Starting from Zero Know-how & Experience
How a Company Uses Love to Create NAKAMA

In our May through August issues UNI-SQUARE introduces the outstanding companies and individuals selected as winners of UNIVA AWARDS 2022. In this July issue, we introduce Yao Yao from UNIVA JAPAN (UJP).

Yao joined UJP in March 2022 and worked in a series of different jobs, including PR, recruiting, and President’s Secretary. In these roles she became aware of issues in keeping and training young talent neglected during the previous decade in which recruiting focused on mid-career hires and emphasized immediate contributions to competitive edge. To UJP new-graduate hires lacked both know-how and experience. Frustrated, Yao noticed the July 2022 introduction of UNIVA Paycast (UPC)’s Karen Yajima, who had put together a new system for recruiting new graduates. She immediately put forward a proposal to UJP’s president. Since newcomers lacked both know-how and experience, their NAKAMA’s knowledge could be shared, filling the whole company with fighting spirit and love. The outstanding result was not only recruiting nine new-graduate new employees. Yao shared her challenge to boost employee morale with all of her NAKAMA. Congratulations to Yao-san on being chosen as a UNIVA AWARDS winner.

Learn from NAKAMA, Apply to Your Company

recruitment team

Yao sensed a crisis in UJP’s recruiting system. Low retention of young employees meant that the company’s staff was aging.

“I felt that we had to think five or ten years ahead in our recruiting. While continuing to recruit mid-career hire to immediately add competitive edge, we also had to recruit new graduates to train new core-member leaders of UJP. The company’s continued existence was at stake.”

However, since Yao herself was a newcomer, she faced a harsh reality. UPJ had neither a recruiting section nor recruiting page on its corporate website. No effort had been made to accumulate recruiting know-how and experience. Yao was faced with one tough hurdle after another. Then a NAKAMA at another company provided the light that showed her the way.

“As I read UNI-SQUARE, I thought ‘That’s it!’ Yajima-san’s challenge to everyone at UPC to make training new recruits their personal responsibility was exactly the know-how that UJP needed.”

Yao presented a detailed plan to UJP president Yoshiaki Ubatani. A new graduate recruiting team was formed.

Beyond Qualifications

The eight-member recruiting team included Yao. The core members were young employees who understood the feelings of Generation Z job seekers. The team’s first task was to create a recruiting page for the corporate website.

“Sharing Ubatani’s message and the company’s image of its future, sharing UJP’s mission, vision, and values with everyone in the company are the key points, I believe. Next is the compass to guide us along our path, as part of our image of the people we want, our targets and goals.”

UJP Directions

1. Put yourself in the other (customer, agent, partner company)’s shoes.
2. Don’t wait to be told. Come up with your own proposals, take action, grow.
3. Be courageous, accept the challenge of the unknown, learn from challenges.
4. If you don’t know, find out. Only ask if you can’t find the answer.
5. Look for work that needs doing, make it your mission to make it happen.

“Our ideal new graduate hire is “out of bounds.” We are serious about looking for people more outstanding than ourselves.”

To strengthen recruiting, Yao turned to young employees to better understand new recruits perspectives. She began proactively using LINE for Business and Instagram to hold the matching events that Yajima recommended. She was able to find recruits who more closely resembled Generation Z.

“I mainly used Mynavi to hold multiple joint explanation sessions/mini matching events. Later I used Hello Work and visited universities as necessary.”

In only 11 months, the recruiting team led by Yao built a new recruiting system and recruited 11 new employees, nine new graduate and two mid-career hires.

Total Company Recruiting

When recruiting new graduates, the hard thing is that the process doesn’t end when they are hired. After they enter the company, they have to be trained, and the whole company must be involved. There were many voices opposed to hiring new graduates.

“Who will teach business manners? We are all so busy, who has the time to take care of newbies? Is it really so bad to hire only mid-career people? The complaining never stopped. More and more people voiced opposition to hiring new graduates. They confirmed for me the lack of awareness of the recruiting problem while, at the same time, confirming the necessity of recruiting.”

Yao, with the help of Ubatani and the heads of the business units, politely explained the significance of recruiting new graduates and cultivating young talent to each and every employee. Other employees were invited to participate in selection follow-up, interviews, discussions, and meals, events aimed at preventing loss of new hires after they joined the company. Recruiting gradually became “my business” for everyone.

“I have seen with my own eyes how much employees grow when they have more opportunities for communication. I am, of course, happy with the way that consciousness of recruiting has been raised. When I see everyone energized, I also feel better. I am grateful to everyone.”

Determined to Create “A Company Full of Love.”

Happy Family

When Yao joined UJP and was put in charge of recruiting, she had already made up her mind what she hoped to accomplish.

“At previous workplaces, private conversations were absolutely forbidden. There was no respect for individual hopes or struggles, somehow…it was all mechanical, with no concern for others. But people are not machines. People have hearts. Each individual is different, but I am working to create an environment in which individuals can grow while respecting their differences. I joined UJP hoping to contribute to creating that kind of company. The right direction for UJP is becoming a company filled with love that wants to benefit others.”

The UNIVA AWARDS are one of the results of UJP being the company that Yao wants us to be. Her winning an award is the result of the love she has cultivated, for the company, its employees, and students looking for jobs. We asked her how receiving the award affected her.

“I am simply so very happy and filled with gratitude to everyone at UJP. This award was the result of all our cherished NAKAMA getting involved. Our goal for this year is, while implementing our Group’s Human Capital philosophy, to recruit five new graduates and four mid-career hires and then do everything possible to grow UJP into a 100-employee company within the next five years.”

Besides recruiting, Yao has many other tasks, to organize training events and strengthen UJP’s sales power. She also has not forgotten her personal goals, to improve her English, read more books, and do more strength training. To recharge her batteries, she plays basketball and goes to hot springs, all while pouring her love into UJP. Yao-san! Congratulations to you and to everyone at UJP on your receiving this award.