Note: "Sangyoso" (産業僧) refers to a monk akin to a counselor or advisor, offering guidance and support in a corporate setting.

Could you share some details about your company's business?

Kakuichi Co., Ltd. originally began as Tanaka Shoten in 1886 with the mission of "continuously addressing unanswered questions" Today, we operate a diverse range of businesses, including housing, hoses, secondary steel construction materials, mineral water, hotels, aqua solutions, solar power generation, EV forklifts, MaaS, and silica lime. These ventures are managed across seven group companies and collectively employ a total of 600 people.

How would you describe your daily responsibilities, Mr. Miyajima?

Kakuichi Co., Ltd. functions as a holding company for the entire group. As a director, I am primarily responsible for overseeing the administrative and human resources departments.

Each company within the group has its own administrative departments. However, as of 2024, Kakuichi is transitioning to a company system. My current mission is to advance a project aimed at centralizing the general affairs departments across all the companies.

By the way, I joined Kakuichi straight out of college. It has been 30 years since I started working here, making me a true homegrown veteran.

Could you share details about your company's education and training initiatives?

We have certainly introduced and conducted various corporate training programs in the past, and I have personally participated in several management training sessions. However, looking back, I must admit that while these programs have been beneficial for individual growth and development, they haven't led to a significant transformation in the company as a whole.

At our company, we hold a branch managers' meeting once a month, where about 30 managers from our sales offices nationwide gather. Although the name might suggest a focus on sharing monthly performance figures, we believe that data can be sufficiently reviewed through reports. Instead, these meetings are dedicated to reaffirming our company philosophy and sharing our core values. The meetings run from 10 AM to 6 PM, making them akin to a retreat.

Through these Branch Managers' Meetings, we convey the thoughts and visions of our CEO, Mr. Tanaka, and the executive team to the managers. These managers then pass these messages on to all staff members. This process can be seen as Kakuichi's approach to training and development.

How did you come across Interbeing Inc.?

I have known Ms. Onari since around 2018, before she launched Interbeing Inc. Our relationship began when we engaged her to conduct an employee engagement survey. This survey itself was already quite innovative for me, as it introduced techniques to quantify employee conditions, which I found surprising. Additionally, when she provided feedback on the survey results, Ms. Onari also gave us solid advice on the next steps to take, which left a strong impression on me.

Later, in 2021, when Ms. Onari founded Interbeing Inc. with Monk Matsumoto, she introduced us to their new service: a "Sangyoso" program, which allows staff to access a monk as they would an occupational doctor. This concept piqued not only our representative's interest but also my own.

What aspects of the Sangyoso Dialogues interested you?

Well, usually we hardly ever get the chance to talk to monks, right? For people in general, including myself, the only interaction with monks is usually at funerals. So, the idea of a service where employees can actually have dialogues with monks made me wonder, "What kind of talk could we hear from them?"

However, at Kakuichi, we have a corporate culture that values a "pioneering spirit." Our company's edge lies in our sense of speed, being half a step ahead of others, and not hesitating to try new things. Over the past few years, the decision-making culture that prioritizes "fun" over being "right" has been cultivated and taken root.

Given this stance, when Ms. Onari explained the concept of Sangyoso Dialogues to us, I thought, "This sounds interesting, let's give it a try." I then persuaded our CEO, Mr. Tanaka, and we decided to go ahead with it.

Who among your employees participated in the Sangyoso Dialogues?

We didn't limit participation to just a select few; all 400 of our full-time employees took part in the dialogues. We organized these sessions at our 22 sales offices, with one to two locations participating each month. Each session included a varying number of employees, sometimes up to 20. We started the dialogues in 2021, and it took two years to complete the planned sessions for all members by 2023.

Could you share any impressive experiences related to the Sangyoso Dialogues?

After deciding that all full-time employees would participate, we prioritized locations with specific issues and concerns. Through regular meetings, we had identified that one particular office had communication problems, and employees there were hesitant to speak up openly.

We scheduled the Sangyoso Dialogues for this office first. The results report from Interbeing, which included AI voice emotion analysis, indicated abnormal values.

The employees at that office, who appeared calm during regular meetings and usual interactions, were found to be filled with anger and excitement according to the voice emotion analysis report. This was something we couldn't have detected through our usual methods. As a result, we encouraged them to visit an occupational doctor, which helped initiate improvements.

When we were first introduced to the Sangyoso Dialogues, we were told, "The voice doesn't lie." Seeing the report, I realized just how true that is.

You also participated in the Sangyoso Dialogues, didn't you, Mr. Miyajima? What was your impression?

The sessions were set for 50 minutes, and initially, I wondered what I would be "told." However, the conversation with the monk started naturally, and before I knew it, the time had flown by.

After the dialogue, I felt a sense of ease. It allowed me to reflect on and reassess my actions and behaviors in a short amount of time, which in turn changed the way I viewed my staff.

Interestingly, it wasn't that the monk organized my thoughts for me; rather, through the dialogue, it felt like another part of myself was doing the organizing. When I asked other staff members about their experiences, many said they felt "heard," "praised," and "understood." This feedback made me realize that, paradoxically, the company might not have been providing enough opportunities for positive reinforcement.

As an executive, what value do you see in the Sangyoso Dialogues?

The significance of having all full-time employees participate in the Sangyoso Dialogues lies in establishing a common language within the company. For instance, during the branch managers' meetings, it has become easier to encourage "sincere face-to-face dialogue and thorough feedback with our staff." Additionally, when providing guidance to individuals, we can refer to the feedback from the Sangyoso Dialogues, which has improved the overall quality of communication within the company.

Moreover, the Sangyoso Dialogues have allowed us to visualize the company's hidden issues. People often hesitate to express their true feelings. Instead of forcibly extracting these feelings, analyzing the emotions from the dialogue recordings provides a unique approach to making these underlying issues visible. Furthermore, since the content of the conversations is not shared with the company, it maintains employees' psychological safety.

No company is without issues, and if these latent issues persist for an extended period, they can manifest in various forms of trouble, including increased turnover. The Sangyoso Dialogues enable us to identify potential issues early on. This early identification allows us to take preventive steps, such as addressing interpersonal conflicts through personnel changes before they escalate.

Could you share a message for those reading this case study?

The Sangyoso Dialogues are a service I can recommend for both organizations and individual executives.

On a personal level, it allows individuals to:

・Take time for self-reflection

・Discover unexpected aspects of themselves

For the organization, it helps to:

・Foster a sense of belonging by helping employees their own purpose within the company

・Develop the organizational culture

Overall, I believe it’s a program that benefits both individuals and the company.

Thank you very much for your time and insights today.