Recognizing the Need for the Contributions of International Students During the Critical Phase of Rapid Business Launching Situation

Q.Why did your company decide to take on interns? What did you aim to achieve?

Our company operates multiple businesses with the mission of "Developing vital internet businesses to revitalize Japan in an era of population decline." We also have a base in Singapore and plan to expand our overseas operations in the future.
Currently, the number of our foreign employees is less than 10, but we have plans to increase their proportion by 2030.
The shortage of IT talent is expected to become more serious in the future, and to address this, we have launched a new business, 'Tech Bridge Japan,' to promote Japanese companies' employment of foreign IT talent.
In launching this new business, it was necessary to conduct market research, establish partnerships, and develop business mechanisms both domestically and internationally while advancing the business. There were many tasks that required candidates proficient in English and with a willingness to take on challenges.
Therefore, we welcomed Ms. Alissa, a student from Indonesia. By having her, we thought we would be able to gain flexible thinking and diverse perspectives. We also believed that having her specialized involvement during the critical early stages of the business, where speed is essential, was a significant advantage.

Enhancing Communication through the Utilization of Various Tools in Remote Work

Q.What kind of internship did you run? What difficulties did you face and how did you resolve them?

In our new business, we first launched a recruitment service for foreign IT engineers residing in Japan. We mainly entrusted Ms. Alissa with building a network with foreign IT engineers who are job seekers and conducting information research on companies that are hiring engineers.
Ms. Alissa worked remotely from Indonesia, with a work schedule from 10 AM to 2 PM (our company's official hours are from 10 AM to 7 PM), five days a week on weekdays. We used Slack, our daily internal communication tool, for basic communication.
Additionally, since Ms. Alissa was working remotely from overseas, we kept the team connected via the web conferencing system Google Meet during working hours, so everyone could stay updated on each other’s status.
Regarding the task management, we prepared a task sheet on a shared spreadsheet, linking related files there to ensure smooth workflow management. This method allowed not only the team leader but also the team members to have visibility over what tasks Ms. Alissa had completed and what she was currently working on.

The Success of Hosting Interns Accelerates the Initiative to Actively Recruit Foreign Talent

Q.Comparing before and after the internship, what effects did it have on you, your employees, or your organization?

We are pleased to announce that Ms. Alissa, the intern we had this time, will join our company as a full-time employee starting next fiscal year!
We proposed Ms. Alissa to our HR department and suggested her selection as a candidate that the team strongly desired to hire. After going through interviews with our executives and CEO, her offer has been finalized.
This case has allowed our recruitment team and the new business team that accepted her to adopt a more positive outlook on welcoming foreign nationals. As a company, we had planned to increase the number of foreign employees even before the internship, and since there are already actively contributing foreign employees, many of our employees hold a positive view on hiring foreign nationals.
However, it is significant that, especially within the team that accepted Ms. Alissa, there is now a reinforced sense that "we should look overseas if such talented individuals are available." Until now, we have had very few foreign nationals among our new graduates, but we have begun increasing our interactions with foreign nationals even at the new graduate level. We anticipate making progress in our plan to increase foreign employees.