NTT has announced a new management approach designed for a decentralized networked society, extending remote-work support to all 320,000 employees.
While many modern startups long ago embraced remote work, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled older, more conservative companies to adapt swiftly. Telecommunications advances allowed business and daily life to continue through strict lockdowns, and widespread broadband, 4G, and expanding full-fiber and 5G coverage have made remote work increasingly feasible for households in developed countries.
Remote employees often take fewer sick days, report lower burnout, and enjoy improved work–life balance by eliminating commutes. Numerous studies suggest these benefits can lead to higher productivity. Consequently, more companies are planning to support remote work permanently for employees who prefer it, a strategy that also provides resilience if new variants or future pandemics arise. Japan’s NTT Group is joining this trend.
In its press release about transforming to a new management style, NTT outlines two major forces driving change:
- Shifts in the social and economic environment, including digital transformation (DX), growing importance of economic security, advances in AI and robotics, and the mixed effects of digitalization.
- Post-COVID-19 realities, such as accelerated decentralization, coexistence with infectious disease risks, and the broader social inclusion of diverse human resources.
To respond, NTT has identified ten strategic priorities:
- Introduce cloud-based and zero-trust systems
– Build an IT environment that enables employees to work securely from anywhere - Promote work–life balance
– Make remote work the default option and allow employees to choose their workplace
– Shift from a highly centralized organization to an autonomous, decentralized “network-like” model - Automate business processes
– Create a connected value chain that includes partner companies
– Expand customer reach using digital marketing
– Contribute to society-wide DX - Strengthen governance with conduct-risk awareness
– Implement measures addressing various risks, maintain appropriate stakeholder relationships, manage service life cycles precisely, and bolster crisis management - Move toward paperless operations
- Reconsider systems to accelerate business transformation and DX
– Standardize information security suitable for remote work
– Reevaluate the office environment
– Develop core personnel to lead DX - Actively promote women, external hires, and global talent
– Advance female representation among managers and directors and expand support and training programs
– Recruit external and international talent and cultivate global leaders - Introduce a job-based personnel system
– Expand job-based personnel policies for all managers
– Encourage autonomous career development - Decentralize the organization, including head office and back-office functions
– Shift operations away from major metropolitan centers to regional areas
– Accelerate community-led regional revitalization - Promote information infrastructure development
– Support regional urban development and introduce new social infrastructure (including IOWN initiatives)
– Advance resilient infrastructure and disaster-mitigation efforts to address increasingly severe natural disasters
With this announcement, NTT aims to demonstrate how even large enterprises can lead in digital transformation and modernize their operations to adapt to rapidly changing social, economic, and health environments.
(Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash)
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