RECRUIT 2022.07.15

The inside story of how front desk work led to participating in AMP!2022

ASNOVA is energetically diversifying its business and launching new businesses, but the commoditization of the industry is progressing, and it is necessary to create new businesses and services that are not limited to scaffolding rentals. Therefore, ASNOVA has established the ASNOVA-Metamorphose-Program-! was launched in 2021. * AMP! is read as "AMP".

Through participation in the AMP! program, participants become aware of their own “values” and “deficiencies” and obtain the opportunity to change themselves toward the “goal” of what they “want to be. Therefore, we interviewed Sachiko Yamakawa, the only female participant in the program, and Naomi Tanaka and Yuka Narita of the General Affairs and Human Resources Department, which manages AMP!, about the purpose of AMP!

Text：Yui Sato Photo：Motoharu Anami

INDEX

PROIFILE

Sachiko Yamakawa: Equipment Management Department, Shizuoka Fuji Center, Supervisor. Joined the company in 2018. After being assigned to the Fujisawa Center, he was involved in the launch of Shizuoka Fuji Center. He has been in his current position since May 2018.
Naomi Tanaka: General Affairs and Human Resources Department, Senior Manager. Joined the company in 2021. He serves as a Senior Manager in "General Affairs", "Human Resources", "Information Systems Division", and "Internal Audit".
Yuka Narita: General Affairs and Human Resources Department, Supervisor. Joined the company in 2019. Responsible for general affairs and human resources.

Previously worked at a travel agency. Currently works at the front desk and is the "face of the center."

From left to right: Naomi Tanaka, Sachiko Yamakawa, Yuka Narita

Although I told her to be relaxed during the interview, she seemed nervous. "I can't help but make faces because I'm conscious of the camera (lol)," she said, and the interview began in a relaxed atmosphere.

Please tell us about your career history and the work you are responsible for since joining the company.

Yamakawa: I joined the company in April 2018 and spent the first month of training at the Fujisawa Center. I was involved in the launch of the Fuji Center, which opened in May of the same year. We started with nothing, such as buying equipment and installing signs. At that time, the three of us were mainly managing the center manager, the yard staff, and myself. Currently, four people and a temporary worker are working at the center. My usual duties are clerical work such as reception and slip entry, but I think that the main work of the front desk is "customer service". At each center, I think that the front desk is the face of the center, so I am careful to "think that I am the face of the center" when serving customers.

Have you ever had any difficulties serving customers at the front desk?

Yamakawa: In my previous job, I worked at a travel agency, so the customer base is completely different from this industry. So I had to think about how to communicate. Of course, I use basic language, but I try not to be too polite. If you don't get close to the customer, the wall won't break down. That's where I had a hard time.

You don't want to be too stiff, but if you don't have basic manners they won't like you...that's how it is.

Yamakawa: Fuji Center is located deep in the mountains... (laughs) so everyone has a hard time finding it. We have a yellow drum at the entrance as a landmark, but most people just pass it by. Some people say it's hard to find, but we can't put up a sign because it's a prefectural road... When customers call us because they're lost, we always offer polite assistance.

scaffolding Do you think that the experience of the tour conductor is useful in communicating with the contractor?

Yamakawa: That's true. I've always loved customer service. I like talking to people, so I think customer service is a good fit for me. I imagine that general office work only involves inputting invoices and answering the phone, but this job involves customer service in addition to clerical work, so it's quite a wide range of work. We've also recently started purchasing and selling. Until recently, invoice processing was done by the sales office staff, but now it's done at each center, and I feel that there are a lot more types of work.

Tanaka Please tell us about the year you joined Senior Manager, your background, and what you do.

Tanaka: I joined the company in April 2021, and it's been a little over a year. The General Affairs and Human Resources Department has a fairly wide scope of responsibility. There are four axes: "General Affairs," "Human Resources," "Information Systems Department," and "Internal Audit." In addition to that, there are various initiatives we are currently trying to undertake. For example, there is "ASNOVA WAY" and "DX Promotion," as well as "in-house development," which Narita-san is doing a lot of. This is trying to do in-house what we ask external parties to do. We are also introducing systems to in-house development. Recently, we also had an IPO... We are all working in parallel every day.

Is the idea of it being a role that oversees all operations?

Tanaka: Yes, we break down the "mission" into steps and assign "tasks" to members. Since April of this year, we have added three new members to the General Affairs and Human Resources Department, so we are careful to create a system that does not depend on individuals.

So, please tell us about your background and your work.

Narita: I joined the company in January 2019. When I first joined, I was in charge of general affairs. Everyone was doing big jobs, and I was doing the support work that came with that. The company's flow changed, and I was entrusted with bigger and bigger jobs, and from there I learned a lot of things, such as introducing electronic contracts, introducing a cloud attendance system, and in-house social insurance.

You've been given a lot of responsibility lately, but has there been any task that gave you a sense of accomplishment?

Narita: I think electronic contract work is suited to the times, so I feel like it has become a central focus for me, or my job.

Does that mean it took a lot of time and effort to implement?

Narita-san: That's right. Because of that, it was a job that I felt a great sense of accomplishment in. I don't just do general affairs, I also do social insurance and payroll, so I think being able to do that kind of work is a strength of mine.

Employee growth leads to company growth! A win-win system for both employees and the company

Please tell us about the purpose and background of AMP!

Tanaka: This is also connected to the trigger for formulating our purpose, but even in this uncertain and unclear era, which is called VUCA, the company has to survive. In such a time, the risk of running a single business is high, so we had two main goals: to preserve the businesses that only ASNOVA can do, and to strengthen our current businesses. This led to the creation of a new personnel system called "ASNOVA WAY" that aims to develop the human resources that will support the business.

AMP! is one of the contents of the education system of the personnel system "ASNOVA WAY". It has been implemented since 2021, and this year is the second time. The main purpose is to "develop human resources who will be responsible for creating new businesses." "AMP!" is positioned as a "gateway" for people who want to grow by using ASNOVA's education system.

ASNOVA Recurrent	A system in which the company covers the costs of attending external educational institutions of choice and supports opportunities for re-learning for employees who aim to become executives, entrepreneurs, or business specialists.
ASNOVA Challenge System	A system that allows people to run for position as business manager of a new business. ASNOVA CHALLENGER.01 Hiroki Nakamura "I want to be on an equal footing with my customers" - that's what gave birth to my passion for new business

I assume that people have their own goals and use Recurrent and AMP! to fill in the challenges they need to achieve those goals, but is it possible for people who don't even have goals to participate in AMP!?

Tanaka: Anyone who is motivated to improve themselves and has a desire to give it a try is welcome!

scaffolding is used for municipal events. Realization that small hints lead to new businesses.

Please tell us about the background and circumstances that led to your participation in AMP! this time.

Yamakawa: Actually, the number of deposits and outgoings at Shizuoka Fuji Center is lower than at other centers. The small number of trucks means that there are fewer front-end operations such as input work than other centers.

I'm always thinking about doing something more than just front desk work. I think busy centers are surely overwhelmed with their daily work, so I want to help them out. That's why I often make suggestions for improving the system. This is because I want to make the front desk staff's work a little easier and speed up their work so that they can be more efficient.

When someone notices a problem, they have to speak up and improve the system, otherwise they will continue to work in an uncomfortable manner. So, in my free time, I listen to people's opinions such as "It would be easier if this part was like this" and make suggestions for improvement.

Yamakawa: I also want to support the sales team. Until last year, the sales clerks were creating quotations and issuing invoices, but that position no longer exists and invoice work has become the center's job. So, I want to be of some help, so I'm doing whatever I can, such as faxing. I try to prioritize my own center work, but also support the sales team in my free time.

Recently, we have also started purchasing and selling, and there are tasks that need to be completed on the day the order is placed, so when the front desk staff at other centers are off, I make sure I am available to cover for them.

I've been trying my best to be useful to someone in this way, but when I thought that I could be of use in other ways, Sales Manager Fujiwara of Tokyo Sales Office told me, "Mr. Yamakawa is not for you."

Were you aware of the AMP! system?

Yamakawa: I knew! Actually, I thought it looked pretty interesting when I saw the explanation video on Youtube. Fujiwara I became more interested in hearing specific stories from Sales Manager Fujiwara, and the creators' stories were very interesting. Until now, I had been thinking about improving the front desk operation, but now I changed my perspective and thought that it was valuable to notice things while serving customers, for example.

I thought that the people at the front desk would be the ones who could hear closest to new needs of customers and the voices of those on the front lines.

Are there any memorable episodes you've had while talking to customers?

Yamakawa: During this time, one of our customers said, "I've become the president of the PTA," and he said, "The principal asked me to lend him a scaffolding." When I asked him what he would use the scaffolding for, he said, "(Mishima Elementary School) told me to build a scaffolding to the height of a tsunami during a disaster drill. So I put on a scaffolding in front of the kids and showed it." I thought it was interesting to hear this episode from a customer. I thought that I could cooperate with local governments, and that small hints would lead to new businesses.

Tanaka: That's right. As we strengthen our company, I think that the seeds of information and new ideas are in the hands of everyone on the ground, such as little stories or complaints we hear from customers, or "I wish there were more products like this." By talking about these with external creators, we can get some hints. It's like chemistry, or multiplication!

To my delight, there were several people who wanted to apply because a senior (Sales Manager Fujiwara) in the first year of AMP! approached me. It means that the AMP! community has begun to form. I hope that this circle will be connected.

So that's the background that made you decide to participate!

Yamakawa: That's right. By simply changing your perspective, you can expand the conversation even on trivial interactions with customers, and I found AMP! itself interesting. When you do the same work for four years, your values become rigid. If you stay in the same environment, it's hard to come up with new discoveries, and your work becomes monotonous. In that situation, I thought that by changing my perspective, I might make a new discovery, so I participated.

From the perspective of AMP! management, please tell us what you would like people to feel when they use AMP!

Tanaka: Anything is fine. It's fine to start by making them think, "Oh, I see you have an idea that I don't have." Ultimately, I hope they will gain some realization that will lead to their own growth.

I've had many realizations; some of them I think might be useful for something at ASNOVA, some of them I get hints for in my own work, and some of them might be things that I can contribute to society, so you won't know until you try.

Is there anything you aspire to become as a result of participating in AMP!?

Yamakawa: Before, the main job at the front desk was to process invoices, but from now on, we will be able to take orders online and start ASNOVA STATION, so there will be a lot to learn. So, how many people are positive about the start of something new? I am concerned that there may be a gap between the headquarters and the equipment.

I'm the type of person who likes to try new things, so I'm coordinating pre-orders with developers for the web ordering process and want to make something good, but I wonder how the front office will react when it actually starts. I'll be starting new things in addition to the work I've been doing up until now, but time is limited, so I want to be in a position where I can fill in the gaps.

To be able to see things in a positive way. I would like to be able to broaden everyone's perspective, to be able to make things more convenient for customers, and to be able to effectively communicate to the front desk staff that using the service will improve work efficiency. I would also like to think of ways to do this that won't be a burden.

Finally, please tell us your enthusiasm about participating in AMP!

Narita: Although I will be participating as part of the management team, this is also my first time participating in AMP!, so I hope to provide thorough support to the participants and gain some kind of "realization" or "new discovery" that I can use in my future work.

Tanaka: I would like to repeat that I want all participants to take home many "realizations". Once they can see their goal, I would like them to move on to Recurrent and other things. The General Affairs and Human Resources Department believes that AMP! must continue to be a good service, and will continue to work to connect it to the next generation.

Yamakawa: I'm thinking about the impact that the five participants of this AMP! will have on those around them, and I hope that we can start by changing the people around us. I hope that we can return home from the fieldwork with as many "realizations" as possible.

ASNOVA has over 100 employees, and the number of female employees is increasing. At ASNOVA, there are many opportunities for women and young people to thrive! ASNOVA will continue to support women's participation in the workforce by utilizing our internal systems.