Pasona's goal: To create society in which each person can balance work and life

Yasuyuki Nambu has some interesting titles on his business card — not only is he Pasona Group CEO and founder, he is also Chief Ethics Officer and Chief Encourage Officer. Born in Kobe, Nambu looks much younger than 65 but has as much enthusiasm and vigor as when he first established the major HR services company in 1976 after graduating from Kansai University with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Pasona is much more than a staffing agency. Besides providing HR solutions, the company offers life solutions (healthcare support, childcare support, housekeeping services), training programs (Women’s Career College, career consulting and programs to foster specialists) and global sourcing (support for recruitment of global personnel, expat employee management, language education and training).

Pasona is also heavily involved in CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities, particularly regional revitalization projects, something that Nambu says is very close to his heart. But most of all, Nambu says his goal with the group is to enable different work lifestyles and harness the potential of each individual.

Japan Today editor Chris Betros visits Nambu at the company’s headquarters in Otemachi, a very eco-friendly building with plants hanging from ceilings and a balcony full of flowers. In fact, the whole building — inside and outside — resembles an urban farm.

Was 2016 a good year for the Pasona Group?

Yes it was. In his New Year message last year, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe mentioned something that has been my personal philosophy for 40 years since I established this company — equal pay for equal work.

We also opened facilities on Awaji Island (in Hyogo Prefecture) to hold events aimed at regional revitalisation by creating job opportunities, attracting tourists, and providing an environment within which many people can enjoy its natural beauty.

There are two reasons why this is important. One is that I truly believe the solutions to many societal problems facing Japan can be found in regional areas. These issues are declining birthrates, an aging population in rural areas, employment for single mothers and shortage of daycare centers. I believe that solutions to all those problems can be found in provincial regions.

One of the biggest issues in your industry is the question of non-regular workers, which form a growing segment (over 40%) of Japan’s workforce. Where do you see this going?

First, it is important to distinguish between temp workers and part-time workers. As you say, nearly 40% of the workforce in Japan is non-regular but of that, only about 2% are part-time. There are varying points of view on this question. I believe non-regular and regular workers should receive equal pay and there should be a safety net for all workers. Right now, some non-regular workers do not have that. I would also like to see a system created in which people can do more than one job. For example, if an athlete or musician wants to pursue an additional career track with some other form of work, they should be able to do so. For mothers, it’s important that they have the chance to maintain their career track as well. We need a system in which all those people can survive, matching their individual lifestyles.

But if the economy deteriorates, then the labor market will deteriorate, so it is important for the government to bolster the power of the labor market and provide employment opportunities regardless of age and gender and get rid of any pay disparities. Of course, the government wants more regular employees because that means more tax revenue. Pasona, as an HR company, has an obligation to take care of the employees’ taxes, health insurance, pension, salaries and career plan in general. When you are working part-time, the employer doesn’t take care of that. We do all that.

What other issues need change?

We believe people should have the option of continuing to work beyond the retirement age. There are also many people who have to leave their jobs to take care of elderly family members and when they return to work, their wages are lower and they have fewer benefits, so this has to be redressed.

For women returning to the workforce after having children, there is a difference on what sort of work style fits them depending on the age of their children. For disabled people, part of my lifelong desire has been to improve working conditions for mentally and physically disabled people, whether it be through farming, art, baking, whatever the case may be. They have skills and talents and society should consider them as no different from anyone else.

But what all these issues have in common is a disparity in benefits for all the different types of work styles. Our mission has always been to create fully realised work and lifestyles.

Many of the points you mention are political as well as economic. But the government sometimes moves slowly on reform. Does this ever frustrate you?

Legal reforms follow the people. If people move, the law follows. For 40 years, I have followed my own philosophy, so I’m not frustrated by the government pace on making decisions because we don’t rely on the government. When I founded this company in 1976, there was no such thing as a temporary staffing law but I acted on my beliefs anyway.

However, we need to differentiate what needs to be regulated and what needs to be deregulated. For example, last April, the government passed an act -- Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace. That is good because nothing had been changing. Large financial organizations have been like a boys’ club, so it it’s hard for them to implement different work styles for women, but a law can enable or force them to make those changes.

What’s your view on bringing more foreign workers into Japan?

We are planning to move our HQ to a nearby building later this year and we are planning to establish a center for foreigners who want to create venture business and start-up companies and provide a support platform to help them do so. For 20 years, we have been doing job fairs for foreign students who want to work in Japan. We want to move those initiatives to other regions of Japan.

What is your international presence?

Currently, we have 53 offices in 14 regions and we plan to open more. We have been providing staffing and HR support for Japanese companies that want to expand overseas but we want to support Japanese who want to start new businesses overseas through HR. So we will continue to push toward increased training, collaboration on the student level.

You are very passionate about CSR activities.

As I said earlier, I think CSR activities can provide solutions to many of society’s problems. I wanted to create an NPO at the beginning in 1976 but my father advised me that with an NPO, you can only do so much with donations. However, he said that if you establish a company, you can do more with more resources and that’s what I have done. Since 1976, the point has not been just to provide HR services to companies but to use these new systems of employing people within various fields to provide solutions to society’s problems, whether it has been revitalising agricultural industries, introducing new pension plans and so on.

In the aftermath of the Lehman Shock, over 30% of university students couldn’t find work, so we introduced the “Fresh Career Employee System” to hire graduates who had not landed jobs and prevent a blank space in their resumes. Another example is that at the time I founded Pasona, female university graduates had a lot of trouble finding employment. We provided training services and concierge services.

Since 2003, we have been providing initiatives and training within the agricultural internship program for “freeters," “NEETS,” as well as middle-aged and elderly workers, especially in the agricultural industry.

What’s the purpose of having your HQ in this urban farm?

In 2005, we had an urban farming structure underground in another building and we expanded upon that when we moved here, making it an eco-friendly building. In the new building, we have tentative plans to house animals, a kind of urban ranch. Like our urban farm here, the idea is to increase people’s understanding and appreciation of agriculture and nature — symbiosis with nature. Since we have been here, we have been visited by Prime Minister Abe and former Prime Koizumi who participated in rice-planting festivals on the first floor. We invite children to take part, too.

How often are you here?

Actually, I don’t come here very often. I come for meetings with executives but I spend most of my time in regional areas, like Awaji Island, to work on farming projects.

What is a typical day for you?

My day is typically split into four six-hour periods. One of those is for sleeping. Another is for input, new ideas and plans. The third six hours are for output, speaking to university students, for example. The fourth is my “do-tank” — leisure activities such as salsa dancing, tap dancing, taiko drumming. Last year, for our 40th anniversary concert, I conducted the Pasona orchestra and choir.

What areas of the business are you most hands-on?

I am hands-on concerning creating new business ideas and then delegate them to departments and subsidiary companies.

Where do you want to take Pasona from here?

It’s my dream to have each employee think this is a fun company to work at through new business, enjoyable forms of work and lifestyles. Among employees, we have a variety of different backgrounds and experience. So I want to move Pasona in the direction of a diverse company where people with different ideas, skills and from different backgrounds congregate.

How do you stay so energetic?

Going to the various universities and meeting young people stimulates me and keeps me healthy. I love my job. If I were to reborn, I would want to do the same thing all over again.

For more information, visit www.pasonagroup.co.jp and www.nambuyasuyuki.com.

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