バリューイノベーションジャパン List of News Articles

This is not an exaggeration or provocation; it is a real story about the challenges faced by small companies. This is because when considering work-life balance, one must also think about the "wage increase issue" as a package. Honestly, right now, a tsunami of "wage increases" is about to engulf small companies. Large corporations with massive internal reserves can continuously raise wages. However, small companies do not have that kind of financial strength. Yet, there is also the reality that without wage increases, they cannot hire people. A large company offers a starting salary of 300,000 yen, while a small business offers 180,000 yen. When the salary gap is this wide, it is only natural that large companies will attract talent. Moreover, social insurance, prices, and taxes are all rising. Employees have their own lives, so it is completely natural for them to seek better treatment. However, it is also true that small companies do not have the capacity to implement those wage increases. And further complicating this issue is work-life balance. This is because what is currently being demanded in the workplace includes... three-day weekends, full remote work, full flexibility, free company meals, career breaks, and so on... ...For more details, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

In my previous post titled "The Problem of High Social Insurance Preventing Wage Increases," many people viewed it. Thank you very much. I was truly pleased to see that there are many business owners who, despite wanting to raise their employees' salaries, are deeply troubled by the high social insurance costs that prevent them from increasing take-home pay. It made me genuinely happy to know that there are so many company presidents who seriously care about their employees' lives. And knowing that there are so many such presidents made me feel that we can still do this, that we can still fight. However, today I want to write about my ignorant self from the time before I became a business owner when I was just an employee. As I mentioned in my previous post... Our starting salary is 330,000 yen. However, to pay that 330,000 yen, we actually have to pay about 400,000 yen when including social insurance. Yet, the employee's take-home pay does not even reach 270,000 yen. We are paying about 400,000 yen for one employee, but only 270,000 yen remains in that employee's hands. Now, as a business owner, I think every month, "Is there any way to deal with this ridiculously high social insurance?"

We don't have an office and have been doing remote work for the past ten years. Many companies may have started remote work due to COVID-19, but we have been doing it remotely regardless of the pandemic. I myself usually work from home or a local coworking space. Our employees do the same. Perhaps because of this, I often hear from company presidents involved in recruitment that they are considering making remote work an option to increase hiring numbers. However! To put it bluntly, I absolutely do not recommend remote work. In fact, it's better not to do it at all. The reason is that remote work can cause damage severe enough to potentially bankrupt the company. Having done remote work for ten years, I can say that 99% of people working remotely will undoubtedly start slacking off and become unproductive. As a result, performance deteriorates rapidly. Moreover, it's not just that; the atmosphere within the organization also worsens, leading to a terrible company culture and increasing turnover rates. ...For more details, please see the "Related Links" below. *Facebook login is required.

Actually, we operate a classroom called NOUIKU in Okinawa that specializes in nurturing children's brains. The reason we are engaged in such a business is that it is absolutely meaningful for the future of Japan. However, we originally had no connection to tutoring or education, so we started as complete beginners... Surprisingly, our customer acquisition has been quite successful, and even though we focus solely on elementary school students, we attracted about 50 students in our first year. When I tell people who run tutoring businesses about this, they are all surprised and ask, "Really? How did you do it?" So, how do we attract customers? One major method is door-to-door distribution. Door-to-door distribution refers to handing out flyers to children outside the school gate. Setting aside the debate about the pros and cons of this method, it is quite effective for attracting customers. Therefore, we plan to continue door-to-door distribution this spring, just like last year, but... The problem is securing staff. ...For more details, please see the "Related Links" below. *Facebook login is required.

We provide recruitment support for companies with around 10 to 200 employees. Therefore, it is essential that we do not find ourselves in a situation where "we are in trouble because we have no applications" or "we are in trouble because we cannot hire." Recently, there has been news about management consulting firms going bankrupt, and if a company that provides recruitment support finds itself in a situation where it cannot attract people and is facing a labor shortage, it raises the question of how we can face our clients. That is why we also put effort into our own recruitment activities. This might sound sarcastic, but depending on the job type, it can vary, but we have been able to acquire applicants for about 362 yen per person (average over the last six months). With that cost, we have consistently received about 50 to 150 applications each month. There are even months where we gather 100 people for free. In the most recent month, despite the year-end and New Year holidays, we received about 50 applications. ……For more details, please see the "Related Links" below. *Facebook login is required.

To be honest, there are almost no companies that can strengthen their organization through remote work. Recently, my post titled "Reasons Why You Really Shouldn't Do Remote Work" has been spreading rapidly, exceeding 500,000 views, so I would like to delve deeper into the topic of remote work. We have been doing remote work for 10 years, and from that experience, I can say that I absolutely do not recommend implementing remote work to increase the number of applicants or hires. This is because, in my conclusion after 10 years of remote work, only exceptionally talented individuals can perform high-productivity work in a remote setting. Why is that? Indeed, there are advantages to remote work. The way of working becomes more flexible, and simply stating that remote work is possible in job postings dramatically increases the number of applicants. Moreover, it is true that individuals who can manage themselves tend to be more productive when given the freedom to make their own choices. However! Remote work not only cancels out those advantages but also brings damage severe enough to destroy an organization. ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

In conclusion, side jobs should absolutely not be allowed. Why? Because considering a side job is the same as saying to the company, "There is no reason to bet my life on this company." For example, when employees consider side jobs for money, think about it for a moment. Why do employees take on side jobs for money? The reason is simple. Even if they work hard at their main job, their salary is capped, and they can't envision a better future. However, if working hard at the current company resulted in an increase in monthly salary, they wouldn't even consider a side job. But since no matter how hard they try, their salary doesn't increase, they resort to side jobs. No matter how hard they work or what results they produce, their salary remains unchanged. There is no more desperate situation for employees than this. Yet, from the employees' perspective, it seems like the president is indulging in luxuries under the guise of "tax savings." They change their Mercedes every year as a business expense and repeatedly pay part of their mortgage while dining out. ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

This is something that the president actually said to me when I was a manager at a restaurant. At that time, the company's bonuses were completely performance-based. If you cleared all the designated evaluation criteria, you would receive the full amount of 500,000 yen. For me, with a monthly salary of 250,000 yen, 500,000 yen was truly a dream amount. So, I worked hard. And one year, I cleared all the criteria for the first time. The department head at the time said, "Miyagawa, you did it!" Of course, I received the full bonus, but what made me happiest was that my hard work had paid off. However, at the bonus announcement, the president said this: "Why do I have to pay you guys this kind of money?" Naturally, I snapped back. "Well, isn't it unfair to say you won't pay after evaluating us based on the predetermined amount for clearing these criteria?" In response, the president said, "You are not worth that kind of salary in the first place." That year's bonus for everyone was zero. The reason was "the company's performance has worsened." ...For more details, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

Small and medium-sized enterprises really start a "countdown to the end" the moment they hire just one problematic employee. And the troublesome part is that even such a problematic employee cannot be easily let go. If it were as simple as saying, "You're fired because you're a problem," that would be great, but unfortunately, that's not the case. Therefore, until the problem is dealt with, the damage will truly spread everywhere. Not being able to hire is, of course, a problem. Daily operations are tough, and the company's growth speed slows down. However, once you hire a problematic employee, the fundamental issue is that everything you've built up can be completely destroyed. That's how much "not hiring a problematic person" is more important than "not being able to hire." And the problem is that, unfortunately, you cannot see a "problematic employee" just through an interview. Our company also had such a problematic employee in the past. The position was in administration. Their thinking was very logical, and it was clear they had a great intellect. ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

To be honest, I've seen many people whose lives have nearly fallen apart after becoming freelancers... or rather, people whose lives have actually fallen apart. This is not a provocation or a threat; it's a serious matter. I am currently the president of a company that supports recruitment, but I have actually been working in freelance career support for over 10 years. In these 10 years, I have provided career consultations and support to over 10,000 freelancers, but the "reality" of those who became freelancers dreaming of freedom after despairing as company employees is, in fact, a life filled with even more despair, which is the opposite of the "freedom" that many people long for. When working at a company, one experiences various forms of despair: - No matter how hard you work, your salary doesn’t increase. - You are overwhelmed with anxiety about the future. - You can only see your child's sleeping face. - Every day, you endure a grueling commute on a packed train, returning home exhausted after a demanding job that feels like it’s eating away at your stomach. However, when you get home, there is no sense of peace, and your mind cannot rest. "Is my life going to end like this...?" is something many people might think. ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *You need to log in to Facebook.

Have you ever seriously thought about your employees? When asked, most company presidents would answer, "Of course I have." However, after continuously facing company presidents in the recruitment and hiring field, I feel that... "There are surprisingly many companies that end up thinking they are considering their employees, but in reality, they are not." Of course, there are hardly any company presidents who try to treat their employees like slaves. There are also almost no presidents who only see employees as mere labor and aim to exploit them for their own gain. However, even if they don't think that way at all, and even if they genuinely care about their employees' futures, many companies end up structuring themselves in a way that leads to employee exhaustion and turnover. In other words, company presidents are unconsciously creating a structure that causes employees to become fatigued and leave, which is contrary to their true intentions. Why does this happen? The answer is simple. When it comes to recruitment and hiring, company presidents suddenly lose their "customer perspective." Think about selling products. When selling a product, most company presidents think like this. ...For the continuation, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

When supporting recruitment, there are moments when I think, "I can't help with this company's hiring." In fact, I sometimes even think, "It would be better for the world if such a company went bankrupt." That is a company where "good people leave one after another without complaining." In a bad company, without exception, people leave, but in a truly terrible company, it's not just that people are leaving... It's that "those who support everyone quietly, without anyone noticing," are the ones who keep leaving. And companies like this seriously consider refusing requests. To put it bluntly, if I may say so without fear of misunderstanding, even if people gather at such companies, those who work there will never be happy, so I even think it would be better if such companies went bankrupt. Is there no one like that in your company? Someone who, without complaining or making a face, quietly becomes the unsung hero behind the scenes. Such people are not only capable but also possess human kindness and can be considerate towards others. ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

"There aren't any decent people, you know." This is a phrase often said by CEOs struggling with hiring. However, after being in the recruitment industry for the past ten years, I can confidently say... "The ones attracting the problematic people are the CEOs themselves." This is because recruitment is like a mirror... A company that only receives applications from strange individuals will only be able to choose from strange individuals. That's right. A company that gathers weird people, low-skilled individuals, and problematic people is simply a company that attracts such people, and they gather there for a reason. When I first ran a posting company, I unknowingly attracted a lot of problematic individuals due to this misunderstanding. A posting company requires a large number of distributors, so we had to employ at least 100 people at all times. However, very few people are eager to do posting work. Moreover, the pay was barely at the minimum wage level. Additionally, the work is outdoors, so in summer it's hot, in winter it's cold, and walking continuously makes it really tough on the body. ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Facebook login is required.

You may find it hard to believe if you're in your 40s or 50s like me, but… the number of people who think "promotion = punishment" has surged in recent years. Evidence of this is that data shows more than 70% of people do not want to be promoted. I am now 47 years old, but things were completely different when I entered the workforce 26 years ago. Receiving a position and advancing in the company was seen as a kind of correct answer and a status symbol. That's why the term "promotion competition" existed, and companies promoted career plans that involved climbing the corporate ladder. Job seekers were attracted to this as well. The idea of becoming a store manager in a year or aiming to be a division manager in three years was appealing. Being able to get on that track was seen as being among the winners. But now it's different. Now… Becoming a manager through promotion = being among the losers. Why? The reason is simple. While salaries only increase by a few thousand, responsibilities rise infinitely. I experienced this myself when I was a company employee. During my time in the restaurant industry, I was a high school graduate, so my base salary was 180,000 yen. …For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

Hiring has certainly become difficult, but there are companies that attract a flood of applicants. What makes them different? What has become clear from supporting recruitment is, "For whom is the president using the company's profits?" To put it more straightforwardly, when the president prioritizes maximizing their own profits, employees feel, "Are you kidding me?!" and this leads to a surge of people saying, "I can't take it anymore, I'm quitting." I've seen many such cases. For example… - Replacing the president's Mercedes every year as a business expense - Paying their own rent as a business expense - Naturally, meals and drinks are also business expenses And the ultimate example… - Registering family members who don’t work as executives and paying them executive compensation The way profits are used reveals for whom the president is managing the company. Employees are not fools. When I worked at a restaurant, I truly respected my boss and worked tirelessly to be of help to them. Base salary of 180,000 yen, manager allowance of 50,000 yen, transportation allowance of 10,000 yen. Total of 240,000 yen. …For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

This may sound like a ridiculous story, but in the hiring field, it is a very serious truth. I have been running a company that supports recruitment for 10 years. Therefore, I have seen the inner workings of various companies in different industries more than I would like to. And after doing this for 10 years, I can tell the moment I enter a company. There are companies where I get the intuition, "Ah, this company is definitely going to succeed in hiring." And that intuition is almost never wrong. Conversely, there are companies where I can tell, "Ah, this company is going to struggle with hiring no matter what they do." And this is also almost always accurate. How can I tell? It’s not about the system or conditions. It’s not about salary or benefits. It’s not about how the job postings are written. The answer is too simple: the relationship between the president and the employees. To put it more clearly… whether the relationship is good enough that "employees can casually tease the president." This is a serious matter and becomes the most important point for successful recruitment. Employee: "President, that's so Showa (old-fashioned) lol." President: "Huh? Is it? lol" ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

In this era of difficulty in hiring, many CEOs are truly troubled by personnel issues. The CEO of a sales outsourcing company I interviewed the other day kept saying, "We get applications, but they are all from low-quality candidates, and we can't hire good people at all." Indeed, hiring has become challenging. However, fundamentally speaking, it is a mistake to expect good candidates to apply to small companies. This is because there is no reason for talented individuals to deliberately choose a small company. Hiring, like product sales, is influenced by the question, "Which company will I work for?" This is something we must be aware of. If there is a ramen shop that is cheap, delicious, and comfortable, and another that is expensive, tasteless, and uncomfortable, people will undoubtedly choose the former. It's the same principle. Moreover, the hiring market is a field where candidates are compared to strong competitors that are superior to your company in every aspect. For example, let's say you want to hire someone who graduated from a prestigious university and was a top salesperson at Keyence. ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *Facebook login is required.

When it comes to supporting recruitment, referrals are indeed essential. Referrals from schools, from Hello Work, from recruitment agencies, and from employees. There are various referral channels, but some companies receive many referrals while others receive none at all. Moreover, the presidents of companies that do not receive referrals often complain about this. "Why don't we get more referrals?" they ask. On the other hand, there are also a certain number of companies that seem to be "favored" with referrals from various channels. What is the reason for this difference? From observing the internal situations of various companies, it has become clear that a common trait among companies that do not receive referrals is that the people who could refer them think, "I don't want to refer anyone to that company." This is not some industry insider story; it is a reality that occurs regularly. This is because those making referrals are, in a sense, in a position of "holding the future of the referred person's life." Of course, there are some unscrupulous recruitment agencies that indiscriminately refer anyone who can be hired, but... ...for more details, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.

Our starting salary is 330,000 yen. However, to pay that 330,000 yen, when including social insurance, we are actually paying about 400,000 yen. Yet, the employee's take-home pay doesn't even reach 270,000 yen. I really think about this every month. We are paying about 400,000 yen for each employee, but only 270,000 yen remains in their hands. From my position as the president, I wonder, "Why can't we even give them 300,000 yen in take-home pay despite paying so much?" And from the employees' perspective, they might think, "After all this effort, I only get 270,000 yen...?" I truly ponder this. Who is benefiting from this exploitative system? No one is happy. The government easily says, "Raise wages." But do they understand how difficult it is for a small company to raise salaries by even 10,000 yen? I always think about that. Most company presidents want to raise their employees' salaries, even just a little, for those who are working hard. They want to reward the employees who are doing their best with better pay and treatment. They want to fulfill their responsibility to protect the lives of their employees and their families. ...For more, please see the "Related Links" below. *You need to log in to Facebook.

The caregiving and medical fields are seriously lacking in personnel. There are various reasons for this, but looking at the reasons truly breaks my heart. There are people who are somehow holding on amidst chronic staff shortages. While caregiving and medical work is physically demanding, the emotional toll is also immense. Moreover, there is the harsh reality of low wages due to structural issues within the industry... It might be disrespectful for someone who is not in that field to say this, but I can't help but wonder daily if something can be done. Since caregiving and medical jobs are absolutely necessary, I often think about whether we can create a system where those who work here are more rewarded. My mother is over 70 years old, yet she still works in the caregiving field. She works at a hospital specializing in patients with difficult diseases. Although she does not have a nursing qualification, she is responsible for the caregiving area at that hospital. Recently, two out of three caregiving staff members have quit, leaving my mother as the only one. "There are bath days twice a week, and on those days, I have to change all the sheets by myself." ...For more details, please see the "Related Links" below. *Login to Facebook is required.