Overcoming the challenges posed by successorship of a company using AI & Social Technology such as SLACK & Beat Shuffle

Tokyo, Japan Sep 25, 2023 (Issuewire.com) – Beat Communication Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Ryo Murai) conducted a survey of awareness among 300 men and women aged 22 to 65 across Japan on the internet regarding AI like Chat GPT, social networking services, team communication tools, and the current Japanese government’s efforts towards digital transformation. This will be the 2nd analysis report in English talking about the usage of AI and these themes in Japan in 2023. The 10 questions we asked in the survey are listed at the end.

-Do you currently use any social networks? (Facebook, Instagram, Clubhouse, Enterprise Social Network, Business Chat, Team Communication Tools, Lineworks)

For the above question, we conducted the survey by having respondents choose from three options: ‘use frequently’, ‘use’, and ‘do not use’. As a result, approximately 9% reported they use frequently and about 28% reported currently using, making the total percentage of people who regularly use social networks approximately 37% in Japan. On the other hand, 63% of respondents indicated that they do not use social networking services.

-Have you ever used Team Communication Tools, Enterprise Social Networks, or business chats such as Slack, Beat Shuffle, Google Workspace, Beat Messenger, Chatwork, Workplace, Teams, or Yammer, etc.?

For the above question, we conducted the survey by having respondents choose from three options: ‘have used it’, ‘have used it a little’, and ‘have never used it’. As a result, about 14% reported they ‘have used it’ and approximately 15% reported they ‘have used it a little’, making the total percentage of people in the country who regularly use social networks as business tools just under 30%. On the other hand, approximately 71% of respondents indicated that they ‘have never used it’.

-Recently, there have been growing concerns about labor shortages in Japan. Do you think that enterprise social networks are effective for ‘handovers’ of tasks between parties?

For the above question, we conducted the survey by having respondents choose from three options: ‘think it’s very effective’, ‘think it’s effective’, and ‘do not think it’s effective’. As a result, approximately 8% said they ‘think it’s very effective’ and about 60% said they think it’s effective, bringing the total percentage of people who regularly use social networks to just under 70%. On the other hand, about 32% of respondents said they do not think it’s effective.

-Social Networks Strategy for Solving Handover Issues

According to a report by the Small and Medium Enterprise, almost one-third of aging business owners are forced to close down their businesses as they cannot find successors in Japan. Therefore, the business succession of small and medium-sized enterprises and small-scale businesses is an urgent issue, and the shortage of successors has become a focal point of national policy (Reference 1). Moreover, with the ongoing challenges of the new coronavirus, inflation, and severe labor shortages, small and medium-sized enterprises and small-scale operators are believed to continue facing difficult situations.

In this context, many companies in Japan are advancing the implementation of enterprise social networks, which have become an efficient tool to accumulate knowledge. Social networks enable the collection and analysis of interactions of customer information within the community, gathering information related to similar past business activities. This accumulated knowledge and data support the efficient facilitation of developing successors, transferring tasks between personnel within the company, and promoting mergers and acquisitions between companies.

Even in companies where a sudden handover occurs due to an unexpected shortage of personnel, swift responses are possible as new people join the company or personnel from alliance partner companies are added. This environment, where one can learn instantly from the accumulated knowledge base, has become a platform that significantly enhances the efficiency of training new recruits.

-Integration of AI and Social Technology

Social technology is advancing in the direction of offering and managing knowledge in ways suited to individual needs and abilities by merging with AI. Here are some examples :

• Personalized Knowledge Provision: AI will start to provide similar information based on the data employees are searching and researching within social networks. This will enable individual employees to acquire the necessary knowledge efficiently and smoothly.

• AI-driven Knowledge Management: AI manages and organizes the complex flow of data and information efficiently. This allows employees to quickly access important information in chronological order.

• Predictive Knowledge Analysis through AI: With the introduction of social technology and advanced AI techniques, companies can forecast future market trends and industry movements, designing education and training programs accordingly.

• Effective Successor Development: Using enterprise social networks, AI designs and manages successor development programs that are suited to the learners’ pace of learning, enabling employees taking over new roles to undergo training smoothly and effectively.

These advancements will assist companies in maximizing the utilization of internal knowledge and minimizing the risks caused by labor shortages. In the future, the integration of AI and enterprise social networks will be the key to building a robust knowledge base that allows companies to respond quickly and effectively.

Survey Target: Random participants through the Internet. In this survey, to obtain more accurate information, questioning multiple professions was conducted.

Respondent Professions: Company employees (full-time, contract, temporary), executives and officers, self-employed, freelancers, doctors and medical personnel, full-time homemakers, part-time workers, and temporary staff in Japan.

Number of Valid Responses: 300 responses (300 individuals aged between 22 and 65, inclusive)

Survey Period: August 18 to 20, 2023

Number of Questions: 10

Questions of the survey:

Q1: Do you think current Japanese digital policy is sufficient?

Q2: Besides TV, do you refer to social networks such as Youtube, X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Threads, etc. as sources of information?

Q3: Do you believe that Japan’s digital policies, IT structural transition, and digital transformation could be important factors in recovering the Japanese economy in the future?

Q4: In the war in Ukraine, IT technologies have become a foundation of daily life. Do you think that IT infrastructures such as enterprise social networks, which were also used for remote and teleworking, are effective tools for business continuity in the event of a major earthquake or other emergencies?

Q5: Have you ever used Chat GPT or image-generated AI such as “Leonardo.Ai” “Midjourney” and “Stable Diffusion”?

Q6: Do you think generative AI will take away workers’ jobs in the next decade?

Q7: Do you currently use any social networks? (Facebook, Instagram, Clubhouse, internal social networks, business chat, team communication tools, LINEWORKS)

Q8: Have you ever used team communication tools, enterprise social networks, or business chats such as Slack, Beat Shuffle, Google Workspace, Beat Messenger, Chatwork, Workplace, Teams, Yammer, etc.?

Q9: Recently, there have been growing concerns about labor shortages in Japan. Do you think that enterprise social networks are effective for ‘handovers’ work tasks between parties?

Q10: Do you think that companies should introduce remote work tools as a digital transformation for potential outbreaks of new pandemics, major earthquakes, wars, or other emergencies in the future?

Survey Conducted by: Freeasy

Survey Title: “AI like Chat GPT, social networking services, team communication tools, and the current Japanese government’s efforts towards digital transformation.”

Reference 1: 2023 Edition, White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises/White Paper on Small-Scale Enterprises, Overview Proposal, April 4, 2023, Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (URL: https://www.chusho.meti.go.jp/koukai/shingikai/soukai/036/dl/001.pdf)

About Beat Communication:

Spun off from the social graph research at Keio University, Beat Communication is the world pioneer that introduced enterprise social networks to the world for the first time in 2004.

In 2008, they also became the first in Japan to offer corporate CO2 emissions reduction solutions under the name ‘Eco Style,’ which was recognized as an outstanding case in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s campaign to combat global warming. Beat Communication developed and implemented ‘Eco-Volun’ at OMRON Corporation as a mechanism for reducing CO2 emissions. A global event involving all employees of their domestic and international group companies (38 countries, approximately 35,000 people) was organized, focusing on environmental protection and volunteer activities. In 2009, their enterprise social network ‘Nexti,’ which was introduced to NTT DATA, received the IT Management Innovation Award at the 26th IT Awards. In 2012, they published ‘The Little Heroes Who Supported 3.11: Japan’s Recovery and Future as Indicated by the Social Revolution,’ a book outlining strategies to rebuild Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake from a technological perspective.”

Beat Shuffle Enterprise Social Solution (Japanese)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQc0kY3pxDQ&t=107s