Climate City Cosmetics Sales and Small Beauty Salon Businesses in the Spotlight
Employees Meet Twice a Year to Set Management Goals and Salaries
Low Turnover Rate, Women- and Child-Friendly... Many Ideas Generated
A Japanese company that decides salaries through meetings involving all employees twice a year is gaining attention.
On the 24th, Asahi Digital (online edition) introduced a company called "Econowa," located in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. This small business sells natural dye products such as henna and operates a henna specialty beauty salon. The company holds meetings twice a year, in March and October, where all employees participate to set management goals and determine salaries. During these meetings, the half-year profit and loss statement and balance sheet are disclosed, and sales and profit targets for the next half-year are established. Based on this, the total labor cost is calculated, and decisions are made on how to distribute it.
In an industry notorious for high turnover rates, Econowa has a low turnover rate, with 8 out of 10 beauticians remaining since the company's founding. The founder of this company is Chairperson Kaori Muto. After graduating from a vocational school, she worked at a large travel agency and then as a manager of a beauty salon run by her mother. The business boomed after introducing natural henna dye from India, leading her to take over the business. During this process, all employees from her mother's era left the store, and 10 new beauticians were hired. At that time, when it was essentially a small shop, there was no concept of personnel management. As the company grew and beauticians increasingly demanded salary raises, the so-called salary meetings were established.
Chairperson Muto said, "Although it is still a trial and error process, what has definitely changed is the employees' mindset," adding, "Various ideas to increase sales and profits have poured in, and some employees voluntarily engage in social media activities." She especially emphasized, "My goal is ‘Zero Directive Management,’" and said, "We are conducting experiments not to work amid complaints but to make both customers and employees happy and joyful."
In the case of the henna specialty beauty salon (Tsuki to Kaze, meaning Moon and Wind in Korean), recruitment announcements promote that ▲there is no store manager, ▲business hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and ▲they are closed every Sunday and Monday, stating that "salary, bonuses, and promotions are thought out and decided by the team members." Econowa’s case received the Gold Award, the top prize in the 10 to 30 employees category, among over 1,000 applicants at the ‘Working People First Award 2023,’ jointly hosted by Asahi Shimbun and the former job support service company Midas.
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