Bet on Passion
At Recruit Group, the source of our value creation is our people. We believe encouraging our diverse group of talented and passionate employees to pursue their curiosity to the fullest extent, engage in friendly competition, and collaborate on new ideas will lead to results that exceed our expectations. Everything we've accomplished is the result of curious individuals asking, "Why is this way of doing things so inconvenient?" and, "What if we made this possible?" Recruit management bets on ideas that are born out of curiosity, backed up by data and facts, and transformed into unbridled passion.
Ayano"Sena"Senaha CSO, CHRO, CRO, Managing Corporate Executive Officer, and Director of the Board
This idea that Recruit will always "Bet on Passion" is at the core of our values statement. It is reflected in our various talent development systems and has been passed down to our employees as part of our organizational culture. We each want to provide opportunities for our passionate subordinates in the same way our superiors did for us.
When I look back on my own experience, for example, I was able to grow because there was always someone who bet on me: There was the boss who took a gamble on a 20-something-year-old with little relevant experience or skills and gave me a position at a newly acquired subsidiary in London. There was the CEO of that subsidiary, my new boss, who appointed me as his successor a year later even though I had never held a management position. I was tasked with saving the company from falling into the red. The fact that my superiors trusted me to do so drove me to rise to the occasion. I was desperate and lacked experience and skills, so I scrambled to find people who could do the things I couldn't do. I ended up building a team of diverse talents where each of us had strengths that balanced out others' weaknesses, and we were able to maximize our results.
That type of experience exemplifies Recruit Group's unique approach to acquisitions. Today, it is common for the management of a newly acquired company to ask me what to do. They are prepared to take orders from the new boss and parent company. But I answer, "You know better than me, please tell me what you think is best." It's important to share goals and mark boundaries at the beginning, but everything else is up to them as long as they don't stray out of bounds. They have the experience and know what it takes for their business to be successful. If we try to control everything, we are only doing ourselves a disservice. This is how "Respect for the Individual - Bet on Passion" becomes a winning strategy and philosophy.
In recent years, Recruit Group has accumulated a significant number of new stakeholders. To do our best by them, we must continue to evolve and provide more value to society, but we don't have a magic wand to make this happen in an instant. The driving force behind our value creation is still our people. The best thing we can do is create more opportunities for our employees to listen to their curiosity and explore their passions. We know they will learn by making mistakes, so we must encourage them to swing even if they miss the first time.