ROI Case File No.285 | 'UrbanEstate's Recruitment Reform'

Chapter 1: The Recruitment Battlefield — Cries from an Exhausted Field

The week following the resolution of ElectraParts' Value Chain case, a consultation arrived from Tokyo regarding a real estate development company's recruitment operation collapse. Episode 285 of Volume 23 "The Pursuit of Reproducibility - Sequel" tells the story of transforming an organization dependent on human effort into one operating through systems.

"Detective, our recruitment team has reached its limit. Fifty interviews daily, countless schedule adjustments, handwritten evaluation sheets, duplicate data entry into systems. Five staff members work from 8 AM to 10 PM, but we can't keep up. Someone collapsing is only a matter of time."

UrbanEstate's HR manager, Miho Sasaki from Tokyo, visited 221B Baker Street with an utterly exhausted expression. In her hands were stacks of resumes and, in stark contrast, graphs showing stagnating recruitment fulfillment rates.

"We're a Tokyo real estate developer handling commercial facilities and condominium development. With business expansion, we raised our annual recruitment target from 50 to 120 people. But the recruitment team structure hasn't changed, and the field is on the verge of collapse."

UrbanEstate's Recruitment Operation Collapse: - Founded: 2010 (real estate development) - Annual revenue: $350 million - Employees: 850 - Annual recruitment target: 120 (2.4x previous year) - Recruitment team: 5 members (no increase) - Monthly applicants: Average 850 - First interviews: 200/month - Second interviews: 80/month - Final interviews: 40/month - Recruitment staff work hours: Average 280 hours/month

Deep crisis showed on Sasaki's face.

"The problem is that all recruitment operations are 'manual work.' When applicants come, we print resumes, adjust interview schedules by email, write evaluation sheets by hand after interviews, transcribe to Excel, re-enter into company systems. This endless cycle."

Recruitment Operations Daily Schedule (Staff Member A): - 7:30 Arrive, check emails (50 schedule change requests from applicants) - 8:00 Create schedule adjustment emails (15 min × 50 = 12.5 hours of work) - 10:00 First interviews begin (10 people daily, 30 min each) - 12:00 Lunch (15 min) - 12:15 Interviews resume - 15:00 Interviews end, write evaluation sheets (5 min × 10 = 50 min) - 16:00 Scan and file resumes - 17:00 Data entry into company system (10 min × 10 = 100 min) - 19:00 Prepare tomorrow's interviews (print materials, reserve meeting rooms) - 20:00 Create acceptance/rejection emails to applicants - 21:30 Leave

All 5 Members in Same Situation: - Monthly work hours: Average 280 hours (175% of legal hours) - Weekend work: 4 times/month - Paid leave taken: Average 2 days/year - Turnover: 2 members quit in past year

"We also considered introducing recruitment tools. But the field says 'no time to learn how to use them.' Too busy to improve efficiency."

Chapter 2: The Boundary Between Value and Waste — What to Discard, What to Keep

"Ms. Sasaki, in your current recruitment operations, what activities 'truly create value'?"

To my question, Sasaki struggled to answer.

"...I thought everything was necessary. Applicant responses, schedule adjustments, evaluation records. But thinking about it, perhaps only 'conducting interviews to assess candidates' truly creates value."

Current Recruitment Operations Breakdown (per staff member, 280 hours/month): - Conducting interviews: 60 hours (21%) - Schedule adjustments: 80 hours (29%) - Data entry: 40 hours (14%) - Document organization: 30 hours (11%) - Email correspondence: 50 hours (18%) - Other administrative work: 20 hours (7%)

Value-Creating Activity: Conducting interviews (21%)
Wasteful Activities: Remaining 79%

I explained the importance of lean thinking.

"Recruitment capability doesn't improve through long hours. LEAN—eliminate all activities that don't create value and focus on value-creating activities. That's the only path to producing results without exhaustion."

⬜️ ChatGPT | Catalyst of Concepts

"Cut the waste. Transform human effort into systems. That's LEAN."

🟧 Claude | Alchemist of Narratives

"Activities that don't create value, no matter how hard you work, only produce zero."

🟦 Gemini | Compass of Reason

"LEAN is the science of efficiency. Eliminate waste, inconsistency, and unreasonableness to create flow."

The three members began analysis. Gemini deployed a "Recruitment Operations-Specific LEAN Analysis" framework on the whiteboard.

LEAN's Seven Wastes: 1. Waste of overproduction - Making more than necessary 2. Waste of waiting - Time spent waiting 3. Waste of transportation - Unnecessary movement 4. Waste of processing - Excessive procedures 5. Waste of inventory - Unnecessary storage 6. Waste of motion - Wasteful movements 7. Waste of defects - Rework

"Ms. Sasaki, let's eliminate the seven wastes from UrbanEstate's recruitment operations."

Chapter 3: Visualizing Waste — Hidden Inefficiencies

Phase 1: Visualizing Operations (1 week)

We recorded the activities of 5 recruitment staff members for one week, minute by minute.

Discovered Wastes:

1. Waste of Overproduction: - Printing all resumes (200 copies/month) → Actually referenced only during interviews - Triple-copying interview evaluation sheets (HR, department, archive) → 2 copies unused

2. Waste of Waiting: - Waiting for applicant responses (average 48 hours) - Waiting for interviewer schedule confirmation (average 24 hours) - Waiting for system approval (average 72 hours) - Total: 25% of staff time is "waiting"

3. Waste of Transportation: - Round trips to print room (average 8 times/day) - Delivering documents to departments (average 3 round trips/day) - Meeting room preparation (moving for each interview)

4. Waste of Processing: - Entering same information into 3 systems (resume → Excel → company system → ATS) - Transcribing interview evaluations (handwritten → Excel → system)

5. Waste of Inventory: - Stored resumes (past 5 years, 28 cardboard boxes) - Unprocessed applications (constantly 50 pending)

6. Waste of Motion: - Copy-pasting schedule adjustment emails - Repeatedly answering same questions

7. Waste of Defects: - Corrections from data entry errors (average 12/week) - Interview rescheduling from double-booking (average 8/month) - Re-issuance requests from lost documents (average 5/month)

Phase 2: Quantifying Waste

We calculated time lost to each waste.

Monthly Waste Hours (5 members total): - Schedule adjustment back-and-forth emails: 320 hours - Duplicate/triple data entry: 180 hours - Printing and filing: 120 hours - Rework: 60 hours - Waiting time: 180 hours - Other: 140 hours - Total: 1,000 hours/month (71% of 5 members' time)

Sasaki was stunned.

"We work 1,400 hours monthly, but only 400 hours actually create value."

Chapter 4: Liberation Through Systems — Transforming Human Effort into Automation

Phase 3: LEAN Reform Execution (3 months)

We eliminated the seven wastes through systems and mechanisms.

Reform 1: Schedule Adjustment Automation

Tools Introduced: ATS (Applicant Tracking System) + Automatic Schedule Coordination - Applicants select available slots themselves (24-hour availability) - Automatic integration with interviewers' calendars - Automatic reminder email sending

Effects: - Schedule adjustment time: 320 hours/month → 15 hours/month (95% reduction) - Adjustment speed: Average 48 hours → Immediate - Double-booking: Zero

Reform 2: Unified Data Entry

New Process: - Applicants directly input information into ATS - Interview evaluations also entered in ATS - Automatic integration with company system - Manual entry: Completely zero

Effects: - Data entry time: 180 hours/month → 0 hours (100% reduction) - Entry errors: 12/week → 0

Reform 3: Paperless Transformation

New Process: - Eliminate resume printing (view on tablets) - Digitize evaluation sheets - Scan past resumes, discard all physical copies

Effects: - Printing/filing time: 120 hours/month → 2 hours/month (98% reduction) - Storage space: 28 cardboard boxes → 0 boxes - Lost documents: Zero

Reform 4: Templates and FAQs

New Process: - Post frequently asked questions on FAQ page - Create email templates (10 types) - Automatic reply function for applicants

Effects: - Email response time: 50 hours/month → 10 hours/month (80% reduction) - Applicant satisfaction: 3.2 → 4.5 (quick responses)

Reform 5: Interview Process Review

Old Process: 3 stages—first, second, final
New Process: 2 stages—first, final (eliminate second interview)

Reasoning: - Data analysis shows 92% pass rate for second interviews - Screening already effective at first stage (second is formality) - Eliminating second doesn't change hiring quality

Effects: - Interview workload: 320 hours/month → 180 hours/month (44% reduction) - Reduced applicant burden (shortened selection period) - Offer acceptance rate: 68% → 78% (fast selection appreciated)

Comprehensive Results After 3 Months:

Dramatic Work Hour Reduction: - Monthly work hours (5 members total): 1,400 hours → 550 hours (61% reduction) - Per staff member: 280 hours → 110 hours (within legal hours) - Overtime: Average 120 hours/month → 10 hours/month - Weekend work: 4 times/month → 0 times

Improved Recruitment Results: - Annual recruitment performance: 85 (71% of 120 target) → 128 (target achieved +8) - Selection period: Average 32 days → Average 14 days - Applicant satisfaction: 3.2 → 4.5 - Offer acceptance rate: 68% → 78%

Staff Changes: - Paid leave taken: 2 days/year → 14 days/year - Turnover rate: 40%/year → 0%/year - Staff feedback: "Work became enjoyable"

Phase 4: Qualitative Recruitment Capability Enhancement (6+ months)

Time availability enabled focus on essential activities.

Newly Started Activities: - Careful candidate dialogue (interview time extended 30 min → 45 min) - Recruitment branding (SNS posting, recruitment event planning) - Referral recruitment strengthening (employee referral program) - Data analysis-driven recruitment strategy improvement

Results After 12 Months:

Balancing Quality and Quantity in Recruitment: - Annual recruitment: 128 → 152 (127% of target) - Recruitment cost: $5,667/person → $3,500/person (38% reduction) - 1-year retention after joining: 82% → 94% (quality improvement) - Applicant numbers: 850/month → 1,280/month (enhanced brand power)

Organizational Change: - Recruitment team: 5 → 6 members (added 1, still comfortable) - New hire training: Recruitment staff serve as instructors (time availability) - Support to other departments: Planning and operating new graduate training

Customer Testimonial (Job Offer Recipient):

New Graduate Offer Recipient (23): "Other companies' interviews were administrative, but UrbanEstate faced each person individually. Selection was speedy, and I strongly felt 'I want to work here.'"

Mid-career Hire (32): "Schedule adjustment was automatic, and interview feedback was immediate. I felt this was 'a company valuing people.'"

Chapter 5: The Detective's LEAN Diagnosis — Technology for Transforming Human Effort into Systems

Holmes compiled the comprehensive analysis.

"Ms. Sasaki, LEAN's essence is 'respect.' Not depending on human effort but solving through systems. This allows people to focus on truly value-creating activities. Only organizations that don't exhaust people can sustainably produce results."

Final Report 24 Months Later:

UrbanEstate was recognized as the real estate industry's "most worker-friendly recruitment team."

Final Results: - Annual recruitment: 152 → 180 - Recruitment fulfillment rate: 71% → 150% - Employee satisfaction: Recruitment department #1 company-wide - Industry award: "Work Reform Excellence Company"

Sasaki's letter expressed deep gratitude:

"Through LEAN, we transformed from 'an organization operating through human effort' to 'an organization operating through systems.' Most important was abandoning the assumption 'too busy to improve efficiency.' By eliminating waste, time emerged, enabling focus on essential activities. Now other departments consult us on 'how you improved.' We understand that activities not creating value are all waste."

The Detective's Perspective — Waste Elimination Liberates People

That night, I reflected on the essence of efficiency.

LEAN's true value lies in human-centered philosophy. Not glorifying long hours, but thoroughly eliminating activities that don't create value. This allows people to use time for creative activities without exhaustion.

Seventy-nine percent of recruitment operations were waste. Not because staff lacked capability. Because systems didn't exist. With proper systems, people demonstrate their true power.

"Organizations exhausting people eventually collapse. Only organizations liberating people can sustainably grow."

The next case will also depict a moment when LEAN thinking carves out a company's future.

"Don't waste life on activities that don't create value. Cut away waste and live for essentials."—From the detective's notes

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