“We used to spend time creating progress reports in Excel, but now we can manage them on the dashboard, which has greatly improved efficiency.” Pasona Singapore Pte. Ltd., Ms. Morimura.
Pasona Group is a leading recruitment and temporary staffing company that operates a wide range of human resource businesses in Japan and overseas. The Singapore branch implemented PORTERS in March 2021 during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic to improve operational efficiency. In this interview, we spoke with Ms. Misaki Morimura of Pasona Singapore Pte. Ltd. about the background of implementing PORTERS and the benefits after implementation.
―First, please tell us about your company.
Pasona Singapore Pte. Ltd. was established as a Singapore subsidiary of Pasona Group. Since then, we have become a comprehensive human resource services company with over 35 years of experience. Pasona Singapore Pte. Ltd. provides recruitment and temporary staffing services covering a wide range of industries and functions, including local staff and multilingual speaking staff such as Japanese and Korean. We also provide solutions for pre- and post-recruitment HR issues, such as support for entering the Singapore market, training, and labor management support. Currently, the group has a total of 58 offices in 14 countries and makes full use of its network of overseas offices to provide a wide range of cross-border projects and recruitment to support overseas business expansion.
-What kind of human resources business are you developing?
Since Krishna Kumari assumed the position of Managing Director, we have been focusing on recruitment. We do recruitment of Japanese-speaking staff as well as local staff, but since we originally started by supporting Japanese companies in their overseas expansion, about 80% of our clients are Japanese companies.
We have also seen many clients facing various challenges in addition to recruitment challenges, so we started to provide not only recruitment assistance but also pre- and post-recruitment assistance. For example, we provide HR outsourcing services such as drafting work rules and employment contracts, advising on benefits, and payroll calculation.
-What makes Pasona Singapore Pte. Ltd unique?
Pasona Singapore Pte. Ltd does not just specialize in recruitment services, but rather offers a wide range of services. If you consult with us at the stage of entry into the market or before hiring, we will have a better understanding of your company and be able to provide you with more support. One of our Japanese clients once told us, “I feel at ease when I consult with your company”. For many of our clients to feel this way, I believe that we need to improve our own knowledge daily.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put many companies in a difficult situation and has had a great impact on their recruitment activities. Under such circumstances, we asked ourselves, “If we were managers in those hiring companies, how would we feel about receiving sales calls like cold calls during this tough time?” and “If we were the client at this time of year, what kind of information would we wish to receive?” Then, we decided that we would send messages of encouragement and useful information to our clients.
We believe that our strength lies in our ability to stand in the clients’ shoes and make proposals on all kinds of issues related to human resources, and we believe that our client can feel comfortable consulting with us.
– What was the reason for implementing PORTERS in March 2021 under the difficult COVID-19 time?
Pasona’s overseas offices, to a certain extent, have mandate over the operations, including decision on what systems to implement. The system we had previously implemented was a Japan-based system, so there were some discrepancies between the system’s expression of functionality and the understanding by the local staff. We were often asked by local staff, “What does this mean? Therefore, although some data was imported into the system, other data was managed separately in many Excel files.
In that situation, we felt that the system was getting old, and the idea of replacing the system in the ASEAN area came up. At that time, we were introduced to a global system, but we decided to implement PORTERS because we wanted to partner with a company that understands Japanese-affiliated companies and is familiar with their recruitment business, and provides a reliable support
For a long time, employees had been working from home due to COVID-19, but the implementation of the system enabled us to visualize the performance of each consultant and establish a system that allows them to work from anywhere. This was another positive aspect of implementing the cloud-based service.
What kind of benefits did you see after implementing PORTERS?
Until the implementation of PORTERS, we had been managing various data in Excel, and each of us had to create and send e-mails. With PORTERS, we were able to standardize our work by using email templates. Also, we used to spend time creating progress reports in Excel, but now we can manage them on the dashboard, which has greatly improved efficiency.
In PORTERS, data is managed centrally, and the progress status of “who has introduced which candidate to this position and at what stage they are at” is visualized for all members, which helps us avoid duplicate introductions and share proposals among consultants. I think this is the biggest benefit of implementing the system.
-You are also utilizing PORTERS IMEX CV-Parsing (CV-Parsing), a resume analysis and data capture by machine learning.
In the past, resumes accumulated in the mailboxes of individual consultants and were not properly databased and utilized. So, using the time saved by eliminating paper documents after the introduction of PORTERS, our Japan Desk assistants are now using the CV-Parsing function which works by dragging and dropping resume files into the database.
This has allowed us to centralize data as a company asset, which previously used to sit in each consultant’s mailbox.
-I heard that in Singapore, you are required to submit reports to the MOM (Ministry of Manpower, Singapore).
Yes, recruitment agencies in Singapore are required to submit a report to MOM once a quarter. The reports need to include various information such as UENs (individual company registration numbers), etc. In the past, our assistants had to manually pull information from various files and input it, which took a lot of time.
After introducing PORTERS, we were able to set up the system to include UEN in the company registration section, to pull up information on candidates and jobs, and to output the dates when the candidate was introduced, and this information is reflected in the report. This setup has greatly reduced the amount of time spent on creating reports to be submitted to MOM.
-Lastly, please tell us about the functions you use most frequently in PORTERS and the functions you would like to see enhanced.
We often use the interface that allows me to see at a glance the number of projects in progress and the number of candidates selected, as well as the reporting function that displays graphs showing the number of jobs, resumes, and selection process phases and how they have changed over time.
We check the dashboard daily to see how we doing, and we also check KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) on a daily and weekly basis. I believe that these progress-related functions are indispensable for management.
A function I would like to see further enhanced is an English-language help page for use by our local staff. We currently have this function, but it would be great if it could be translated into English in a timely manner at the same time as the Japanese-language help pages. Also, if you could share examples of how other companies are using the functions, local staff would feel more familiar with the system and think of it is a useful sourcing tool.― Thank you very much!
Interview date: 2022 July 25th
※The contents (affiliation, job title, etc.) are as of the time of the interview.
Pasona Singapore Pte. Ltd.
1 FINLAYSON GREEN #09-02 SINGAPORE 049246
Pasona Singapore Pte. Ltd. was established as a Singapore subsidiary of Pasona Group more than 35 years ago. It is a leading Japanese-based recruitment firm providing staffing services of Local, Japanese-speaking and other Multilingual talents for various industries. Currently, the group has a total of 58 offices in 14 countries and makes full use of its network of overseas offices to provide a wide range of cross-border projects and recruitment to support overseas business expansion.
PORTERS ATS/CRM is a comprehensive cloud-based Applicant Tracking System for Recruitment Business.
The system greatly supports recruitment business in productivity improvement from small-scale to large-scale business, with high customization.
Porters Corporation was founded in 2001 in Japan, and more than 2,000 companies globally trust our service.
PORTERS ATS/CRM is a comprehensive cloud-based Applicant Tracking System for Recruitment Business.
The system greatly supports recruitment business in productivity improvement from small-scale to large-scale business, with high customization.
Porters Corporation was founded in 2001 in Japan, and more than 2,000 companies globally trust our service.
PORTERS ATS/CRM is a comprehensive cloud-based Applicant Tracking System for Recruitment Business.
The system greatly supports recruitment business in productivity improvement from small-scale to large-scale business, with high customization.
Porters Corporation was founded in 2001 in Japan, and more than 2,000 companies globally trust our service.