Please tell us about "Hcross," the research institute for corporate HR.

Hcross is a research and support institute dedicated to driving innovation among HR professionals under the mission of "Bringing Brilliance to Working People." While HR departments exist in every organization, our purpose is to support HR professionals in resolving a wide range of challenges and concerns they face. Currently, over 2,000 HR professionals and executives from more than 1,200 companies participate in our network. A defining feature of our community is its diversity, bringing together organizations across all industries and sizes.

We operate across three primary pillars. First is "Knowledge Sharing," where we introduce successful corporate initiatives to participating companies. Although company sizes vary, their challenges are often quite similar. We share case studies hoping they serve as valuable insights for organizational improvement. Second is "Community Management," which provides a space for HR professionals to connect with one another. Through networking events, study sessions, and conferences, we create opportunities for HR peers to exchange business cards and build relationships so they can easily share information whenever needed. Dedicated networking spaces for HR are rare, and it is uncommon for a company to offer a non-commercial platform like Hcross. Third is "Solution Matching," where we introduce vendors that assist HR. For example, we connect companies with HR support vendors with top-rated training providers, excellent talent management systems, and HR policy consultants.

What inspired HIS to launch this business?

The catalyst was the COVID-19 pandemic. With travel demand drying up, we thought, "This is our chance to try something new." Historically, our primary contacts in the corporate sales division were HR and general affairs professionals--handling business travel, employee benefits, and incentive trips. So we asked ourselves how we could offer value beyond travel and help boost the performance of the HR teams who had supported us for so long. Rather than settling for transactional, project-based contacts, we aimed to build deep, ongoing relationships as a true B2B partner. So, with an eye on the future, we started small and took action on what we could do ourselves.
The challenges HR faces will never disappear--if anything, they're growing every day. Even in an AI-driven world, people and organizations will always have complex needs. That's why we see HR support as a service that will never lose its relevance.

With companies facing pressure to adapt to trends like female advancement and mid-to-senior career development, what concerns are you actually hearing from corporate HR departments?

Many HR professionals and business leaders struggle with long-term challenges that go far beyond standard administrative duties. In fact, it is said that 80% of executive concerns revolve around "people." Questions like, "Why can't we execute our decisions effectively?", "Why are employees hesitant to take on new challenges?", "Why is hiring so difficult despite our labor shortages?", and "Why is our turnover so high?" are constant sources of frustration.
On top of that, changing times bring a mountain of evolving issues--rising recruitment costs, talent retention, boosting engagement and compensation, and a shrinking young workforce driven by an aging population. Companies across Japan are facing these exact same hurdles and searching for answers.
When leaders come together to share insights, they gain valuable wisdom on how other companies have overcome the exact same challenges. To drive true innovation rather than just following past precedents, HR must adopt a mindset that isn't afraid of change. Trying a new HR initiative entirely on your own carries high risks. However, if you adapt a proven strategy that another company has already refined through trial and error--or test similar initiatives collaboratively across multiple organizations--you can drastically reduce those risks.
There's a concept known as the "2-6-2 Rule." It's an empirical principle suggesting that any organization naturally consists of three groups: a top 20%, a middle 60%, and a bottom 20%. The top 20% are high-performing, self-motivated individuals who actively seek growth. The middle 60% are average, stability-oriented performers, while the bottom 20% struggle with motivation. HR often gets consumed by addressing the bottom 20% or handling emergency troubleshooting. However, it really should focus on the middle 60%, who could perform much better but freeze when feeling anxious due to prioritizing safety and stability. By engaging and encouraging this majority group, most HR challenges could very well  be resolved. Our goal is to empower HR teams so they can focus their efforts where it matters most.

The HIS Group purpose, "Unleash your feeling," is truly exceptional, and I think it could serve as a valuable guiding principle for almost any organization. At a recent Hcross event, I had a conversation with someone from another company about what matters most to business professionals, and we both arrived at the same conclusion: passion and a sense of excitement. While evaluation systems and corporate structures are important, what truly drives success is the shared desire to create something that gets everyone genuinely excited. An HR department that is gloomy and overly focused on management and control will never lead a company to growth. HR professionals need to be bright, visionary, and forward-looking. I firmly believe that the true role of HR is to foster enthusiasm and build an environment where every employee can thrive and feel alive in their work. Rather than keeping the concept of "unleashing excitement" confined within HIS, we should adopt an open mindset--inviting others with a shared vision of "Let's make work exciting together" and collaborating with a wide variety of companies to bring that spirit to life.

What kind of feedback have you received from participating companies? Could you share if any cross-company collaborations have emerged from active peer-to-peer HR networking?

We have received feedback that simply being able to build connections among members has been a great benefit in itself. Taking it a step further, we frequently receive inquiries such as, "We'd like to learn about a specific case study; could you introduce us to a company that practices it?" or "We want to hear about Company A's initiatives but don't have a contact--could you connect us?" This makes us feel that we are truly fulfilling our role as a hub. Furthermore, interactions between members are now happening naturally even without going through Hcross, leading to active information sharing and mutual support among HR teams.
We are seeing a wide range of initiatives take off--from cross-company office visits and collaborative events to inter-company employee secondments. Seeing organizations that originally had no connection come together to exchange talent and ideas is creating a genuinely powerful impact.

What is your future vision for Hcross, Mr. Fujino?

It is essential to create an environment where each individual can truly shine rather than just forcing people to work. While our travel business delivers memorable experiences to a wide range of customers, our corporate initiative, Hcross, focuses directly on the worker. Even as the population declines, my hope is to build an environment where everyone can work with joy and vitality. Sometimes talented individuals join a company but lack opportunities to fully leverage their abilities. We believe there should be enough mobility to allow such talent to thrive in other companies facing labor shortages. We want to create more spaces where individuals can demonstrate their strengths.
Ideally, everyone would be able to excel at what they enjoy and do best. No company is perfect--every organization has its own strengths and challenges. By leveraging one another's strengths, I hope to help build a society where people can truly shine.