Did you progress in Corona? Work style “Big Bang” June 25, 18:13
Telework spread after the spread of new coronavirus infection. Nowadays, a lot of companies are trying to establish telework even after the infection is over. This trend has spread to places where it was thought that “telework cannot be done” and is spurring reforms of Japanese-style employment practices that assume seniority and lifelong employment. (Seitaro Hayakawa, Keiichiro Furuichi)
In the industry where "earning" is commonplace!
“I'm feeling positive about telework sales. It's no longer the time to operate with guts.”
The words from an executive of Daiwa Securities initially made me surprise. A securities business that handles customers' important assets is all about credit. Have your customers trust you many times. It is just "common sense" to "earn with your feet".
Telework with such securities sales? Is it possible to receive stock orders at home?
Stock orders at home
I visited the house of Masao Matsushita (38), who is in charge of personal sales, during the interview. Mid-career 14 years after joining the company. Even after the declaration of emergency was lifted, about half of the week was telework.
"Good morning. Then promptly..."
9 am. Mr. Matsushita took out the tablet terminal at home and started the video conference system. My home has changed to a “sales site”. The personal investor in charge is on the computer screen.
"The New York market last night, the Dow average share price is $280 lower, but Nasdaq has exceeded the level. Do you want to diversify investment by changing the industry?" If you
explain the market situation in a tempo, we propose an investment plan immediately Then, the business ended in about 20 minutes. The company has set up a system so that you can order and order stocks that you could only do in the office until now.
In the conventional home-visit sales, an appointment is taken by phone, moved to the site, and interviewed with the customer. It takes a considerable amount of time. However, telework leads to higher efficiency.
Mr. Matsushita:
"I can send materials in real time and see them and make easy-to-understand proposals. I feel like I'm using 10 times more e-mail to feel the skin, which has led to more efficient sales. I also have the opportunity to meet at a time when there is no stress on the customers. I can do it.''
The best mix of real and web
A securities business that has changed its form from "earnings" to "earnings". Moreover, the business performance of the company has not deteriorated.
The purchase price (per day) of financial products such as stocks and investment trusts fell in April, but it picked up slightly in May and is returning to the level before full-scale introduction of telework in June.
Daiwa Securities believes that about 30% of individual sales can be done by telework. In the future, the policy is to search for the "best mix" with the conventional home-visit sales.
Senior Managing Executive Officer
"I think we can make more fulfilling proposals by having contact points with customers on the web and even face-to-face interviews. In terms of reforming our sales style, we will lead what we can lead in the financial industry. I want to
Even on the production floor!
Production sites where telework has been considered difficult. However, as we proceeded with the interview, a new initiative had begun here as well.
Ricoh's plant in Atsugi, Kanagawa, which handles toner cartridges for printers and has about 700 people in production. As the latest production management system, more than 700 cameras and sensors are installed and all data are visualized.
Usually, a resident person monitors the data from another room on the premises, but this time, I have set up the communication infrastructure and embarked on monitoring work from my home.
Katsumi Hirama (46), who is in charge of monitoring who started teleworking. The personal computer screen at home displayed the data such as the progress of production and abnormalities of equipment sent from the factory. If there is even a bit of data to worry about, he checks the camera image to see if there is any problem with the machine.
During the interview, I saw Mr. Hirama's expression when I saw a screen with countless small red dots. The strength of tightening the product's screws is slightly different than usual.
I immediately contacted the person in charge at the factory. As a result of investigation by a person in charge, it was found that the tip portion of the device for tightening the screw was beginning to deteriorate. Although there is no problem immediately, if left unattended, products that do not meet the standards may be mass-produced. Parts were replaced within this day.
At the factory, I started teleworking for monitoring work from April, and currently about 70 people work at home per day.
Hirama-san:
So far, there is no problem with telework, and if you are alone, you can concentrate and work easily.”
The company is also considering consolidating the monitoring operations of multiple factories nationwide and performing them remotely. With the spread of the new coronavirus infection, there is a possibility that the way the factory is located will change significantly.
Executive Officer Sugano
"It is difficult to do telework directly in manufacturing, but it has become clear that support work can be done at home. I would like to continue to transform the working style of factories and make them remote."
Human resource evaluation
One of the challenges of teleworking is proper personnel evaluation while it is difficult to see how they work. Hitachi is working on this from the front. The total number of employees of the group is 300,000.
In May, Hitachi announced that it would make teleworking a “standard” for the future and cut the number of employees to half. The pillar of the institutional reform for that purpose is the shift to the "job type", which aims to start in April next year.
This system is the mainstream in Europe and America. The position and treatment are decided for each position such as the manager or section manager, and depending on their ability, they can be assigned to the desired position. Determine the expected job content for each job and evaluate the results.
Hitachi is now in a hurry to make a drastic reform that sets the criteria for evaluation by finely determining the duties and treatment of each position.
President Higashihara
"Since the establishment of 1910, Hitachi has been walking around the factory as a manufacturing industry, and as a result, various systems have been assembled based on the fact that the longer the factory stays, the higher the sales increase. However, recently, the era of what kind of value can be provided to customers by services etc. is changing. Even if you work for one hour, if you come up with a good idea, it will lead to a good service. It was not connected, and I thought about a shift in that direction.”
“Unless individuals are evaluated, it is impossible to know whether it is the team output or the individual output. Teleworking under the new system I would like to shift to a new work style centered on
President Higashihara
"An analysis of the employee questionnaires revealed that more than half of them should work from home, saying that they could save time commuting or manage their work time themselves. On the other hand, I have come to see issues such as lack of communication, difficulty in managing the health of subordinates, etc. I would like to provide proper technical support."
A "new normal" with feet on the ground
Telework started half-forced by the new coronavirus. Reforms are progressing in fields that were unthinkable until now. This flow will never turn back.
On the other hand, the voice of anxiety heard by each employee and voices of small and medium-sized enterprises where telework is difficult cannot be ignored.
What kind of work style is suitable in the age of With Corona? I think it is necessary for both managers and workers to collide with each other and seek out their true intentions.
Economy reporter
Shuntaro Hayakawa
2010. He joined
the Yokohama station, Gifu stations, the current affiliation through the Nagoya stations
responsible for the electrical industry
Economy reporter
FuruichiAkira Ichiro
2014. He joined
through the Niigata stations
currently responsible for the financial industry