently still in production and with each piece of user feedback received, the team adjusts the tool to make it an even better experience for new hires to come.
Experiments With Our People
After years of living through a pandemic, adjusting to different ways of working, and trying to stay connected with others, we wanted to help each other focus on wellbeing. So, we created a program to help create and maintain an environment that fosters wellbeing through different events and initiatives. Wellbeing includes both psychological, physical, and community wellbeing, along with healthy habits, healthy work-life balance, belonging, appreciation, and inclusion. As human-centered design thinkers, we know that providing a healthy work environment is key in allowing Moon Mates to do their best work.
Our first event was a Step Challenge in May. This event encouraged everyone to take some time away from their screens, get some fresh air, and move! By taking Zoom calls while walking their neighborhood or taking dance breaks throughout the day, teams competed for the highest number of steps and even the best picture of them getting their steps in. It was amazing to see how creatively Moon Mates expressed themselves on their walks such as exploring different parts of Tokyo, hiking throughout the Philippines, and taking group lunches!
Quotes from Moon Mates
“As a remote employee, I really appreciate how our Employee Experience team is consistently facilitating wellness contests that not only help me improve my health, but also create opportunities for camaraderie with my fellow Moon Mates across the globe.”
Dan Winters, Business Operations Manager
“The Moon Step Challenge was a fun activity that brought out the product team’s competitive side, in a good motivational way! It was a great excuse to step away from our computer screens, enjoy some fresh air, and bond with teammates – especially with those who are not based in Tokyo.”
Rika Matsui, Program Manager
Experiments With Our Creative Environment
Another experiment for Moon this year was hosting our first public event! Together with Canvas Tokyo and Figma, we held an event in February that was directed at the creative and entrepreneurial communities in Tokyo. It was a way for us to start building stronger connections with designers, artists, developers, and entrepreneurs who live and work around Tokyo. We have always believed that by providing the right inspiring environment, wonderful unplanned things can happen – new ideas, new projects, feedback, and even new friends.
During this event, everyone was welcome to come on stage for three minutes to present their portfolios, personal projects, or pitch their startups. This gave presenters an opportunity to share their passion to an entirely new audience. The energy in the room was full of excitement as learning about each other’s different passions sparked some great conversations.
Hosting an event like this resulted in exactly what we had hoped: a new way of connecting, inspiring, and growing creatively. After a successful first event, we are planning on having many more in the near future. Stay tuned!
"Collaboration and exchanging ideas with each other is always worth exploring… Creativity meets entrepreneurship. It was a great event to see artists, designers, and entrepreneurs come together and celebrate what is key for innovation: creativity!"
Mateus Rezende, Senior Design Lead and Event Coordinator