Starting with 4 members and now a 50-member organization – A Look Back over the History of PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM
PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED, established in Vietnam as PERSOL CAREER’s first overseas development Base, stared its operations in September 2022.
We recently interviewed Toshikatsu Kikuchi, who leads the this Vietnamese subsidiary as CEO. We asked him about his experiences, his perspective on the current state of the organization, and his vision for the future.
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I want to expand human potential and bring smile to everyone through HR industry
―First, could you tell us about your career history?
After graduating, I got a job at the bank where I handled a wide range of tasks from accounting, sales, new branch development and projects to enhance customer experiences. Later, I switched my career to the game industry. I gained experience in game development direction and management at a Japanese game company and its U.S. office. After that, I experienced management at an entertainment company and joined PERSOL CAREER in 2020.
―What motivated you to transition from the bank to the field of development?
During my time at the bank, I was involved in a project that connected convenience stores and banks through the installation of ATMs. This project marked my first interaction with the development and engineering fields.
As a project manager overseeing everything from contracting to liaising with in-house engineers and implementation, I discovered the excitement of working with many people to push initiatives forward and creating a foundation where each individual can perform comfortably and achieve results.
This experience was relevant in game development and continues to be so now. From there, I felt that I wanted to stay in the field of development, even without a clear career vision, and have been honing my management skills accordingly.
―Why made your decide to join PERSOL CAREER?
Considering my age, I thought it would be challenging to stay at the forefront of development in the game industry. I decided to change jobs when my terms as an officer was about to end, and it was then that an agent introduced me to PERSOL CAREER.
As I grew older and my life stage changed, my desire to work “for the world, and for the people” intensified. I was attracted to the HR industry, which expands human potential and brings smiles.
I was also inspired by the wonderful personality of Mr.Tsuge, who interviewed me and who was in charge of PERSOL CAREER’s IT Department at the time (currently serves as an executive officer and CIO/CDO at PERSOL Holdings), and I was motivated by the feeling that the experience and knowledge that I could gain in the HR industry would be beneficial for my future dream of supporting young people’s oversea expansion, which pushed me to join the company.
―What roles and duties have you experienced at PERSOL CAREER?
As the General Manager of the Technology Division, I promoted organizational development from the aspects of Human Resource development, recruitment, and PR in a rapidly expanding organization. I also gained experience in managing planning organizations and service development projects.
During that time, a decision was made to launch PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM. I was appointed to lead this new development base as the CEO.
―What have you consistently valued while experiencing various roles and tasks?
The philosophy of “Every cloud has a silver lining.” There are bad things in the world, but if you look at them from a different perspective, they can turn out to be good, and vice versa. Since happiness and success, as well as misfortune and failure, cannot be easily judged, I thoroughly consider risks up to 99% so that everything becomes “expected.” Then, I challenge myself with the mindset that “99% of what I think will not happen. Everything will work out”.
By challenging myself, giving my best with the help of others, and experiencing many successful outcomes of “it worked out,” I feel confident to take on the big mission of leading a new organization.
Promoting service development “together” as a member of PERSOL CAREER’s in-house development organization
―Please introduce PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM once again.
PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM is a development base established in Vietnam as part of PERSOL CAREER’s service development.
It is not an external developer like a “subcontractor” or “offshore company”, but one of the in-house development engineer teams, with the mission to promote service development together with the Japanese organization.
―What led up to the establishment of the company?
In Japan, the demand for IT personnel is extremely high, and there is a shortage of engineers. Additionally, PERSOL CAREER had relied on partners for development, resulting in insufficient accumulation of development knowledge and experience internally.
Considering these issues, a new base was established to achieve “Sufficient number of engineers” and “Accumulation of development knowledge” in preparation for the increasingly complex IT landscape.
In Vietnam, with its national focus on developing IT talent, offers the opportunity to have excellent IT personnel join and perform. Additionally, the time difference is only two hours, and many schools offer Japanese classes as a second language, making fast-paced communication possible.
―What projects is PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM currently engaged in, and how is the company structured?
Currently, we are a team of 40 engineers and 5 back-office members, totaling nearly 50 members. Through Bridge Engineers, we communicate with Japanese engineers and are involved in various service development projects provided by PERSOL CAREER, including the individual reskilling service “PERSOL MIRAIZ” and the onboarding support tool “HR Spanner.”
―Over the course of expanding the organization since its launch, what efforts have you made in terms of developing the organization and its culture?
As mentioned earlier, we value the philosophy of engaging in service development as an internal development organization of PERSOL CAREER, not an offshore base. So, I want to develop and manage the organization in a manner as similar as possible to engineer organizations in Japan. I have been setting goals that incorporate the three values of PERSOL CAREER, and engaging in 1-on-1 dialogs.
Additionally, we have created opportunities for everyone to gather once a month to report on projects and share my thoughts, and we have meals together, promoting culture creation through lots of communication.
―Reflecting on the journey of PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM so far, how do you feel about it?
Thanks to the hard work of key people, including Japanese engineers leading the development on-site, the organization has grown from a four-member team to this point, and we have advanced development without facing any major issues.
At this stage, the development team of PERSOL CAREER has been strengthened, enabling additional developments that were previously impossible. By handling development through collaboration between domestic and international teams, we have optimized costs, among other benefits. Moving forward, we aim to create “value beyond expectations.”
―Are there any challenges you perceive at this point?
Regarding organization building, I believe there is still room for consideration.
Although we have progressed with management in a manner similar to Japanese engineering organizations, the current culture in Vietnam does not generally involve long-term employment within a single organization. Therefore, we are working on summarizing values clearly, setting goals, and supporting career path design in line with these values.
However, we have yet to grasp the tangible results of these efforts. I want to further consider how to balance the culture and working styles in Vietnam with the stance as a member of the PERSOL Group.
Aiming to become an organization that supports the growth of PERSOL CAREER and Vietnamese Engineers
―What is your vision for the future?
First, I would like to achieve the goal of “recruiting more than 100 local IT engineers within 3 years,” which we set when launching PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM, creating a state where the organization can do more and wants to do more, accumulating knowledge internally. Therefore, we are committed to building a solid foundation and achieving results in service development.
Additionally, when the engineers eventually leave this organization, we want them to feel that “because I graduated from PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM, I can do this now.” We aim to create an organization where working together remains a cherished memory and supports their growth.
―Lastly, what sort of impact do you hope to have on the PERSOL Group through PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM’s efforts?
First, I aim to fulfill my current role responsibly, leveraging my past experiences, and contribute to expanding the business in various directions domestically and internationally as part of the PERSOL Group.
Currently, PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM is responsible for developing only PERSOL CAREER’s services. However, I feel that we can do more. In the future, we hope to expand our work scope and collaborate with other development teams in Asia, enhancing the overall development capabilities of the PERSOL Group.
―Thank you very much!
Interviewer: Akihiro Ito (A.I. Production); Writer: Haruna Nagata; Photographer: Hitogram LLC
(The information provided is accurate as of August 2024.)
- Toshikatsu Kikuchi
- PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED
General Director - After joining Citibank Japan, Ltd. as a new graduate and gaining experience in sales, he worked as a manager to develop new branches and led ATM connection project in convenience stores. At Konami Digital Entertainment, he directed the development of a soccer manga IP game app and transferred to Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (USA). In the USA, he engaged in the production and management of titles for home consoles like PS3 as a Senior Production Manager.
After returning to Japan, he served as Executive Vice President of a game subsidiary of a digital content company. At PERSOL CAREER, he led organizational development in the Technology Division as a General Manager, concurrently serving as Planning Department Manager. Since September 2022, he has been the local president of PERSOL CAREER TECH STUDIO VIETNAM, PERSOL CAREER’s first overseas development base.
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