Good example of system integration with talent management system Kaonavi

Released on 2021.05.20

• Employment and promotion examinations
• Employee training

Released on 2021.05.20

Since its establishment in Toyohashi City, Aichi Prefecture in 1949 as an oden restaurant "Sakebou Genji", we have developed our restaurant business including yakiniku, ramen, and okonomiyaki, and currently have more than 500 restaurants (including directly managed and franchise restaurants) in Japan and abroad. Our mission is to provide our customers with relaxing moments and heartfelt energy through food and beverage, and to produce "story leaders" who are full of humanity and bring vitality to the world under our management philosophy of "Smile & Sexy". We interviewed a company that has achieved operational efficiency by integrating learningBOX and the talent management system "Kaonavi.

Speaking of promotional exams, learningBOX is also used for weekly quizzes

Can you tell us how you are using learningBOX?

Mr. Takahashi:Since its introduction in 2019, "learningBOX" has become a common language within the company. We use the learningBOX to conduct three types of promotion exams: once every three months for the chief and assistant manager positions, and once a month for the store manager position.

I am in charge of creating content for a weekly 10-question test called the "Storyteller's Test" that is distributed throughout the company. I call the person in charge of your company every week to learn from him, and he is always very courteous and helpful, which makes me feel pampered.

I am very happy to see that it has become an important tool for your company. Are there any other good points about the introduction of this system?

Mr. Nakai:We hold a general morning meeting every Monday, and the directors take turns giving a lecture. The content of these lectures is also incorporated into a certification test that Takahashi makes to check the employees' understanding. This is very helpful because it allows us to check whether what the company wants to convey is really being conveyed, and it also helps to disseminate company policies.

Mr. Takahashi:In 2020, we closed all of our offices for about a month due to the Corona disaster. During that period, we used learningBOX every day to provide study tools for the entire company. We were able to use the time for employees to learn without wasting time during the closure period, and we were very happy to have introduced learningBOX.

You have recently linked your system with Kaonavi. Could you first tell us how this came about?

Mr. Nakai:Initially, the two systems were implemented for separate needs: learningBOX was used to conduct promotional exams, and Kaonavi was used to manage personnel information.

Subsequently, the personnel system was renewed, and in addition to promotional examinations, it became necessary to constantly update our knowledge with each change in the law and learn about the latest compliance issues. The minimum required knowledge was increasing rapidly, and we incorporated the "Narrative License" as a self-development tool to check this knowledge.

We will start in August 2020 and are currently in the middle of a test run; we plan to officially launch in July 2021. We have decided to use learningBOX to take the "Narrative License" exam and want to capture the results in Kaonavi.Kaonavi Collaborationhas started. The actual collaboration began in March 2021.

Multiplication of information accelerates the growth of human resources!

Specifically, how do you link learningBOX and Kaonavi, and what kind of results have you obtained?

Mr. Nakai:In learningBOX, it was possible for the system to do this, but due to our configuration, the supervisor could not check the performance of his/her subordinates, although he/she could see his/her own performance. However, by synchronizing the information with Kaonavi, it is now possible. I feel that this is the biggest advantage of this project.

Our company is in a growth stage and there are many new store openings and associated transfers. We had to manually update the information of personnel who were transferred. This caused a time lag, as it could take up to two months before the results of the "story license" could be shared with the supervisor at the new location.

However, the linkage between learningBOX and Kao Navi, which now automatically synchronizes grades and human resources information at set times, was truly impressive and caused quite a stir within the department! With the linkage, we are now moving into the phase of multiplying Kao Navi, which has already consolidated information related to human resources, with information from other axes.

For example, we believe that if we can multiply and analyze information such as, "Are organizations with a high license acquisition rate excellent?" it would provide a new guideline for personnel and operations.

Since the licensing system is still on a test run, are you experimenting with different ways of working together?

Mr. Nakai:We have already tried various things in a test environment and have come to the conclusion that there will be no problem. We are very grateful for the ability to manage all of the data, including the results of training, grades, and promotions, together with human resource information, which is very helpful for HR who deals with a large amount of data. We hope to have the system fully operational in April, when the new employees start their work.

What other benefits can we expect in terms of improved operations?

Mr. Nakai:After all, as I mentioned earlier, the supervisor at the new location can check the information on the acquisition of the "story license" on the day of the transfer. This should encourage subordinates to grow faster, and the speed of growth of human resources in the organization as a whole should accelerate.

Now that not only "story license" information, but also personal information, examination results, history of transfers, and commitment statements at the time of hiring can be viewed through Kaonavi, I believe that supervisors will be able to better guide each employee in his/her career plan and roadmap. For our company, which has an active human resource movement, the ability to centrally manage performance and human resource information has been really helpful.

Another significant factor is that we no longer have to manually tally the acquisition rate of "story licenses. This eliminated the need for staff in the department to spend about three hours each week on this task, which has led to greater operational efficiency and has allowed us to focus on other tasks.

Support staff is available to answer questions as well as make further suggestions.

How do you think this system linkage can be utilized for human resource development and analysis?

Mr. Nakai:From now on, I would like to accelerate internal learning by operating two pillars of learningBOX, the "story license" and the promotion exam.

Mr. Takahashi:On top of that, we will be able to evaluate them from multiple perspectives by crossing them with Kaonavi's human resource information, which will further deepen our understanding of our human resources.

We have just started, and there may be improvements to be made in the future, but do you have any requests at this point?

Mr. Nakai:We consult with you whenever we have any questions, and your company's quick response time is very helpful. Not only do you respond accurately to our questions, but you are always willing to consider our ideas and make further suggestions, which we really appreciate.

This time we linked learningBOX and Kaonavi, but there are many other HR-related systems out there, so we hope to try many more in the future.

Mr. Takahashi:I am wondering if it would be possible to make the effectiveness of the weekly "Storyteller Test" easier to understand. We are gradually upgrading the system in consultation with your company, such as improving the scoring system and displaying graphs, and we would like to make it even more robust and provide feedback to examinees in the future.

You two are driving the internal learning that is in line with the company's vision.

Mr. Nakai:Since our company has locations all over the country, I think it is difficult to disseminate the management philosophy and company policies without making good use of the system. Both Takahashi and I originally worked in stores and experienced the frontlines. We know firsthand how much of the head office's temperature is or is not being conveyed to the employees. I believe that communicating face-to-face is the most effective way to convey this information, but it is difficult to do so due to distance and other factors.

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