Itoki signs basic agreement for business tie-up with Dutch work-style reform consulting firm "Veldhoen + Company"
-Strengthening the work-style reform consulting business through the introduction of the integrated work-style strategy "ABW"-
Itoki Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; president: Yoshiro Hirai; hereinafter “Itoki”) has signed a basic agreement for a business tie-up with work-style reform consulting firm Veldhoen + Company Pty Ltd. (Head office: Amsterdam, Netherlands; hereinafter “Veldhoen”) on October 9, 2018. Veldhoen is the founder of the ABW and has provided consulting services to global corporations in various countries based primarily out of Europe and Australia on how to introduce ABW at their corporations. Through this business tie-up, Itoki will further strengthen its work-style reform consulting business in Japan, utilizing knowledge of the world-leading ABW concept.
ABW stands for “Activity Based Working.” It is gaining increasing attention even in Japan as a means of achieving a work-style where “employees can work with anyone anywhere at any time,” the aim being to improve productivity and secure labor, which are also objectives of work-style reform promoted by the Japanese government. Veldhoen has provided support for the introduction of ABW in more than 300 projects over the past 27 years. It possesses know-how that is rare to find anywhere else in the world for specifically and systematically changing the behavior of employees by combining the three pillars of (1) leadership coaching and change management (behavior), (2) physical environment (space), and (3) virtual environment (IT). This know-how is of significant value to Japanese companies tackling work-style reform. Itoki will combine it with its own office design know-how to offer cutting-edge consulting in line with increasingly sophisticated work-style reform needs.
Additionally, in October 2018, Itoki officially launched the new work–style, “XORK Style,” that incorporates the concepts of ABW, maximizing worker discretion and allowing the workers to design their own work-styles. The new head office “ITOKI TOKYO XORK” will have its grand opening in Nihonbashi, Tokyo in December 2018 and will seek to further accelerate adoption of the XORK Style. ITOKI TOKYO XORK is the only workplace in Japan where ABW jointly developed with Veldhoen has been adopted as its work-style strategy.
This know-how will be organized for the Japanese market and tied into further strengthening of the work-style reform consulting business.
About Veldhoen + Company
Veldhoen is the founder of the ABW concept. A leading company in work-style strategy consulting, it serves as a valued partner of many global companies, including LEGO, IKEA, VOLVO, and MSD. Since the early 1990s, it has developed solid methodology covering everything from development to implementation of overall plans for changing the work-styles of organizations and guiding them to success.
Through the introduction of ABW, Veldhoen helps its corporate clients improve space utilization, introduce effective IT, and balance employee productivity and engagement. Moreover, through this process, it also provides support for management and organizational transparency and trust based on leadership and results.
