Recruitment and Talent Development Using Applicants to Tsubakiya Coffee Shops

「By conducting orientation for approximately 1,500 new hires annually in a centralized program at headquarters, we work to foster a sense of belonging to the company and share its values. In the newly introduced cast rank advancement system, rank advancement is accompanied by training at headquarters and evaluations by trainers, making it possible to maintain consistent standards even in a small, decentralized organization.」

「Profit was below the previous period due to higher food costs and personnel expenses, as well as increased costs associated with upfront investments in human resources, including strengthened recruitment and personnel development, and expenses related to opening new stores and store repairs. The investments are also producing results: the number of full-time employees and cast members increased to 101.5% and 107.5%, respectively, of the previous period's levels, while average monthly overtime fell to 13.4 hours, or 62.4% of the previous period's level.」

「At the newly established training center in its head office building, the head-office customer service trainers provide induction training for all new cast members.」

「The company has begun various training programs at a new dedicated training facility in its head office building, including training in store operations and basic customer service skills, as well as food-related knowledge and hygiene management. All newly hired employees and part-time workers participate in the program, which is intended to improve service quality and standards among personnel working in the food-service industry.」

「This fiscal year, the company will establish a training and development facility in its head office building, place greater emphasis on education and standard-setting for employees and other personnel, and continue improving the working environment.」

「Amid labor shortages, the company is reviewing its internal systems to establish a policy of raising wages, create a more comfortable working environment, improve work-life balance and enhance employee benefits. The number of part-time workers actually working has increased by more than 20% year on year. As a company focused on full-service dine-in operations, it is training personnel to provide high-quality service after ensuring basic courtesy and proper grooming.」

「The head-office training curriculum, initially introduced at the 椿屋珈琲 Group to improve operational efficiency amid labor shortages, is now being rolled out to other business formats, helping reduce the burden on store employees and shorten long working hours. The company also plans to invest in equipment to enhance the training center's functions for the next fiscal year.」

「The 椿屋珈琲 Group has established a training team for all employees who join the company and is conducting training led by dedicated trainers to improve basic store operations and customer service skills. Going forward, it will equip the training center with facilities equivalent to those in stores, including kitchen equipment, cash registers and ordering systems, in preparation for its full-scale launch.」

「In the fourth quarter, the company is investing in human resource management and stronger governance. It will introduce a human resources system to enable the utilization of personnel in line with human capital management, as well as a survey system to measure employee satisfaction and reflect the results in management.」

「To secure personnel and improve retention, the company plans to establish a development system combining classroom learning at a training center with on-the-job training by trainers at training stores.」

「Given the expected further intensification of competition for personnel, not only within the industry, the company is conducting residential training for approximately 100 full-time employees to improve customer service quality while controlling recruitment advertising and other costs. To improve cast-member retention, it is analyzing the process from recruitment through hiring, development and retention and implementing improvements to the issues identified.」

「Although costs mainly related to recruitment and retention have risen and are lower than in the previous period, the company will continue standardizing and streamlining operations, encouraging employees to take regular and paid leave, and curbing overtime as it promotes work-life balance, thereby optimizing personnel expenses.」

「Although the company is not yet experiencing a severe chronic labor shortage under its strategy of locating stores in prime locations in the Tokyo area, it is also working to secure foreign personnel in the future, in addition to hiring new graduates, as a precaution.」

「Other factors included higher depreciation expenses associated with opening new stores and upfront investments in human resources, including increases in base salaries for employees and hourly wages for part-time workers to address labor shortages. These factors contributed to the results.」

「In addition to strengthening recruitment of cast members as an upfront investment in improving the quality of customer service and securing personnel,」

「At 椿屋珈琲店, the company's flagship brand, applications from cast members have consistently exceeded 10 times the recruitment quota, so the company will work to channel these applicants into recruitment at nearby stores operated under other business formats. It will prioritize instilling courtesy, general common sense and the right attitude for customer service as it develops its people.」