Interview with Managers "Waku Kangumi Co., Ltd."

Waku Kangumi Co., Ltd. (WAKUWAKU.Inc) was founded in 2013 with the theme of "Exciting things like never before!" Realize your own way of life through "used purchase + renovation" in one-stop from financial planning to real estate purchase, renovation space design, construction, interior proposal, exclusive mortgage, and after-sales service. "I am happy to live in Japan!" Under the theme of "Maximizing Quality of Life (QOL)!", We support the creation of homes tailored to each individual's lifestyle. Furthermore, in order to provide customers nationwide, we have developed the “Renobe Real Estate Nationwide Network,” one of the largest renovation platforms in Japan. From Hokkaido to Okinawa, we are expanding to 170 bases in 38 prefectures nationwide (as of February 2018). Currently, there are 50 employees. About half of them are women. This time, Mr. Tomokazu Kamata, Representative Director, who is blowing a new breeze into the industry, talked about the employment of women and future vision.

I have never been aware of men and women in employment since the foundation. More than 60% of our renovation coordinators are women. In general, the location of the building itself, the number of rooms, the area, and recently the specifications related to functions such as equipment are often said to be a measure of attractiveness, and business tends to become an old-fashioned "selling" . Then, the number of male employees tends to increase due to the need for longer working hours and the accompanying physical toughness. However, in order for the coordinator to hear about the customer's own lifestyle and ideal way of life, to renovate from scratch, and to realize the lifestyle envisioned not only functionality but also spatial design, empathy for customers is required. And the sensitivity of this empathy is still higher for women. As a result, there are many female employees in our company. In the first place, when I was thinking about starting a business, I came across the attractive word "exciting" and decided to "create a company that provides exciting value to our customers." We wanted to expand our business as a Quality of Life (QOL) industry, which opens up a hole in the real estate and housing industry in Japan, where the efficiency of businesses is prioritized, and enhances the quality of people's lives. These thoughts at the time of founding may also be the reason for the composition ratio of employees, which is different from ordinary real estate companies and construction companies.

For example, the coordinator who is currently the most successful is women. By the way, most of our coordinators, including those female employees, are inexperienced in the industry. We dare to hire people from other industries, such as the apparel industry, automotive dealers, and accessory buyers. The reason for this is that we want to create new services and value through our own communication, regardless of the stereotypes of the industry. In addition, women are also active in occupations other than coordinators. Women often take the initiative in building homes, so the design department is pleased with the meticulous attention and ideas from a woman's perspective. We are also working on trial and error, hoping to expand not only where we are active, but also how we work more freely. You don't have to go to the office every day, and I think you can do the work you want to concentrate on at home or at your favorite cafe. In addition, we are not particular about the form of regular employees. In fact, the female employees who are active in the marketing department are part-time employees. I believe that if you are a professional who can manage your own work and produce results, you will be able to work more freely and flexibly.

First of all, the company will be very bright. After all, women have flowers that cannot be demonstrated by men. In addition, I think the recruitment of women will greatly change the awareness of management. Men tend to focus on the vertical relationship between bosses and subordinates, and communication such as "show back" is unique to men. On the other hand, in order to manage women, I think it is necessary to create "convincing" and "empathy". In addition, women clearly tell you what they think, "Good things are good and bad things are bad" (laughs). In that sense, a workplace where there are many women can be said to be a workplace where supervisors can train their management skills. In addition, not only the boss but also our managers can train them. Do they create or manage services that they can sympathize with properly? I think that an environment that is not fooled will strengthen management and the company.

Looking at the company, I would like to enhance our support system tailored to the lifestyles of our employees, regardless of gender. Although there are many young employees in our company, there are still few employees who have life events such as childbirth, but we would like to consider and implement our unique support for each situation that will arise in the future. Incidentally, we have recently created a system called the "39 system" in which employees who take maternity leave receive diapers worth 39,000 yen. We express our gratitude to all our employees. In addition, outside the company, we believe that it is not a real estate business or a construction business, but a QOL industry that provides services that create excitement, so we will continue to disseminate new value not only in homes but also in all areas of lifestyle. That's why I love Yokohama, from an important place. In order to make Japan's life more freely and personally, I would like to create unprecedented excitement, and eventually send it to the world as "WAKUWAKU" from Yokohama, Japan.

The apparel industry since the new graduate. I had a variety of experiences in 10 years, from major companies to launching venture companies, and next time I was working on a job change with the desire to challenge industries different from the apparel industry. When I was introduced to the company by a human resources company, I said, "To be honest, venture companies are already…I decided to join the company because I was attracted by the president's passion for “exciting” and the attitude of “working enthusiastically”. After all, I like a company where I can have fun and do my best (laughs). Currently, as a coordinator, I work with customers every day. Of course, it is important to produce results as a sales business, but the process of creating relationships with customers and completing a home together is the most fun. As a result, I was very confident that I was able to achieve top sales from the first year. Also, the great attraction of this company is our friends. The environment where each person works with passion and goals is comfortable and it is a place that really makes me feel like myself. In the future, I would like to continue growing more with a view to taking on challenges to managers. Finally, for everyone who is thinking about changing jobs. We recommend that you imagine yourself working happily and take a new step. The days of working with excitement and sparkling are substantial.

WAKUWAKU, Inc.
1, Tsuruyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi -1-2INUYAMA.BLDG.1F, 2F
http://wakuwaku0909.co.jp/ (outside site)
Industry: Lifestyle services / real estate sales / real estate brokerage / renovation design / construction / interior / consulting services
Number of employees: 50 people
Female Support System: 39 system / maternity leave system / reduced working hours for childcare / childcare leave system