Future Business Warehouse

Media that introduces services that provide emotion and convenience to the world that arise from new technology

Technology for business communication
If customs change, so will the way you work

chatwork

It is common sense to start writing work emails with standard greetings such as "I am always indebted to you." Many people follow this, knowing that it's quick to send and receive from the main subject. ChatWork Co., Ltd. is a company that thoroughly rationalizes business communication that everyone takes for granted, such as e-mail, telephone calls, and face-to-face meetings. ChatWork, a business chat service released in 2011, has already been introduced to more than 170,000 companies (as of the end of March 2018), and business communication practices are changing. We asked CEO Toshiyuki Yamamoto, who says, "The Internet is a tool that gives light to everyone," what he envisions for future business communication.

Toshiyuki Yamamoto

――There are many so-called chat services in the world, but what is the reason why "chatwork" is attracting so much attention?

Yamamoto: The function of the service itself is not much different from the others, but I think that providing a service that clearly stated for business in an era when there was no chat for business use in Japan led to the evaluation. I will. At the same time, it seems that the idea since the company was founded to change the way of working itself by using chat, rather than simply providing services, has been accepted.
Since our founding in 2000, we have a policy of not using email for internal communication. Since we are a start-up company, we must thoroughly streamline our work in order to maximize the effect with a small amount of labor. So, using services such as ICQ instant messenger and Microsoft Messenger that existed at that time, everyone was exploring how much productivity would be increased by using chat and how to utilize chat at work. ..
However, since all of them are personal tools, there were security concerns such as being difficult to use at work and making it easy for retired people to take out chat logs. So, around 2009, I proposed to the top Japanese subsidiary of a major chat service that "I should create a service for business", but when I was told that the head office did not intend to do so, I decided to develop it myself. It was.

How to revitalize internal communication and collaboration

――When you actually used chat in-house, you were convinced that you needed a chat service that was specialized for your business.

Yamamoto: From that time to the present, all of our internal communication is via chat. In-house email is basically prohibited. E-mail goes around with the risk of mis-sending, and you will also receive junk e-mail. In addition, it is difficult to trace past messages, and the size of the attached file is also tied up. It's really wasteful to be deprived of time and energy to think about these trivial things.
Of course, if you are an organization that needs to keep email logs as a trail, you can only do such exchanges by email as before. However, in the case of our company, as a result of a strong awareness of how to activate communication and collaboration within the company, chat became the best option.

Toshiyuki Yamamoto

"Chatwork"
A compilation of "awareness" gained in pursuit of efficient business communication

--In 2011, the in-house developed service "ChatWork" was released and has already been adopted by more than 170,000 companies in Japan. What are the impacts and changes this service has had on business communication?

Yamamoto: There are many things that we take for granted in the field of business, things that we don't need to do if we review them carefully, and things that we should change. For example, in the case of email, writing email is not the job, but the purpose is to be able to make decisions and communicate using it. Therefore, it is useless to write a promised phrase such as "I am always indebted to you" that accompanies business emails. Also, even in a meeting, it makes sense for everyone to get together if they plan carefully and kick off the project, but if it is a regular information sharing, video conferencing is more efficient for each other.
The service called ChatWork is the culmination of "awareness" that we have gained by pursuing the efficiency of business communication using IT. I hope that users will use it to change the business habits that everyone took for granted and to make their work styles more efficient and comfortable.

Chatwork in numbers

Of communication
The interface itself has changed, making operations more efficient

――I heard that customers who actually used the product reported a number of moving voices, such as improved productivity.

Yamamoto: One major online advertising company evaluated that the average time spent per person was reduced by 1.26 hours a day when introduced company-wide. Also, I heard from a customer of a tax accountant office that I was able to do only two projects a year, but now I can do two projects a month. E-mailing the exchange of projects in parallel can take a lot of effort and time, but group chat allows you to share information in an instant. This is a good example of a dramatic increase in productivity as a result of changing the communication system.
These examples are the result of turning email into chat, a change in tools. Even if you say "Let's communicate as easily as chatting" to workplaces and customers who usually use e-mail, it is quite courageous to omit the makurakotoba such as "Mr. XX, I am always indebted to you". Doesn't it come out? But on the contrary, if you add such a makurakotoba in chat, it would be strange. In other words, by changing the communication tool called chat, the interface itself will change, and it will be possible to streamline operations.

Chatwork user test

I want to create a society where people who work hard are rewarded

――Finally, please tell us about your future vision for 2030 and beyond.

Yamamoto: Right now, I wish there was a place in Japan to raise and send people like Silicon Valley, so I wanted to create a community in the area of Tanigami in Kobe (http: //: //). news-ja.chatwork.com/2018/03/chatwork1.html) is in progress. When I said that I would do it here in an ordinary place, the locals also responded like "Mr. Yamamoto, what are you doing?" (Laughs). However, it is an easy place to gather from all over the world, as it is 8 minutes by train from Shin-Kobe and can be accessed from Kobe Airport and Kansai Airport.

Tanigami project kick-off

Although it is said that the birthrate is declining, there must be people in various regions and organizations in Japan who still have great abilities and motivation. But if you leave it alone, nothing will start. The goal is to gather such people in Tanigami to cause a "chemical reaction", and even after returning to each region, communicate with each other through group chat and have them launch various projects in various parts of Japan. At the root of my work is the mission of "creating a society where people who work hard will be rewarded", and I would be happy if I could help those people, including this Tanigami project, to embody their efforts and send them out to society. is.

Toshiyuki Yamamoto
Toshiyuki Yamamoto

profile:
ChatWork Co., Ltd.
CEO
Mr. Toshiyuki Yamamoto

Born March 21, 1979 in Neyagawa City, Osaka Prefecture.
In 2000, while studying at Chuo University's Faculty of Commerce, he founded EC studio Co., Ltd., which supports the introduction of IT for SME In 2011, we started cloud-based business chat "Chatwork". In 2012, the company name was changed to ChatWork Co., Ltd. and a US corporation was established in Silicon Valley. He has lived in Silicon Valley himself, and is currently engaged in marketing activities day and night while traveling to and from bases in Japan and overseas.
Based in Tanigami, Kita-ku, Kobe, he is also active as the founder of the "Tanigami Project" that promotes the creation of a community that causes change.

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