Increasing global dynamics through Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Global DE&I, People Engagement Head at Astemo Ratchakorn Rojsrisakul

1. Jum, you have a double-hat responsibility in Astemo: Asia Regional Compliance Chief Officer (Asia RCCO) since 2017, and Global DE&I, People Engagement Head since 2022. How do your Compliance and DE&I roles fit together?

To me, Compliance and DE&I are two levers of the same ambition. They both lead to making Astemo a better company. “Compliance” is the set of processes which enable us to comply with the laws and regulations of the various countries in which we operate. "Diversity" refers to our employees’ diverse profiles: our people have different nationalities, cultures, genders, age groups, sexual orientations, religions, lifestyles, experiences, etc, but they all have Astemo in common. As for "Inclusion", it corresponds to our way of actively attracting, engaging and retaining a wide variety of talents and taking constructive action to build on their different competencies, cultures and ideas.

In summary, through the combination of Compliance and DE&I, we demonstrate that we want to do things properly, and that each one of our employees, in his or her own way, contributes to enhancing our company’s potential.

2. Managing DE&I requires vision, know-how and organizational skills, experience in dealing with various profiles, nationalities and cultures, as well as imagination, empathy and drive. What motivates you, personally, to head Astemo’s DE&I approach?

I love working with people, all kinds of people. I love bringing out the best in them. During 3 years I was Astemo Asia, Asia HR Head; at that time, my team comprised people from India, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Korea and Brazil, and my scope covered 10 countries. Working with all of these different cultures was exciting – although often a challenge!

Thanks to my HR background, I am comfortable interacting with all types of people, and I always encourage them to provide and explain their views. For example, just saying “I agree or disagree” doesn’t necessarily move things forward; saying “I agree or disagree because…, and this is what I suggest”, that’s a real starting point for constructive discussions. That’s why it is so important to value diversity and inclusion. You never know where a good idea might come from; by keeping an open mind and exchanging with a variety of people, we significantly boost creativity and innovation.

3.What is your vision for DE&I?

My vision for DE&I is to build and leverage an inclusive work environment, embrace diversity and create an environment where people are encouraged to respect and inspire each other. It is to help our diverse employees work together as One Astemo, create new value and develop innovative ideas. Pragmatic initiatives will put inclusion into practice, promote equality in the workplace, and thus contribute to the success of our business.

4. What are your top priorities for the coming years?

A vision comes to life when it is supported by a strategy and goals - in this case, to create an open environment where everybody is encouraged to speak up, to promote global assignments and projects for diverse talent, and to communicate actively.

In terms of priorities, our overall focus will be to promote a truly inclusive culture, as One Astemo, and to develop a global mindset, in particular by structuring DE&I in the regions, promoting local/regional/global DE&I initiatives internally, and designing a specific reward and recognition program.

We will also focus on Talent Management, through global and cross-regional or cross-functional assignments, a Recruitment and Retention Program, empowerment initiatives for women, and other Employee Engagement initiatives including training.

Of course, we will take all opportunities to communicate with our talents and listen to them, and a DE&I survey will help us fine-tune our approach. It may be challenging to develop a global mindset and improve cross-cultural interaction, but we have the motivation and momentum to do so!

5. Can you mention a few initiatives carried out so far?

I’d like to mention three, very different actions, all launched in 2021 and on-going today – DE&I is a long haul, it’s important to maintain continuity.

First, our Meeting-Free Friday Afternoon initiative. We first circulated easy-to-follow guidelines to optimize meetings – including a reminder that they should be scheduled for a good reason! – and then encouraged our employees to devote Friday afternoons to “focus time” for key projects, “wrap up time” for open items, and “planning time” for the following week. An internal survey has shown that 76% of our employees consider this initiative as very positive for them.

Secondly, our Unconscious Bias Training, which emphasizes the importance of DE&I in the business and our managers’ role to support it. A toolbox has been distributed to further raise our managers’ awareness and help them during their teams’ performance reviews – this contributes to a truly objective evaluation of our employees’ contribution to Astemo’s progress. In 2022 this e-learning course will be translated and extended to all indirect employees.

Finally, our delicious Diversity Month, a fun way of valuing cultural diversity. In May 2021, our employees shared their favorite recipes in a colorful cookbook of 136 recipes from all over the world: Root salad from China, Cod pasties from Portugal, Enchiladas Verdes from Mexico, Marinated octopus from Japan… The cookbook was shared in all sites, and 19 winners - selected by the DE&I Steering Committee - received a copy with a gift to help them prepare their favorite dish. The story doesn’t mention how many tasting sessions took place…

6. Final food for thought?

DE&I is a profound engagement for a better future. An engagement which requires collaboration, teamwork and support from all stakeholders, based on open mindedness and eagerness to create a positive, creative work environment. I am convinced that through DE&I, thanks to the full support and strong commitment of our executives, our DE&I working team, and all of our employees, Astemo takes its rightful place as a sustainable and successful company, able to contribute to society with superior innovation and renowned for its strong, diverse workforce!