New business developments in order to continue supporting foreigners living in Japan
YOLO JAPAN operates recruitment media with over 160,000 foreign residents from 226 countries as registered users. In response to the new "with corona" era, YOLO JAPAN has launched 3 new services (a delivery service, sterilization service, and business room service). We interviewed YOLO JAPAN's CEO, Tasuke Kaji, behind the scenes.
▼YOLO JAPAN CEO Taisuke Kaji
Born in Osaka Prefecture, after establishing an English conversation school in 2004, operating a tutoring business and an online English conversation business in Tokyo and Osaka, and utilizing 14 years of know-how in employment of foreigners, he launched YOLO JAPAN in 2016. Lectured at universities such as the University of Tokyo Law School and coverage and publications on Diamond Online.
■Finding changes in the economy due to the spread of the novel Coronavirus and the new demands that will arise
In the recruiting service we have been providing, the number of foreign applicants has increased, but we aren't able to post enough job listings to keep up with the number of applicants. My heart is heavy when there are so many foreigners that want to work, but I can't provide them with a place to work. In the midst of this, the coronavirus continued to spread, a State of Emergency was declared, the Japanese economy was hit hard, and the number of companies posting job listings on YOLO JAPAN dropped dramatically. Therefore, I thought that I needed to adapt to this change and create a new place where foreigners could work.
For example, YOLO PREMIUM OFFICE was created after seeing that some employees still came into the office even though they were allowed to work at home due to the State of Emergency declaration. Other employees were working from home, but when I asked them why they continued the come to the office, they said, "I have kids, so I can't work at home. Even though we only have about 30 full-time employees, about 10-20 of them aren't able to work from home. Japanese homes are small to begin with, so most homes don't have a private room where one could do remote work. In that, I saw the need to do something.
Not all of the current services YOLO JAPAN offers are extremely successful, but if they're not successful, I can just stop them. You never know if something is going to work unless you try it, so I have to try!
■The type of leadership needed during the "with corona" era is "speed."
Self-control is very important for survival in this era, and you must control yourself before controlling the company. For example, trying our best to stick to only posting job advertisements, even though the request for job postings from restaurants has dropped due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, and telling the sales department, "let's keep pushing YOLO Baito (job posting publication service)," is just impossible. When the economy and the situation in Japan as a whole change, it is important to consider the situation and consider a service that meets new needs such as delivery and sterilization services, and take action to make it take shape. Being able to respond to change in this way is a very important part of leadership.
■Seeing business prospects in our new lifestyle
From a foreigner's perspective, the growth of YOLO Delivery (food delivery service) and YOLO Corona Crusher (disinfection service) businesses will increase the number of foreigners who are employed. And then from the restaurants' perspective, the range and scale of sales will also increase greatly. Until now, restaurants could only be operated inside the shops, but with the introduction of a delivery service, orders can be gathered from outside the restaurant as well. On top of that, even if there is only one table to sit at inside the restaurant, if you have someone order delivery, the restaurant can also use that customer's table in their house. The restaurant is not just inside the shop, it expands to the customer's house, and it becomes a "super restaurant" unlike anything we've ever seen before.
■YOLO JAPAN's vision, future Japanese residents and Japanese companies
Through the services provided by YOLO JAPAN, we would like to strengthen support for foreigners living in Japan. Due to the aging of Japan's population, Japanese society needs the manpower of foreigners. Therefore, the number of foreigners working in Japan will surely increase in the future. However, many companies cannot afford to support foreigners. YOLO JAPAN will continue to proactively provide services for foreigners so that many foreigners working in Japan can receive appropriate services. Through our actions, we can help other companies that don't have the resources to provide their services to foreigners, provide support for foreigners, and all parties will be happy.
Even if YOLO JAPAN's services are different before corona and during the "with corona" era, our goal of creating a society in which foreigners can live comfortably does not change. YOLO JAPAN will always continue to make efforts to support foreigners.
YOLO Delivery: YOLO Delivery is a delivery service for restaurants mainly in the Osaka Namba area. You can use the flat-rate system without any surcharges for food and drinks provided by restaurants. In addition, we are supporting the lives of foreigners living in Japan by aiming to raise the income of the foreign drivers by paying all the delivery charges directly to them.
YOLO Corona Crusher: This is a "virus/bacteria disinfection service" for restaurants, nursing homes, commercial facilities, and lodgings that was created with the aim of employing foreigners who have lost their jobs. YOLO JAPAN trains foreigners who have lost their job/part-time job for free and develops personnel who can play an active role at a sterilization site. In addition, we will contribute to the creation of a safe and secure life through this disinfection service.
YOLO PREMIUM OFFICE: This is a service that provides a sterilized and cleaned business room, "YOLO PREMIUM OFFICE," for companies who recommend telework/remote work and individuals refraining from going out due to the influence of the novel coronavirus. We provide a space where managers and employees of the company can work with the best performance while continuing to avoid the "Three C's" of closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings.
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