NEO THAI ASIA sells and supports “desknet’s NEO,” one of Japan’s largest groupware companies, in the ASEAN region.
We spoke with Watanabe, the company’s president and also in charge of recruitment.

Please tell us about the interviews and problems you had within your company before implementing Pandatest.

I found it difficult to build a common understanding with the Thai staff.
When we first started, we had concerns about the retention rate of Thai staff. When we employed around 3-10 Thai staff, there were several cases where Thai staff, such as sales staff, quit after a three-month trial period.

Through that time, as the number of Thai staff who had been working in each department for more than a year increased, I began to feel the importance of creating a common understanding within the company.

For example, I wanted to clarify various standards for work, such as “what an employee should be like” and “definition of work quality,” and make sure everyone understood them.

However, based on my past experience, I could easily imagine how much time it would take to create those standards for staff whose first language is different and for everyone to correctly interpret the standards and increase their understanding.

What were the other solutions and options?

While we were prepared to spend time meeting with everyone to build a common understanding, we were looking for something external that could clarify the standards. Under those circumstances, we learned about PandaTest, which can evaluate “ability as an organizational member” from various perspectives, and became interested in it.

How did the Thai staff react to PandaTest?

First, we explained to the Thai HR manager that we wanted to use PandaTest. After that, the Thai HR manager took the lead in explaining PandaTest to all employees and implementing it. There was no particular resistance, and everyone was able to work on PandaTest smoothly. The Thai HR manager explained that PandaTest would be a good tool for achieving the HR theme and mission set at the beginning of the fiscal year, and they immediately took action to implement it.

In addition, we announce the results of the PandaTest for all staff at a general meeting, providing an opportunity for them to understand themselves and others better. 2-3 days after the Thai HR manager announced to the staff that they should take the test, everyone had completed it, and it seemed like the staff were enjoying taking the PandaTest.

What do you think are the good points of Pandatest?

First of all, we were able to clearly establish a standard for sharing a common understanding. By using an objective yardstick like PandaTest, I feel that the staff can accept the evaluations honestly while feeling the validity of the evaluations.

Also, by using the PandaTest standard and the average values ​​measured by PandaTest, it has become easier to convey my thoughts and feelings to the staff.
I felt that it was not easy to convey my thoughts and feelings accurately to staff of different nationalities and ages, but now, by showing my opinions and the PandaTest data, I think that the staff can understand my message with a sense of conviction. On the other hand, by asking questions such as “These are the results from PandaTest, what do you think?”, I can smoothly find out what the staff really thinks, even if it is difficult to ask directly.

In addition, by using PandaTest as a tool for staff self-understanding and understanding of others, we can further promote smooth communication and teamwork among staff, and I feel that it is also effective in team building. In our company, we feel that using PandaTest within the company is beneficial and effective rather than through interviews.

What are your favorite evaluation criteria on Pandatest?

Since our company places importance on “working in a team,” we often use the evaluation item “Teamwork and Freedom/Flatness,” which is one of the fundamentals of organizational membership.

When we conducted the PandaTest within the company, we found that all team members had relatively high teamwork, and we were able to reaffirm that the points we value within the company matched well with the characteristics of our staff. We also often use the “tendencies and characteristics that make people more likely to quit” shown in each evaluation item as an indicator to catch signs of resignation.

Viecoi Co., Ltd （Director: Anzai Akira）は2024年3月にPandaTestにおいて、日本で働く外国人労働者を対象とした “Work in Japan” （日本で働くうえで必要なスキルを測るカテゴリー）をリリースしたことをお知らせいたします。

増加傾向にある日本の外国人労働者数

（令和6年1月26日）厚生労働省によって発表された外国人雇用状況によると、日本における外国人労働者数（令和5年10月末時点）は過去最高の204万8,675人となりました。このデータは前年と比較すると、22万5,950人（12.4％）の増加であり、日本の外国人労働者数は増加傾向にあることがわかります（図1）。
（図１：在留資格別外国人労働者別の推移）

また在留資格別でデータを見ると、「専門的・技術的分野の在留資格」（59万5,904人）と「技能実習」（41万2,501人）がそれぞれ前年と比較して24.2％と20.2％増え、全体の29.1％と20.1％を占めていました。
さらに国別に比較（図２）すると、ベトナムが最も多く518,364人（前年比12.1％増）となり全体の1/4を占めました。そして中国の39万7,918人（3.1％増）とフィリピンの22万6,846人（10.1％増）と続いています。だが前年からの増加率という観点で分析すると、インドネシア（12万1,507人）が1番大きな増加率となり、56.0％になりました。そしてミャンマー（7万1,188人）とネパール（14万5,587人）がそれぞれ49.9％と23.2％となりインドネシアの後に続くかたちになりました。

（図２：国籍別外国人労働者の割合）

その中で政府はさらに受け入れ体制を整え、今後の外国人労働者増加に向けて備える方針を示しています。
このように日本では外国人労働者数が増加傾向にあり、中でも東南アジア国籍の外国人労働者が現在の割合の大部分を占めながら増加しています。そして「専門的・技術的分野の在留資格」「技能実習」で働いている外国人労働者が比較的多いことが読み取れます。

増加に伴って起こっている課題

増加傾向に対しての政府の前向きな動きと反対に、外国人労働者の増加による課題がまだ企業側で改善できていないことが事実です。
主な課題は、言語の壁によるコミュニケーション不足です。実際この課題は2019年の内閣府が発表した企業の外国人雇用の分析結果において指摘されており、コミュケーションを課題としている企業が約半分をしている結果となりました。このコミュケーション不足と文化や制度の違いが相まって、社内のルールや勤務内容に対しての勘違いが発生しているのです。
また外国人労働者に特化した適性検査がないことや日本語の適性検査による言葉の壁により、正確に適性検査で外国人労働者が理解することが難しいことは課題が顕著になっている原因であることが考えられます。

PandaTest for Work in Japanをリリース

この課題に対してPandatest for Work in Japanでは、その課題を解決できる鍵として使うことができます。
まず現地の送り出し機関が学生募集の際に、適性検査Pandatestを実施します。その際に職種別重要評価スコアをPandatest for Work in Japanに設定することで、対象者の日本で働くスキルをスコア化することが可能になります。また、外国語取得能力など、日本で働くうえで必要になってくるスキルを設定して測ることもできます。

送り出し機関はそれらのスコアを見ながら候補者(技能実習生)の特徴や課題を捉え、日本の企業に伝えることができるようになります。そうすることで候補者(技能実習生)を送り出し機関と日本の企業の両方で深く理解し、最適なコミュニケーション方法を見つけながら教育や業務での指示・声掛けを行うことが可能になります。このように候補者(技能実習生)を理解し、コミュケーションが取りやすくなることが期待され、現状にある課題を解決していくことができます。これが最大の導入の効果です。

今後の展望として、このPandatestを送り出し機関において活用していただき、生徒の募集から育成、そして日本で働いた際のサポートを一貫して行っていける体制をつくることです。そうすることによってコミュニケーション不足による双方の“分からない”という感覚を減らし、このコミュニケーション課題を解決していくことが期待できます。

PandaTestについて

PandaTestは面接では見抜きにくいポイントをデータで可視化する、ベトナム、タイ、インドネシアなどを中心とした東南アジア圏向けのオンライン適性検査です。この適性検査の最大の価値は、従来見落とされていた“組織の中で活躍できるか”を見極めることが可能な点です。
すべての項目にスコア（100点満点）を付けることによる可視化で長所・短所を特定し、面接判断や人材育成を効率的に進めることができます。つまり面接や履歴書では分かりにくい点を可視化することにより、人材見極めと組織のパフォーマンスを向上させることができます。現在（2023年3月末時点）ではすでに4,000人以上の方がPandaTestを受験しており、業種業界問わずさまざまな企業様にご活用いただいております。

GOEN Business Training is the first company in Vietnam to offer a flat-rate, unlimited online training service for middle managers.
The company continues to receive support from Japanese companies in Vietnam for its combination of visualization of the management level of current managers, assessments that allow comparison with other companies, and flat-rate training.
We spoke with Kawamura, the company’s president and also in charge of recruitment.

Please tell us about any problems you had during interviews before introducing Pandatest.

Our company placed importance on interviewing leaders who had high expectations. However, we felt it was difficult to assess them based on resumes and interviews alone.
For example, we had cases where candidates had problems after joining the company, such as pursuing personal gain despite being in a leadership position, and early resignations occurred one after another.
Early resignations have a negative impact on an organization more than I thought. In addition to the time and money spent on interviewing and recruiting candidates, we were most concerned about the negative impact on other staff who were working hard.

Why has solving this problem become such a high priority?

Due to the nature of our business, we aimed to have a small, elite organization. Therefore, in addition to myself as the president, core personnel are key to business development.
Given that premise, if we are not successful in recruiting leadership members who cannot afford to leave early, we will be unable to expand both as an organization and as a business.
As a result, the priority was inevitably raised.

What were the other solutions and options?

Before we introduced Panda Test, we conducted two interviews before the candidate joined the company. During the interview, we asked about the candidate’s past experiences and then used our intuition to judge how well the candidate matched our company.
In addition, we focused on aligning the evaluation criteria with the candidate in advance, as well as on orientation after joining the company.

Why did you decide to improve your assessment at the time of the interview rather than taking other measures?

After all, I realized that it would be too late to do so after joining the company. As I mentioned earlier, our company has around 20 employees, so leaders have a large influence on other employees, both in a good and bad way. Therefore, I felt that early departure after joining the company would have a negative impact on other staff members.
From this perspective, I decided that it was important to make as many assessments as possible before joining the company.

How did you go about building consensus within the company?

To reach a consensus within the company, I clearly explained the cost-effectiveness, especially the two benefits: 1) it functions as a screening tool during interviews (for candidates who seem particularly unsuitable), and 2) using Panda Test increases value (data) and allows us to understand our company’s trends. Ultimately, I, as the company president, made the decision.

What do you think are the good points of Pandatest?

I thought it was great that it not only visualizes aspects that cannot be seen through interviews alone, but also allows for trend analysis by comparing past early leavers, retained employees, and other candidates through accumulated data.
For example, in our company, we have noticed a tendency for candidates who are not highly motivated to grow to not be a good fit. Therefore, we use it as a form of pre-screening, and if a candidate does not meet the criteria before the interview, we will not be a good fit.

What are your favorite evaluation criteria on Pandatest?

I like the comparative analysis section.

What kind of companies do you think Pandatest is recommended for?

It is recommended for companies that need to hire leaders, managers, and other management-level positions, regardless of industry or business type, or for important positions where mismatches are to be avoided.
I personally feel that there is value in accumulating data in particular. For example, you can go into an interview after formulating a hypothesis based on the data. Also, if you have an in-house HR person, it can serve as a basis for discussion about whether or not a candidate has potential.
The appeal of Panda Test is that it can be used in many ways from the perspective of accumulating data.
It is also affordable in terms of cost, so I recommend you start using it as soon as possible!

enish VIETNAM, which develops mobile games for Japan.
How do they use Pandatest to determine the hiring of IT engineers, where the recruitment competition is fierce?
We interviewed Mr. Shibuya, General Director, who is also in charge of recruitment.

Please tell us about any problems you had during the interview before introducing Pandatest

Our company is a Japanese game company, and we have various teams such as development and design.
The organization has more than 50 people, and we conduct interviews every day, but in short interviews with information from CVs and interpreters, we can measure technical aspects, but we often do not know personality aspects, so there were many situations where we were at a loss. .

Even if we think that the candidate is generally good in terms of CV information and interview impressions,
we think that there is no index when there is a sense of incongruity, so I get lost.
As a result, there were times when we thought it would be okay and quit after a short period of time.

Game development is teamwork. In addition to being technically proficient, communication skills are also important.

Regardless of nationality, some engineers are not good at communication skills.
In addition, most Vietnamese people are bright and easy-going, but there are some who want to concentrate on their own tasks, which hinders teamwork.

Please tell us about your impressions when you used Pandatest for the first time

The reason I was interested in it at first was that there were more than 50 people and I had problems with relationships.
The idea was to use it to understand the characteristics of existing staff.

The personality traits that I usually felt while trying it on the existing staff were well reflected in the results.
I thought that I could use this for recruitment selection, so I started using it during interviews.

What effect did it have compared to before using Pandatest?

We operate differently for each team, but in the case of the art team that I’m mainly in charge of, we ask them to take the test before the interview and change the interview questions according to the numbers.
By doing so, I can understand which parts I should pay attention to and dig deeper, making it easier to grasp the personality aspect.

The manager and I are watching the report. By digitizing, the managers became able to express their impressions positively.
We are able to make more correct decisions because we can have discussions centered on common indicators.
For example, even if a candidate is technically good, judging from the trend data so far in terms of personality, I can make a judgment that I am worried.

Also, we have a 1 on 1 once a month, but when the number of people increases, we can’t get involved deeply with each person, so we would like to use it to understand the motivation and worries of existing staff. increase.

Do you have a favorite Pandatest evaluation item?

In particular, we focus on “dialogue skills” and “organizational behavioral characteristics” when hiring.

As I said, teamwork is important in game development, so these two points are especially important. After all, if we look at the existing staff who are not able to demonstrate their performance, this dialogue skill is extremely low.

What kind of companies would you recommend Pandatest for?

Especially in the case of IT companies, IT engineers are scrambled, and there are many choices for candidates.
However, even if the technical match is matched, the person who does not match the character will not last long, so it is recommended for companies that want to understand such people in advance.

Frontier Consulting Vietnam, which handles office design, office relocation, and interior construction layout design in Vietnam.
How is Pandatest being used not only to determine hiring, but also to improve the mindset of the organization?
We interviewed Mr. Yoshikoshi, Branch Director who is also in charge of recruitment.

Please tell us about any problems you had during the interview before introducing Pandatest

In Vietnam, we can’t expect much from the information we can read from a candidate’s resume background. On the other hand, I felt that there were many things that I could not see just by answering the interview questions.

Under these circumstances, I thought that there was a mind gap after employment between the employer and the employee. Due to the high degree of uncertainty at the time of the interview, even those who later felt that they had a low affinity for the company learned how to do things after joining the company, and we have made efforts not to lower the quality of our services.

Especially in our company, we place importance on in terms of occupation.
Whether the person can make continuous efforts to improve the quality of the service provided. I wanted to make sure of this, but there were limits to the traditional oral interview.

In Vietnam, many people think that the company will increase their motivation,
There was a difficult time when 80% of the staff were replaced in two years due to the gap with that our company required.

After using Pandatest, I was able to not only improve the accuracy of my judgment during interviews, but also start reforming the mindset of the organization, and finally, I was able to reduce the misunderstandings between the hiring side and the hiring side.

Please tell us about your impressions when you used Pandatest for the first time

Above all, it is easy to understand that each item is digitized like a blood test for a health checkup.
The sense of incongruity that we felt in the depths of my heart was visualized in numbers.

In addition to the conventional sense of people who are likely to be consciously facing the same direction as the company’s work style, and those who are not, statistical values are accompanied by numbers, and from the perspective of management, workers Easier to analyze psychology.

Of course, there may be some errors between the inspection data and the actual feeling,
but without data, it is not possible to formulate hypotheses for improvement or to properly consider the order of priority for implementation.

What effect did it have compared to before using Pandatest?

We encourage our employees to test themselves once prior to a hiring interview and once upon completion of a probationary period.
Also, even after I was hired, I asked them to take the exam twice a year so that I could observe them from a fixed point.

This is the same as the privacy mark and compliance training, and it is a method to improve the accuracy by repeating and overcoating. By doing this, managers’ scores, which were low a year ago, are now visibly improving.

On the other hand, it is very realistic how the actual scores of those who feel that they are different from the human resources that the company is looking for. Managers can also analyze Pandatest results and have them devise individual guidance methods for teams and subordinates, which also plays a role in raising managerial awareness.

Do you have a favorite Pandatest evaluation item?

There are two Pandatest items that I emphasize when interviewing for a job.
They are ”Self-evaluation consciousness”　and　”Consciousness of disclaimer” .

Regarding to ”Self-evaluation consciousness”, people who do not understand well the fact that they are evaluated by others tend to be dissatisfied and tend to lose their motivation at every turn. After joining the company, troubles with superiors are likely to occur during personnel evaluations, so checking this score can prevent such risks.

People with a low score for ”Consciousness of disclaimer” are always making excuses for their failures and lack the idea of prioritizing the recovery of customers who are actually in trouble. In order to grasp such risks in advance, I first check the two scores.

What kind of companies would you recommend Pandatest for?

I think that it will be useful in a wide range of industries, as it allows us to grasp the and of newly hired staff in advance. If I had to say, I think it would be especially recommended for companies with many sales and technical positions.

In addition to using it like a litmus test, I feel that the ability to analyze aggregated data and apply it to improve employee awareness is a major strength of Pandatest.