As we enter the new year, companies and government agencies have seen new employees welcoming new employees with various efforts to prevent infection with the new coronavirus.
Only four representatives can participate in the "entrance ceremony" at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
In Tokyo, an "entry ceremony" was held to issue a resignation to new employees, with many new employees attending online to prevent infection with the new coronavirus.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government hired 1691 people this spring, excluding teachers and police officers.
Before the spread of the new coronavirus, almost all new employees attended the entrance ceremony, but this time only four representatives participated to prevent infection.
Many new employees attended online.
Governor Koike said, "We are currently facing an unprecedented difficulty in fighting the new coronavirus, but we will work together as a team to overcome it and open up a bright future for Tokyo where both" growth "and" maturity "are compatible. That is our role. "
Miki Date, the representative of the new employee, said, "I pledge to continue to have the passion and the ability to act closely with the people of Tokyo in order to create a future of Tokyo where people will shine, and to fulfill my duties with sincerity." Said.
After the ceremony, new employee Saki Sawayama said, "I want to act responsibly so that I can flexibly respond to my new life and become a role model."
Online centered at Panasonic
At Panasonic, which is proceeding with withdrawal from unprofitable departments and undergoing structural reforms, an entrance ceremony was held, and President Kazuhiro Tsuga called on new employees to continue taking on challenges with flexible ideas.
This year, 900 people have joined Panasonic.
The entrance ceremony was held mainly online, and eight people representing new employees attended the head office in Kadoma City, Osaka.
President Kazuhiro Tsuga said in a video message, "We are working on various reforms to become a company with a future. I hope that you will continue to improve your strengths and take on challenges." I called on him to continue the challenge.
Panasonic's business performance has been sluggish, and Panasonic has announced a series of withdrawals from unprofitable departments such as the LCD panel and semiconductor businesses, and is proceeding with structural reforms toward a major organizational restructuring.
President Tsuga, who has been the top management for nine years, is scheduled to retire in June, entrusting the future of the company to the younger generation.
After the ceremony, new employee Daisuke Hamada said, "I want to grow into the human resources needed all over the world."
A sense of unity with digital technology
Some companies that have held the entrance ceremony online are also using the latest digital technology to help new employees feel more united.
The entrance ceremony held online by CyberAgent, a major IT company, was delivered in real time by synthesizing the greeting of President Susumu Fujita with the background of the cherry tree created with 3D CG.
Approximately 200 new employees watched the top greetings in a realistic video.
We have made it possible for new employees to enter enthusiastic comments so that they can feel more united online, and we have set aside time for employees to move their faces to the computer screen and take group photos.
Shinichi Hikosaka (23), a new employee, said, "It was an online entrance ceremony, but I was able to have a sense of unity by connecting with the same period by video. I would like to thank you for holding the entrance ceremony even in such a situation. I was talking.
"Hybrid type"
The company in Tokyo, which held an entrance ceremony online last year, held an entrance ceremony called "hybrid type" in response to a proposal from a second-year employee who wanted to make the ceremony warmer, and new employees and management teams At the office, senior employees participated online to celebrate their start.
Last year, VisasQ, a consulting agency in Meguro-ku, Tokyo, held all entrance ceremonies online due to the effects of the new coronavirus.
Regarding last year's ceremony, the company decided to open a combination of face-to-face and online because some employees in the second year said that they did not realize that they had joined the company.
A total of 25 people, including 7 new employees and management, gathered in the office, and 120 senior employees participated online from home.
Each new employee received an employee certificate from CEO Hideko Hata and stated his aspirations, and the monitor set up at the venue displayed a warm applause and a congratulatory message.
Mr. Shigefumi Koizumi, a new employee, said, "I was able to receive a certificate face-to-face, and I felt that various people would welcome me online. It was a good entrance ceremony because of both sides." It was.
Minami Motoyama, who was the moderator of the ceremony for the second year, said, "I was a little worried because I was online last year. I wanted everyone to feel the actual atmosphere of the entrance ceremony and the warmth of the employees, so everyone tried it. We talked by mistake. "
Avoid the crowds at the stadium
In response to the spread of the new coronavirus, companies in Sendai held an entrance ceremony for new employees at a soccer stadium to avoid crowding.
"Yurtec", which has its head office in Sendai City and is engaged in the construction of electrical equipment, holds an entrance ceremony in the hall of the head office every year, but in order to avoid denseness due to the spread of infection, Izumi Ward, Sendai City We held an entrance ceremony at the soccer stadium in Sendai.
When 125 new employees entered with a tense look, they were seated at intervals in the stadium's spectators' seats.
President Tsutomu Satake said, "You have great potential for the future. Please build the history of the company with high aspirations and pride."
In response, Mr. Haruki Hina, the representative of the new employee, stated his vow that he would like to contribute to the better and more comfortable life of the local people.
New employees will stay at the facility for training from the first day, but the period will be shortened to two weeks, which is about half of the usual year, and will start working at each place in the middle of this month.
Enon Sukegawa, who attended the entrance ceremony, said, "Although there are various restrictions on the new Corona, which are different from the usual year, I would like to act responsibly as a member of society."
About a quarter of companies use online
When using online at this year's entrance ceremony or conducting a questionnaire survey by a private research company, 76% said that they would use it only face-to-face, while 24% said they would use it.
Although the number of companies that utilize online has become a minority, it means that the number has increased significantly from last year due to measures against the new coronavirus.
From January to February, the research company "Disco" conducted a questionnaire survey on the Internet targeting companies nationwide.
According to this, of the 941 companies that answered that they would hold an entrance ceremony, 76% said that they would hold a face-to-face meeting, while ▽ "combined use" with both people gathering at the venue and people participating online. The format is 17% ▽ 7% of companies implement it only online.
This year, the total number of companies using online is 24%, which is a significant increase from last year, which was 7%, although it cannot be simply compared due to different survey methods.
Looking at the percentage of companies that use online this year, ▽ 12% of employees have less than 300 employees, while ▽ 38% of those with 1000 or more employees, and the larger the scale, the stronger the tendency to adopt online. I will.
Fusako Takei, a senior researcher at Disco, said, "Last year, there were cases where we canceled the entrance ceremony because we couldn't respond in time, but now that we have an environment in which we can hold the event smoothly online, we have made good use of it."