Message from Management

Messages from the CEO and CHRO

After joining Recruit Co., Ltd. straight out of university, I worked mainly in recruiting before setting up the Organizational and Personnel Consulting Office. This experience convinced me that a time was coming when human resources and organizations would be key assets in corporate management, leading to my founding of Link and Motivation in 2000. We have supported the transformation of numerous organizations and individuals since then, and have continued to take a serious approach to human capital. Moreover, we have consistently managed Link and Motivation with a commitment to practicing what we preach so it can serve as a role model for society.
Recently, factors such as the publication of the Ito Report for Human Capital Management and the promotion of human capital information disclosure have been rapidly drawing attention to this subject. As a veteran in the field of organizational and personnel matters, I feel that the times have finally caught up with us, which puts Link and Motivation in a highly advantageous position.
However, I also sense a looming crisis. In 2023, disclosure of human capital information in securities reports became mandatory in Japan, and that has been a major catalyst for companies to adopt human capital management. However, I have witnessed many cases where companies, in their single-minded pursuit of data collection, have, abandoned the essence of human capital management. The most important aspect is to maintain the fundamental goal of improving corporate value by linking business strategy and organizational strategy.

At the most basic level, for an organization to survive, it must both achieve results as an organization and satisfy the desires of the individuals in it. No matter how good the results an organization produces, it will not last if the desires of the individuals in it are not satisfied. Conversely, even if the desires of the individuals in the organization are satisfied, the organization will not last if it does not produce results. Moreover, these two factors can overlap or cancel each other out. To find a balance between them, making the concept of “One for All, All for One” a reality is crucial.
That is why Link and Motivation’s management policy is based on this concept. First, as a prerequisite for our survival and growth, we insist on “Management with Integrity” without the slightest bit of illegality or dishonesty. Building on that, from the viewpoint of “One,” we have set the goal of “Management in Which Every Employee Plays a Leading Role,” and from the viewpoint of “All,” we have set the goal of “Management with Good Reflexes.” As the pace of change accelerates in the business environment, we aim to maximize the value of both the organization and the individuals in it by having each employee take ownership of their work as we adapt flexibly to change as a company.

Link and Motivation defines human capital as the interaction between human resources (individual skills and capabilities) and organizational capabilities (engagement), and we invest aggressively in improving that human capital. Engagement is the key. Our research has shown that engagement has a positive correlation with a company’s operating margin and labor productivity.
However, these are merely key performance indicators (KPIs), not ultimate goals. We believe that placing business strategy and organizational strategy on an equal footing and continuing to link the two will lead to improvement in our corporate value over the medium to long term and the realization of our mission. We emphasize productivity as the indicator for measuring results. More specifically, we have made improvement in human capital ROI and gross profit per employee our key goal indicators (KGIs), and are achieving steady results.

The business environment is changing dramatically. Under these conditions, an increasing number of companies are losing sight of their true essence as they become caught up in the demands and trends of society. If this continues, Japan’s international competitiveness will decline. That is why we must create a virtuous cycle of maximizing both human capital value and customer value to continue to have a positive impact on society. Link and Motivation will continue to support numerous corporate transformations and fulfill its responsibility as a role model for society. Through human capital management, we will shape the future of companies and society together.