The WILL GROUP’s strength lies not only in establishing systems and mechanisms but in our culture of believing in employees and helping them aspire to achieve.
In this roundtable discussion, four employees working on the front lines gathered to discuss what the WILL GROUP is all about, the changes and challenges they see, and their hopes for the future.
Their anecdotes paint a vivid picture of our culture of believing in people’s potential and turning their endeavors into a chain reaction.
Head of the Sales Assistance Department,
WILLOF WORK, Inc.
Akemi Motohashi
Profile
Akemi Motohashi oversees the HR Department in the Sales domain. She built a broad career spanning everything from sales to HR and, after returning from maternity and childcare leave, continues to lead the HR Department. Through her deep involvement in HR systems and recruitment, she helps employees take on challenges.
Representative Director,
WILLOF PARTNER, Inc.
Takumi Shimizu
Profile
Takumi Shimizu is the Representative Director of a subsidiary specializing in recruitment and outsourcing services. He originally joined the WILL GROUP through an M&A following an initial connection through CVC. He leverages his outside perspective and management experience to boost synergy across the Group.
Manager of the Business Design Division,
WILL GROUP, INC.
Kanako Tokuda
Profile
Kanako Tokuda is in charge of planning and running Raise, a program in which the company provides support for new business ideas proposed by employees. She participated in the inaugural year of the program as a supporter for proposers and has won the grand prize. She currently drives new business creation while encouraging employees to take on challenges.
Manager of the Recruitment Division
WILLOF CONSTRUCTION, Inc.
Atsushi Homoto
Profile
Atsushi Homoto handles recruitment in the Construction domain. He requested a transfer from HR at the headquarters and now works on mid-career hiring and talent development for inexperienced workers. Through creating opportunities to take on challenges at work sites, he is exploring an approach to recruitment that allows people to encounter a new version of themselves.
Even prior to the merger, I strongly felt that the WILL GROUP was an extremely powerful leader in the human resource industry. Upon actually joining the company, I found warmth within that strength and many people who valued the individual. There was not only drive but genuine care for employees and a culture that resonated with me.
I was astonished when I heard “Believe in Your Possibility” at the company information session. I had never thought about my own potential before. It was not just a catchphrase, but something each employee seemed to genuinely embody, which made me curious about the company. After joining, I felt the Mission, Vision, and Values of the company pulsing throughout the organization. However, with our growing number of employees, the percentage of people who embody these right now may be lower than before.
I was promoted from temporary worker to permanent employee. My previous job was at a scrappy venture company, and I felt WILL GROUP had a similar venture company vibe. Initially, each business division was highly independent, internal competition was fierce, and I was honestly bewildered. However, unifying the group company brands under WILLOF has created a stronger sense of unity and deeper bonds as colleagues, representing significant change.
I first encountered WILL GROUP at an information session at Bellesalle Nishi-Shinjuku. Nearly 20 employees greeted me with an enthusiastic, “Good morning,” and instinctively I felt this would be a good company. Though I had just transferred from HR to the construction domain, the vibe here is such that you feel you can try new things despite being in a new environment. This is a company that genuinely engages with people—it is rare to find a company that has higher hopes for you than you do for yourself. The sense of security in being accepted allows you to naturally take that step forward.
For me, it was when I was entrusted as manager for the Field Supporters, who provide support on-site for the temporary workers. Honestly, there were some sleepless nights spent worrying whether I could handle it. However, a colleague told me, “Just give it a try; I’ll support you,” and even my supervisor encouraged me to try, saying, “It’s OK if you fail.” While it was tremendously difficult, I was genuinely happy I gave it a try when ultimately people told me I did a good job. I think having an environment where both colleagues and supervisors support you is what the WILL GROUP is all about.
I also had a similar experience. When I was offered the manager position, I thought it was too soon and tried to decline multiple times. However, my supervisor encouraged me, saying, “You can do it. This company has many people who engage with the ’WILL’ of the individual.” Even when I failed at my attempts, people supported me, saying, “Try this way next time,” and so I came to view taking on challenges not as something terrifying but as a path to the next step. WILL GROUP has truly instilled a culture of believing in your possibilities.
I think Raise truly embodies what the WILL GROUP is all about. Normally, companies would stop us with questions like “What are the risks?” or “What’s the ROI?” but the WILL GROUP’s stance is “If they want to do it, let them try.” When I proposed an idea, my colleagues came together, saying “That sounds interesting, let’s do it together.” While the results were not a huge success, what we learned from that endeavor served as the foundation for our current project. Being able to turn failures into value is something only a culture like this can do.
Moreover, through systems such as Open Recruitment, which offers opportunities across departments, and the FA system, which provides support for transferring to a different division, the WILL GROUP offers support for employees who want to aim higher or try something new. There is a culture of promoting junior employees as well and giving them real responsibilities. Providing full support for people who take initiative is at the heart of what the WILL GROUP is all about.
I strongly feel this culture in recruitment for the construction industry as well. When I proposed a new hiring approach right after my transfer, my supervisor told me, “That’s interesting, let’s try it.” My limited knowledge resulted in some failures, but I was given positive feedback, such as, “This experience will lead you to success in your next endeavor.” Because there is a culture that values the very act of taking on challenges, doing so has become the norm.
The construction industry faces a serious shortage of experienced workers, making training inexperienced workers essential. Our role is to build solid training processes so that inexperienced workers can succeed at work sites. We must meet client needs while training people willing to take on challenges into valuable assets. I believe achieving both is the key to transforming the future of the construction industry.
Witnessing scenes like this has made me feel that this is a company that fully supports people who take initiative. It’s not only about rationality, but about valuing each employee’s individual WILL. This has built up over time to shape what the WILL GROUP is all about.
Working conditions have definitely improved. There are well-developed systems for remote work, reduced hours, and more. We also launched a project to improve the rate of retention among specialized staff, and now everyone has taken a sense of ownership in working to improve the turnover rate. However, I sometimes feel that the sense of fulfillment and growth from work has faded. Job satisfaction among general-track employees in particular has declined, with fewer regular employees aiming for management positions. I was struck when a junior employee told me they struggled to envision how they would grow at this company.
Now that systems are in place, we need to create an environment where people feel they can grow here. I also feel that developing executive candidates is a challenge.
Speaking from my perspective as someone who joined from the outside, I feel the comprehensiveness of our systems is at a much higher level than other companies. However, now that systems are in place, what matters is a sense of purpose, such as “Why am I working here?” and “What do I want to achieve?” Systems alone will not motivate people. What matters is the tangible experience of growth through challenges.
Based on my experience managing a company at my previous job, anxiety spreads through an organization when business growth stagnates. It is true that growth has a way of healing or resolving many issues. I think what the organization needs most right now is for junior employees to be able to articulate how they will be able to grow.
I am in charge of recruitment for the construction domain, where we proactively hire and train inexperienced workers due to serious labor shortages. For this reason, I believe how we design people’s first challenge is key. In the recruitment department as well, thinking has shifted to quality over quantity. I feel we need to focus on the kind of workers who actually succeed at work sites.
Our goal should not be creating systems to prevent turnover but to make people feel they can become a new version of themselves here. Standing on the front lines, I keenly feel the biggest issue is how to create opportunities to take on challenges. Junior employees value personal growth and tend to view repetitive work negatively.
The fact that Raise applications have expanded to the manager and department head class is a positive change. After its kickoff, applications from upper management increased significantly. When the upper tiers are seen taking on challenges, it serves as a model for junior workers to try things as well. It has become a major source of motivation.
However, many employees still feel that “aspiring to achieve” is not relevant to them. Job satisfaction will not take root unless systems move beyond the select few to involve everyone.
Exactly. Now that good working conditions are in place, the real challenge is how to revitalize the joy of aspiring to achieve and the tangible sense of growth. We need to keep both systems and the culture working in tandem.
Some have said that, as the organization has grown, it has somewhat lost its venture company vibe. I feel that insufficient middle management training and a generational gap have affected how we have gone about maintaining a culture where aspiring to achieve is the norm. I think we need more relationship-building based in mutual understanding, where supervisors prioritize subordinate growth and subordinates get to know their supervisors as well.
The culture remains, but fewer people are embodying it. We need efforts to revitalize initiative and job satisfaction.
I want to expand the possibilities for a diverse workforce through construction industry recruitment. My mission right now is to change construction industry standards. I want to explore recruitment approaches in which we believe in and draw out the latent potential of each worker. Changing how we recruit has the potential to shift the values of the entire industry.
To do this, I value the initial experience of taking on a challenge. I believe the WILL GROUP can provide a place where people encounter a new version of themselves.
I want to broaden opportunities to take on challenges. While we currently wait for people to take initiative, I think we also need mechanisms by which the company offers opportunities, asking employees, “Would you like to try this?” This would enable more people to take on challenges.
By setting goals that are relevant to all, such as the specialized staff retention improvement project, we can achieve both job satisfaction and good working conditions. I want to spread the culture of engaging with individual WILL to more employees.
What I want to tell junior employees is that taking on challenges is fun. I am where I am today because my senior colleagues have supported me. I hope to create an even more powerful cycle of taking on challenges by paying that experience forward to the next generation.
In Raise, I played the role of supporter for those aspiring to achieve, an experience that led to my next endeavor. I think what makes the WILL GROUP outstanding is that both those who aspire and those who provide support are able to grow.
Ultimately, what matters most is believing in people’s potential. That is at the core of what the WILL GROUP is all about. I value a culture that encourages people to strive for further growth through systems such as Open Recruitment, the FA system, and transfer support.
I want to pass this WILL to the next generation and create an even stronger cycle of taking on challenges to grow. Business growth resolves organizational anxieties, creating more opportunities to take on challenges. Creating this positive spiral is, I believe, our mission. I am convinced this holds the power to open up the future.
—The endeavors of each and every employee create the future. This aspect of what it means to be the WILL GROUP came through powerfully in this roundtable discussion. We hope our readers will also support this cycle of taking on new challenges. Thank you.
