[Special Feature: Rethinking Japanese "Work Styles"] Hideki Mizuno: Working via "Relocation-Free Transfer" — The "New Transfer (Remote Transfer)" Project Initiative

2023/02/07

The era of questioning the common sense that "job transfer = moving house" has arrived. In a Japanese society where the labor force is shrinking due to a declining birthrate and aging population, companies must align themselves more than ever with the lifestyles of their employees to remain an employer of choice. In other words, companies are required to sincerely address the improvement of employee work-life balance and flexibly operate various personnel systems. What form should job transfers take in today's work styles? Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has established teleworking as a new way of working, we need to redefine the common sense of job transfers.

Our company is commissioned by real estate owners to manage and operate buildings on their behalf. Our business locations are widely spread across major Japanese cities (from Sapporo in the north to Hakata in the south), and in principle, work must be performed on-site where the real estate is located. For business operations, periodic transfers of personnel at each location occur every year, and under the rules of employment, employees who receive a transfer order generally cannot refuse it.

The growing change in employee awareness regarding transfers stems from the origins of our company, which was formed in 2014 through the merger of Company A (no transfers) and Company B (with transfers). Employees who joined Company A because they were attracted by the lack of transfers saw their employment rules changed to include transfers due to the merger. In the new company, there were many employees from Company A who felt resistance toward transfers. Consequently, during personnel interviews after the merger, various consultations regarding transfers and requests to review company systems surged. The consultations covered a wide range of topics, including childcare, children's schooling, and nursing care for parents. On the other hand, other types of consultations were increasing from employees already on transfer from Company B. For example, some did not wish to return to their original location because they had married someone living in the transfer area and their spouse worked there, making it impossible to move.

In response to these various employee requests, we worked to enhance support systems for employees living apart from their families. This included generous welfare systems such as company housing during transfers and housing allowances after returning, as well as increasing the number of subsidized trips home to 16 times per year (+4 times). However, many of the anxieties employees held regarding transfers were problems that could not be solved by improving benefits alone.

It was the "New Transfer" project that broke through this status quo.

The catalyst was in fiscal year 2019, when our employees participated in "Eijo College" (a cross-industry exchange project for women in sales (Eijo) working at companies; a project aimed at breaking down industry "norms" to create new work styles and sales models and conducting proof-of-concept experiments for solutions) and won the Grand Prize. Our Eijo team (composed of six female sales employees) focused on the issues inherent in traditional transfers based on our company's background. They wondered if the disadvantages of moving could be covered in a different way. The Eijo team questioned the industry norm that real estate management can only be handled on-site. They hypothesized that by verifying whether work could be performed from a remote location, it might be possible to carry out duties without transferring (the "New Transfer"). In the actual proof-of-concept experiment, to verify to what extent work for properties in Tokyo could be handled from a branch office, members temporarily moved to various branch offices for one to two months, physically distancing themselves from the properties they were in charge of while performing their duties. Although it was a short-term experiment, it proved that a certain percentage of work could be handled remotely. This experiment was highly evaluated on criteria such as: 1) being a challenging project that destroys and recreates the norms of sales, and 2) having versatility that transcends the industry.

To elevate the results of this "New Transfer" experiment into our company's personnel system, the "Remote Transfer" project initiative began. Two core members of the Eijo team and the HR department formed a project team and first set goals. The first was to establish the "New Transfer" as a personnel system within our company in fiscal year 2021. The second was to challenge the common sense in Japanese society that "transfer = moving house." This project had to be recognized not only by employees but also by customers such as owners and tenants. Otherwise, the business would not be viable.

Coincidentally, the situation shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which provided a tailwind for achieving these goals. Thanks to the track record of the proof-of-concept experiment before the pandemic, we attracted attention from multiple media outlets and were able to increase external recognition.

In the internal project, we continued proof-of-concept experiments toward institutionalization. Since the members of the Eijo experiment were all women and none had experience with transfers, we felt it was necessary to get honest opinions on the new system from actual transferees.

Furthermore, since our company has employees in various occupations, verification was needed for roles other than the sales positions verified by Eijo. Therefore, we added male employees currently transferred to regional branches to the experiment participants and expanded the occupations to include not only sales but also architectural technical roles and facility management roles stationed in buildings, conducting experiments with a total of nine people. Based on the verification results, we organized the conditions for using the system, visualized usage patterns, and considered the needs of the users. From fiscal year 2021, we decided to formally introduce it as a personnel system for certain high-priority usage patterns (Figure 1, excerpt from internal briefing materials).

In introducing the "Remote Transfer" project as a personnel system, we defined "transfer without moving = remote transfer" as "a system where an employee who has received a transfer order or is currently on transfer can choose to perform duties from a remote location (remote work) as one of their work style options."

We also reorganized the purpose of introducing the system from the perspectives of both the employee and the company. From the employee's perspective, the main goal is the realization of work-life balance. From the company's perspective, we added not only the reduction of turnover and transfer costs but also operational efficiency and improved customer satisfaction. We believed that by pursuing the benefits of remote transfers for the company, users would ultimately be able to use the system without feeling like a burden to others.

This initiative won the 2020 Grand Prix in the Mitsubishi Estate Group's overall award system, which annually recognizes various daily work activities that contribute to improving corporate brand power.

The most significant effect after introducing the "Remote Transfer" system has been the ability to prevent employee resignations. When circumstances arise that make physical commuting difficult, such as nursing care or a spouse's transfer, we are now able to retain employees who previously would have had no choice but to resign. To date, six employees have utilized the "Remote Transfer" system. Furthermore, even in cases where a "Remote Transfer" was not approved, the application itself has allowed the HR department and the individual to discuss other solutions before a decision to resign is made.

Additionally, while the "Remote Transfer" system was institutionalized by picking up employee voices from the bottom up rather than top-down, this process itself has served as a message that our company prioritizes employee work-life balance. In fact, in an internal engagement survey, satisfaction regarding the workplace being easy to work in was very high compared to other companies. In recent years, the number of mid-career hires has also increased, and we are fortunately hearing more voices from such members saying they decided to apply because they were attracted to our company's stance on work-style reform.

Currently, the actual duration of use for the "Remote Transfer" system is often less than one year. This is because employees who use the system during the fiscal year typically end their use of the "Remote Work" system during the periodic transfers in April and move to their new department to switch to normal work. There are still many challenges to using remote work continuously for a long period of more than a year, and the reality is that it serves as a bridge until the periodic transfers in April.

In the future, to make the "Remote Transfer" system available to anyone for long periods, it will be necessary to further evolve the network environment, including the electronification of seal-stamping tasks for paper documents, form management, and making internal and external meetings web-based (considering the current situation where meetings are returning to in-person despite the increase during the pandemic), as well as stable systems. Simultaneously, we need to increase the number of system users and listen to the opinions of not only the users but also the colleagues, supervisors, and customers who support them, reviewing the operation of the system as appropriate.

Transfers affect not only work content and workplace relationships but also employees' families and individual community activities. Therefore, the impact on an employee's life is very large. However, as is well known, transfers also offer many benefits. There are career-building advantages gained through traditional transfers involving relocation, and in terms of life, one can gain experiences that enrich life by being in a new environment. Furthermore, the importance of people meeting in person, communicating, and working together will likely remain unchanged now and in the future.

The "Remote Transfer" system is intended to coexist with the benefits of such traditional transfers and is by no means a rejection of transfers. For companies that must realize business continuity while accommodating the increasing variety of individual circumstances and work styles, it is positioned as one of the diverse work style options that can be offered to employees.

The "Remote Transfer" system is one measure for moving away from "membership-type employment," a traditional Japanese employment practice.

"Place of work" and "work content" are cited as factors that influence the quality of work-life balance. The "Remote Transfer" system is a system where the company supports this "place of work." Traditionally, the "place of work" was decided by the company, but we are moving into an era where employees will be able to choose where they live and work. I believe the "Remote Transfer" system will be one of the systems that responds to that era.

Being able to choose a "place of work" means that employees are also tested on being independent individuals and having the ability to be employed by a company even remotely. The transformation necessary for this is naturally required of employees as well as companies. As the number of employees performing remote work in various forms increases, including those using the "Remote Transfer" system, it is necessary to acquire the "abilities" needed to proceed with work smoothly. If an employee who mistakes system use for a right uses the "Remote Transfer" system, troubles may occur with colleagues, supervisors, or customers, making it impossible to continue using the system. Ultimately, they would be shooting themselves in the foot.

Even without using the system, if employees doing remote work do not take care of communication with employees who are not doing remote work, remote work itself will not be realized. We must also be aware that the "abilities" required to adapt to change include the power to master various business tools so as not to drop the quality of work even remotely, the power to proceed while cooperating with surrounding members, and comprehensive human strength such as communication skills sufficient to cover the quantity and quality of on-site work and relationships with those around them.

Furthermore, in the future, the shift to "job-type employment" may accelerate in various companies within Japan, changing to an era where employees choose their work. Even in that case, employees will need to demonstrate to the company their ability to be hired for a specific job.

Allowing employees to continue living in their desired location to improve their quality of life, and allowing employees to choose their own work, will bring them closer to the concept of well-being: "a state of complete physical and social fulfillment." If the realization of well-being leads to high performance in work, it will be a good state for both the company and the employee. Realizing well-being is a corporate mission toward human capital management, and the benefits it brings to companies and society as a whole are immeasurable.

I hope that the "Remote Transfer" system will serve as a catalyst for not only our company but as many Japanese companies as possible to rethink traditional employment practices.