その19  黒瀬直宏・訪問記（2023年2月)/
Part 19 : Visit by Kurose Naohiro (February 2023)

株式会社佐藤製作所/ SATO WORKS  Co., Ltd.


"人への思いを込めた経営"
"Management with thoughtfulness for people" 


https://sato-ss.co.jp/

１．経営の特徴

技術と市場

     佐藤製作所は手作業の銀ロウ付け、はんだ付けによる接合技術を軸とした真鍮・銅・アルミ・ステンレス・チタンなどの金属の加工を行っている。以前は、売上の80~90％を占める大口顧客向けに、アンテナなど無線通信関係の製品に関する加工が主だったが、近年では、新規顧客を開拓、医療機器やオーディオ部品など、特定の業種・業界に囚われない幅広いジャンルの部品・製品の加工を行うようになった。年によって違うが、一品ものが30~50%を占める多品種少量生産で、顧客製品の試作段階から量産初期段階まで関わり、本格的な量産段階になると手が離れる。図面支給による加工が大部分だが、付加価値の高い設計提案による仕事も行っている。

     ロウ付け業界でライバルと目される会社は少ない。その中で当社の競争力は、第一に、様々な高難度の銀ロウ付け加工によって蓄えた技術やノウハウである。これを活かし、熟練者でも難しいアルミ、タングステンのロウ付け、大物のロウ付け、超精密ロウ付け、セラミックのロウ付けなど、他社で敬遠されがちな依頼に挑戦している。

     第二が多様な加工能力で、ロウ付け以外にも板金加工、機械加工、金属パイプ曲げ、棒曲げ、3次元曲げ、先端つぶし加工、各種溶接など多様な金属加工を行う。さらに、メッキ、塗装といった表面処理加工を行う企業との連携もあるため、完成品までの一貫加工が可能である。

受注窓口としてホームページが大きな役割を果たしており、他社が断った仕事の相談がホームページに入ってくる。既成の仕事に安住することなく、新しい仕事へのトライを心掛けている。中には赤字になることもあるが、新たなノウハウを得るための投資と、ポジティブに考えている。

1. Management features

Technology and market

Sato Works processes metals such as brass, copper, aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium, centered on manual silver brazing and soldering technology. In the past, they mainly processed products related to wireless communication such as antennas for large customers, which account for 80 to 90% of their sales. They have started to process parts and products in a wide range of genres that are not bound by industry. Depending on the year, one item accounts for 30 to 50% of high-mix low-volume production, and the company is involved in customer products from the prototype stage to the initial stage of mass production, but they are not involved in the full-scale mass production stage. Most of the processing is based on supplied drawings, but they also work on design proposals with high added value.

There are few companies that are regarded as rivals in the brazing industry. Among them, the company is competitive, first of all, in the technology and know-how that they have accumulated through various highly difficult silver brazing processes. Taking this advantage, they are challenging for requests that other companies tend to avoid, such as aluminum and tungsten brazing, large-scale brazing, ultra-precision brazing, and ceramic brazing, which are difficult even for experts.

The second is a wide variety of processing capabilities. In addition to brazing, they perform various metal processing such as sheet metal processing, machining, metal pipe bending, bar bending, three-dimensional bending, tip crushing, and various types of welding. In addition, since they have cooperating companies that perform surface treatment processing such as plating and painting, it is possible for them to perform integrated processing up to the finished product.

The website plays a major role as a window for receiving orders, and consultations for jobs that other companies have refused come to the website. They try new jobs without being satisfied with existing jobs. Some of them turn to be in the red, but they take it positively as an investment to acquire new know-how.

創業からの経緯

     佐藤製作所は、佐藤修哉常務（1986年生まれ、37歳）の祖母の父が自宅の一室で「けとばし」（フットプレス）と呼ばれるプレス器を用いて創業、祖母が手伝う家内工業だった。婿養子の祖父が引き継ぎ、1958年に法人化した。祖父は営業に長けており、現在まで続く大口顧客の開拓に成功、高度成長による顧客の成長と共に当社も売上を伸ばした。その後、佐藤修哉氏（以下佐藤氏）の父母、叔父も経営に参加した（現在佐藤氏を含め親族6名）。2004年ころから大口顧客の業績悪化と共に当社の業績も悪化したが、この時には佐藤氏の父（現社長）が社長に就任していた。

     佐藤氏はIT企業で金融システムのエンジニアを務めたのち、2014年に28歳で平社員として入社、現在は常務取締役だが21年4月より「プレ社長」としてすべての意思決定のトップに立っている。

     入社当時の佐藤製作所の社員平均年齢は60歳近くで、佐藤氏が飛びぬけの若手、業績は悪化し、社内の雰囲気は極めて悪かった。同社のホームページには佐藤氏による「三代目日記」がアップロードされている。それによると、社内では休憩中に雑談が交わされることもなく、会話というものが不在の企業だった。佐藤氏が社員とランチを共にすることもなく、忘年会も親族だけの参加で、佐藤氏の話し相手といえば客や協力会社だった。社員との会話があっても出てくるのは社員相互間の不平不満、責任のなすりつけ合い、社長や専務（叔父）への悪口だった。社員は一番言いやすい佐藤氏にはけ口を求めた。なんでこんなことになるのか、今では業績の悪化で昇給も賞与もなく、社員による提案も受け入れない経営体制が人間関係を悪化させたと考えているが、当時はさっぱりわからず、社長や専務への激しい悪口に反論する材料もなく、黙って聞くしかなかった。

     入社前は、少ない人数の家族経営で一体感を持って、ワイワイやりながら、良い仕事をしていくというイメージを持っていた。小さい頃から知っている会社であり、頑張って会社の力になるぞとの期待と緊張で一杯だった。それだけに毎日悪口を聞くしかない状況は悲しく、精神的にこたえた。

このままでは数年で倒産するのは目に見えていた。しかし、社内には経営革新にリーダーシップをとる人材はなく、自分がやるしかないという気持ちで、以下に述べるように経営の立て直しに向かった。

とは言え、絶望的な気分に押され、体調を崩した際に母親に辞めると言ったこともあるが、「あなたが辞めたら会社は終わっちゃうからダメ！」と言われて戻った。これがなかったら本当に辞めていた可能性が高かった。

History from founding

Sato Works was founded by the father of the grandmother of MD Sato Shuya (born in 1986, 37 years old.)  His grandmother was helping her family business based on the use of a press machine called "ketobashi" (foot press), in a room of her house. Then, Mr. Sato's grandfather, son-in-law of the founder, took over and incorporated in 1958. His grandfather was good at sales, and succeeded in developing large customers that continue to this day. After that, Mr. Sato Shuya's parents and uncle also participated in the management (currently there are 6 relatives including Mr. Sato). From around 2004, along with the worsening business performance of major customers, their business performance also deteriorated, but at this time Mr. Sato's father (current president) was appointed president.

After working as a financial system engineer at an IT company, Mr. Sato joined the company as a regular employee in 2014 at the age of 28. While serving currently as the managing director, he is at the forefront of decision-making of the company as the "would-be president" since April 2021.

At the time of joining the company, the average age of employees at Sato Works was nearly 60, and Mr. Sato was by far the youngest. On the company's website, Mr. Sato's "Sandaime Nikki (Diary of the third generation)" is uploaded. According to the diary, there was no chatting during breaks in the company, and it was a company where conversation was absent. Mr. Sato never had lunch with his employees, and the end-of-year party was attended only by his relatives. The only people Mr. Sato talked to were customers and cooperating companies. When he had conversations with employees, it was grievances between employees, blaming each other, and cursing the president and senior managing director (uncle). Employees sought an outlet from Mr. Sato, who was the easiest to talk to. Why did this happen? Now, he thinks that it was due to the management system, which did not allow salary raises or bonuses due to deteriorating business performance, and they did not accept proposals from employees, resulted in worsening human relationships. 

However, at the time, he couldn't understand anything at all, and he didn't have anything to say to the president and senior managing director, so he had no choice but to just listen silently.

Before joining the company, he had an image of doing good work while working with a sense of unity as a family business with a small number of people. It was a company he knew since he was little, and he was full of expectations and nervousness that he would do his best to help the company. That's why he was so sad that he couldn't help but hear swearing every day, and he was emotionally disturbed.

If things went on like this, they would go bankrupt in a few years. However, there was no one in the company who could take the leadership in management innovation, and with the feeling that he had no choice but to do it himself, he went to rebuild the management as described below.

Having said that, he once told his mother that he would quit the company when he became ill due to a feeling of hopelessness. However, his mother told him, "If you quit, the company will be over, so no!" Without his mother's words, there was a good chance he would have really quit.


経営の立て直しへ

まずは収益の改善に注力した。佐藤製作所は日本の中小製造業によく見られる、特定顧客に売上の80~90%を依存する下請企業だった。この経営体質を2000年代になっても引きずっていたようで、営業活動は一切やらず、先述のとおり、主要顧客の業績悪化で当社の業績も悪化、佐藤氏が入社したころは10年連続の赤字だった。そこで、入社した年、新規顧客を開拓するため、ホームページを抜本的に作り直した。従来は単なる企業紹介の域を出ていなかったが、技術に焦点を合わせ、自社の強みを打ち出し、問い合わせ窓口も設けた。現在のホームページには「佐藤製作所最大の強みは『ロウ付けの技術力』です。他社でお断りされてしまった案件、加工難度が高い案件、品質要求が高い案件など」とのアピールが載り、ロウ付けに関する詳しい技術解説も行われている。大口顧客への売上比率は年々低下し、現在20%になったが、これにはホームページ改革が大きく寄与している。

佐藤氏は、既存顧客への売上も増やすため、地道に訪問を重ね、顧客ニーズの把握に努めた。発注先として知り合いの紹介もお願いした。顧客との対話から、従来認識していた強み・弱みは顧客の認識と違うことが分かり、営業の方針構築に役立った。企業としての強みの把握は、後述のインターンシップ・新卒者募集の際のアピールポイントの明確化にもつながった。

利益率改善のため、既存の仕事一件ごとにコストを見直し、価格の改訂もお願いした。佐藤氏は、顧客が価格改定に応じてくれたのは、当社が特別、顧客に価値があったからではない。客が体当たりで来る自分の圧力を感じたためではないか。入社したばかりの若手のため、「頑張ってね！」との励ましもあっただろう、と言う。

以上の結果、2年目の2015年に収支トントンとなり、3年目に黒字転換した。売り上げは16年から毎年10%上昇し、現在の年商は約2億円である。但し、以上の取り組みには社内からの抵抗があった。新規の仕事に対しては、その必要はない、今の社内でやれることをやればよいというベテランからの反発があった。

赤字であるのにこのような声が出るのは、仕事を拡大しても、昇給もボーナスもない会社が変わる期待ができなかったからだ。社員は自分の企業を見限っていた。コストの見直しに関しても、それまでやったことがなかったために、ベテラン社員から嫌がられた。佐藤氏は製造現場の整理整頓のため、深夜、誰もいないのを見て作業机の片づけを少しずつ行った。ベテランは大きく変えると怒るからだ。経営改善はこのような逆風の中で遂行された。

　経営改善の努力と同時に重要なのが組織体質の革新だった。


Rebuilding management

He focused first on improving profitability. Sato Works was a subcontractor that relied on a specific customer for 80-90% of its sales, a common case among SMEs in Japan. Sato Works seems to have continued this management style even in the 2000s, and they did not do any sales activities as mentioned above, so, their business performance deteriorated due to bad business performance of the main customers. It was the 10th consecutive year of losses when Mr. Sato joined the company. So, in the year he joined, he radically redesigned the website in order to develop new customers. In the past, it was just a simple introduction of the company, but with a new focus on their technology, the company's strengths were set out, and a contact point for inquiries was also set up. The current website has an appeal saying, “We can handle works rejected by other companies, works that are extremely difficult to process, and those that require high quality," and provides a detailed technical explanation of brazing. The ratio of sales to major customers has been declining year by year, and is currently at 20%, and the website reform has contributed greatly to this.

In order to increase sales to existing customers, Mr. Sato made steady visits and worked to understand customer needs. He also asked to introduce an acquaintance as a place to place an order. Through dialogue with customers, he learned that the strengths and weaknesses that he had previously recognized were different from the perceptions of customers, which was useful in establishing sales policies. Grasping the company's strengths has also led to the clarification of appeal points for internships and recruitment of new graduates as described later.

To improve margins, he reviewed the cost of each existing job and requested a price revision. Mr. Sato says that the reason why the customers accepted the price revision was not because his company was special to the customers, but perhaps because customers felt the pressure of a young man who had just joined the company, and encouraged him to "do your best!"

As a result of the above, the company's income and expenses were balanced in the second year of 2015, and it turned profitable in the third year. Sales have increased by 10% every year since 2016, and the current annual turnover is about 200 million yen. However, there was resistance from within the company to these efforts. There was resistance from veterans who said that there was no need to take on new jobs and that they should just do what they could do within the company.

Why such voices were being raised even though the company was in the red because, even if they expanded their work, they couldn’t expect the company to change without pay raises or bonuses. Employees gave up on their own companies. The cost review was also disliked by veteran employees because it had never been done before. In order to keep the manufacturing site tidy, Mr. Sato gradually cleared the work desks late at night when no one was there. This was because veterans got angry when they found big changes. Management improvement was carried out in the midst of such headwinds.

In addition to efforts to improve management, it was also important to reform the organizational structure.

２．労働に対するマネジメントの特徴

新卒採用、インターンシップ

入社した佐藤氏が直面したのが、上記のとおり、若手は自分ひとりという社員の高齢化と毎日がつらくなるような劣悪な人間関係だった。人の士気を下げるような高圧的な発言、社員同士での不平・不満、陰での人の悪口、客の前での社内の悪口など、いるだけで気分が悪くなった。人材の若返りと組織体質革新を推進したのが新卒の採用だった。

佐藤製作所では中途採用と離職が繰り返されてきた。中小企業では人材は定着しないもので、「やめられたら交換」が当たり前と思われていた。佐藤氏も入社後、ハローワークを通じて中途採用したが、しばらくは円満に働いてくれたが、罵声を残してやめるという痛い目を繰り返した。そこで、人材採用は新卒採用に限定した。有料求人サイトは使うつもりはなかった。赤字でその費用はないし、サイト上での競争になったら、赤字で３Kの同社が勝てるわけはなかった。

入社早々、工業系の高専に出向き、インターンシップを募集した。アピールのポイントは行う企業が少なくなっていたロウ付けにおいた。何人かが興味を持ち、応募してくれ、15年、新卒第1号となる都立高専卒の女性1名の入社につながった。

インターンシップだけでなく、すぐできるものとして、特に会社近辺の学校に焦点を合わせ、学校指定の求人票をダウンロードして送った。学生は自宅近くの企業を好むからだ。これらにより新卒応募者数は増加し、「三代目日記」（2020年10月26日）によると「選考が追い付かないレベルで応募者があり、正直に言って選考するのが心苦しい。会社の規模感に対して予想の数十倍の応募が集まっている」とされている。結果、17年1名（男）、19年2名（男女）、20年1名（女）、21年2名（男女）、22年1名（男）、23年（予定）2名（女）、と新卒者の入社が続いている。出身学校も22年から美術系へも広がった。新卒者に絞った人材獲得は成功した。

2. Characteristics of labor management

New graduate recruitment, internship

After joining the company, Mr. Sato faced, as mentioned above, the aging of the employees, as he was the only young employee, and the poor interpersonal relationships that made everyday life difficult. High-handed remarks that lower people's morale, complaints and dissatisfaction among employees, swearing at people behind their backs, and swearing in the company in front of customers made him feel sick just by being there. Recruitment of new graduates promoted the rejuvenation of human resources and the reform of the organizational structure.

At Sato Works, mid-career hires and turnovers have been repeated. In SMEs, human resources do not stay in place, and it was thought that "replacement when quitting" was the norm. After joining the company, Mr. Sato also hired employee mid-career through Hello Work (an employment agency). The hired employee worked harmoniously for a while, but ended up leaving the company with an abusive voice, and Mr. Sato repeated such bitter experiences. Therefore, he limited to recruiting only new graduates. He had no intention of using a paid job site. The loss-making company couldn't bear the cost, and if competing with other companies for recruitment, there was no way that the loss-making 3D (Dirty, Dangerous and Demeaning) company could win.

Immediately after joining the company, he went to an industrial technical college and recruited applicants for internship. The point of appeal was brazing, which was becoming less common. Several people took an interest and applied, and in 2015, the first new graduate, a woman who graduated from a metropolitan college of technology, joined the company. In addition to internships, he specifically focused on schools near the company and sent out job postings designated by the schools, as students prefer companies near their homes. As a result, the number of applicants for new graduates has increased, and according to "Sandaime Diary" (26 October 2020), "There were applicants at a level that the selection cannot keep up with, dozens of times more applications than expected for the size of the company.”

As a result, 1 person (male) in 2017, 2 persons (male and female) in 2019, 1 person (female) in 2020, 2 persons (male and female) in 2021, 1 person (male) in 2022, 2 persons (planned) in 2023 (women), and new graduates continue to join the company. From 2022, also expanded to art schools. Recruitment of new graduates was successful.



女性採用

注目すべきは、15年以降の新卒採用者10名のうち6名が女性であることである。女性の採用は意識して行った。女性の入社で雰囲気が良くなること、金属加工の企業には少ない女性社員が多くなることにより佐藤製作所のイメージが確立すること、管理系や広報関係の仕事は女性の方が能力を発揮してくれること、工業系の高専にも女性はおり、同社の売りであるロウ付けに興味を持つ女性は必ずいるはずという期待からである。

期待は当たった。女性が入社し活躍してくれた。佐藤氏はホームページ中の「佐藤製作所の取組」の中で、具体的に以下の点をあげている。

そして、社内が明るくなり、コミュニケーションが増えたこと、皆がサポートするので助け合う文化が創られたこと、もあげている。女性社員の活躍ぶりがわかる。同社は、令和3年度東京都女性活躍推進大賞を受賞した。


Hiring women

It should be noted that 6 out of 10 new graduates hired since 2015 were women. He consciously recruited women. He expected that the atmosphere of the company will improve with women joining the company, by increasing the number of female employees, which is rare in metal processing companies, the image of Sato Works will be established, women will demonstrate their abilities more in administrative and public relations jobs, as there are female students in industrial technical colleges, there must be women who are interested in brazing, which is the company's selling point.

His expectations were correct. A woman joined the company and was immediately active. He mentions the following specific points in the "Efforts of Sato Works" on his website.

He also mentions that the company has become brighter, communication has increased, and that a culture of helping each other has been created because everyone supports each other. You can see the success of female employees. The company received the 2021 Tokyo Women's Empowerment Promotion Award.

強かった抵抗、変わったベテラン社員

しかし、社内には新卒採用に対する強い抵抗があった。ベテランたちは「ロウ付けのような仕事に興味を持つ者はいないから来るわけがない。未経験の入社1年目の者にできるわけがなく、やめる。女性に作業させるなどふざけている」と思っていた。「来ない」「できない」「やめる」、だから新卒者募集は意味ないということだ。

だが、現実は違った。新入社員はまじめに、一生懸命に仕事をし、成果もあげた。佐藤氏はこのことを本当に幸運だったという。これを見てベテランが変わり始めた。頼まれたわけでもないのに技術指導をする場を設け始めた。ベテランに笑顔も戻った。佐藤氏もうれしかった。人はこんなにも変わるものだと思った。

佐藤氏は、人は口で言っても絶対変わらないと言う。それで何度も心が折れた。目に見える結果を出さなくてはだめだ。「来ない」と言っていた人が来た。「できない」とされていた仕事ができた。「やめる」はずの者がやめなかった。ベテランがこの現実を見て変わったのは、おそらく失われていた労働の誇りを取り戻したからだろう。若手が自分と同じ仕事に集中し、技術の習得に喜びを感じている。その事実がベテランに自分の労働の価値を再認識させ、人としての自信もつけたのに違いない。

社内の雰囲気は変わった。誰とも話さなかったベテランが、今は別人かと思うくらいにみんなと話をしている。若い社員同士で軽く食事にいったり、ベテランと若手が混ざって女子ランチをしたり、それを見た男性社員が男子会をしようと言い出した。かつての佐藤製作所では、天地がひっくり返ってもあり得ないことだった。

Strong resistance, but veteran employees changed

However, there was strong resistance within the company to hiring new graduates. The veterans thought that  "Nobody is interested in a job like brazing, so there's no reason to come here. There is no way an inexperienced first-year employee can do it, so he/she will quit. It's just kidding around making women work." "They won't come" "They can't do" "They will quit." So recruiting new graduates is meaningless.

However, the reality was different. The new employees worked hard diligently, and produced good results. Mr. Sato said that he was really lucky. Seeing this, the veteran began to change. Even though they were not asked to do so, they began to set up places to give technical guidance. The smile returned to the veterans. Mr. Sato was also happy. He thought people could change so much. 

Mr. Sato says that words never change people. It broke his heart many times. People don't move unless they see tangible results. A person who said "I won't come" came. A person who had a job that was said to be "impossible" was able to do it. A person who was supposed to "quit" did not quit. The veterans changed after seeing the reality, probably because they regained the pride of their labor that had been lost. Young workers concentrate on the same work as veteran workers and enjoy learning new techniques. This fact must have made the veterans reaffirm the value of their own labor and boosted their self-confidence as human beings.

The atmosphere inside the company has changed. The veterans who never talked to anyone are now talking to everyone so much that people wonder they are the same people they used to be. Young employees went out for a light meal together, veteran employees and young employees mixed together for a women's lunch. Such a thing would have been impossible at the former Sato Works even if heaven and earth were turned upside down.


好循環の形成

新卒採用の柱となっているインターンシップは5日間のプログラム、初日は月曜日で午前中に開かれる全従業員参加の全体会議にインターン生も参加する。午後は佐藤氏が会社説明を行う。次の3日間はメイン業務であるロウ付けなど金属加工を経験する。最終日は管理業務や検品を経験し、懇親会で終了する。

最初のうちは佐藤氏がすべてを企画したが、今は学校に出かけての募集だけで、仕事でどのような経験をしてもらうかなど、教育内容の企画はインターンシップを経験した若手社員が行う。インターンシップを経験した者がインターンシップを企画・実施するという好循環が生まれている。

インターンシップの目的も当初は「採用」だったが、今では担当者が楽しんでくれているかどうか、担当者は成長したか、会社の雰囲気や空気が明るくなったか、コミュニケーションが増えたか、ということも重要と考えている。

Formation of a virtuous cycle

The internship, which is a pillar of new graduate recruitment, is a five-day program, and the interns also participate in the general meeting held on the morning of the first day, Monday, with all employees participating. In the afternoon, Mr. Sato gives an overview of the company. Over the next three days, the interns experience metal processing such as brazing, which is the company's main business. On the last day, they experience management work and product inspection, and end with a social gathering.

In the beginning, Mr. Sato planned all the programs, but now he just goes to schools and recruit interns. Young employees who have undergone internships plan educational content, such as what kind of experience they will have at work. A virtuous cycle has been created in which those who have experienced internships plan and implement internships.

At first, the purpose of internships was "recruitment", but now he thinks it important whether the person in charge is enjoying the program themselves, whether the person in charge has grown, whether the atmosphere of the company has become brighter, and whether communication has increased.

人への思い

社内で新卒・女性の採用、インターンシップの開始への抵抗は強かった。それにもかかわらず、佐藤氏が遂行できたのは、それが企業発展のための単なる経営政策ではなく、人生観に基づくからだと思われる。

佐藤氏は「僕の喜びは良い人間関係をつくるたびに生まれる。」（「三代目日記」2021年6月25日）。「好きな人と一緒に居る時間が人生で最も幸せなことであり、それを人生の真ん中に置き、それは微動だにしない。仕事も人生の一部だから仕事でも好きな人と時間を共有したいと強く思っている」（同2022年9月28日）。他の人もそう考えているはずであり、「儲かって給料が高くて有名な大きい会社になったとしても、各々が孤独であれば幸せではないと本気で考えている」（同前）と言う。

なぜ、このような人生観を持つことになったのか。入社の頃の居るだけで気分が悪くなるつらい人間関係を経験したからだ。これが原体験となって組織や人材のあり方を考えるようになった。人材には、他社ができない新たなことに挑戦すること、複数の加工技術の習得を望んでいるが、そのようなスキルだけでなく、組織を良い雰囲気にし、企業をチームとしての組織力を高めることを望んでいる。お互いに良き関係を求めあう人で企業を構成したいということだろう。

佐藤氏にとって求人は善き人生を送るための仲間づくりである。「新卒社員は、全て僕が1人で見つけて、採用まで行っている。入社後の研修と配属、仕事の割り振りなども僕が行っている。この仕事は他の人には任せられない。なぜなら、その人の良いところを最もよく知っているのが僕だから。そして、仲間選びが人生の豊かさに直結する非常に重要なことだから」（「三代目日記」2021年2月20日）と言う。

Thoughtfulness for people

There was strong resistance within the company to hiring new graduates and women and starting internships. In spite of this, Mr. Sato was able to carry out the plan because it was based on his view of life, rather than mere management policy for corporate development.

Mr. Sato says, “My joy is born every time I create a good relationship.” (“Sandaime Diary” 25 June 2021), “The happiest time in my life is when I am with the person I love.

I put that in the center of my life and do not move even the slightest bit. Work is part of my life, so I want to share time with the person I love. I strongly believe that" (28 September 2022), I'm sure other people think so too, "Even if you become a large, well-known and profitable company with high salaries, if you are all alone, you will not be happy." (Same as above)

Why did he have such a view of life? This is because when he joined the company, he experienced a painful relationship that made him feel sick just by being there. This experience was the starting point for him to think about how organizations and human resources should be. He wants the company's human resources to take on new challenges that other companies cannot, and to acquire multiple processing techniques. But more than just those skills, he hopes to create a good atmosphere in the organization and make the company more organized as a team. He may want to form a company with people who seek good relationships with each other.

For Mr. Sato, recruiting is about making friends to lead a good life. He says, “I find and hire all new graduates by myself. I also handle training, assignments, and job assignments after joining the company. I can’t leave this job to others. Because I'm the one who knows the best about that person, and choosing friends is a very important thing that is directly connected to the richness of life.” (“Sandaime Diary” 20 February 2021)

自律性の尊重

採用した新卒者の離職は出産を機に退職した1名を除けばゼロである。若手社員に様々な仕事をしてもらうという方針があるので、特定の社員に業務が偏ることがない。そのため、残業をせずにすみ、終業時刻30分後の18時にはほとんどの社員が退社している。有給休暇も申請すればスムーズに取得できる。上司から言われているのは、「休む前日に周囲に声を掛けて」くらいだという。東横線学芸大学駅から徒歩数分という立地も働く者にとって好条件である。

また、かつてならば考えられないくらいに改善した人間関係も、離職を遠ざけているに違いない。

以上と共に重要なのが、人としての自律性を尊重するマネジメントである。佐藤製作所では毎週月曜日の午前中に全社員が参加する

「全体会議」を行っている。目的は「社内で起きたあらゆる問題を全員で共有し、原因究明と再発防止を考える」こと、始めて5年になる。人は情報を共有すれば、自分で考え自分で行動できる。ある時の「全体会議」で若手の女性社員が、自分が直接関わる案件ではない問題について、自ら手を挙げ、再発防止策を提案した。その提案内容が素晴らしく、担当者も賛同し、皆で同意、再発防止策として決定した。女性社員は指示されて課題を解決したのではなく、自分の問題として自らの意思で課題への対応を考えた。その他にも、インターンシップでの教育内容の企画・実施、新人研修の内容についての提案、広報誌月刊「銀ろうたより」の制作・発行、75歳の最ベテランを「一人前モデル」とする技術習得への自主的努力など、自ら目的を設定する若手の自律性に満ちた行動が現れている。

佐藤氏は、若手からの提案には基本的に「GO」を出すことにしている。失敗が分かっていてもやらせる。やらせたら途中で口出しは絶対しない。失敗したら一緒に改善していく。上司にも若手の提案を尊重するように言い続けている。何よりもいけないのは若手が発言しなくなることだ。やる前に拒絶したら提案さえしなくなる。

人は生得的な欲求として自分が自分の主人でありたいという自律性への欲求を持っており、それが満たされるのは報酬である。また、その成果が周囲から評価されれば、有能感という報酬も得る。人は経済的報酬のためだけでなく精神的報酬も求めており、それが得られる「働きがい」のある職場は人を引き付ける。

人が人との関係性を求めるのも生得的欲求である。よき関係性には各人が自律的で、真の自分に基づき行動していることが不可欠で、人の間に統制的な関係があれば、良き人間関係の生れようがない。佐藤製作所の人間関係の改善にも、自律性尊重のマネジメントが寄与しているに違いない。

Respect for autonomy

The number of newly hired new graduates leaving the company is zero, except for one person who resigned after giving birth. There is a policy of having young employees do various jobs, so there is no bias in the work of a specific employee. As a result, they do not have to work overtime, and most of the employees leave the office at 18:00, 30 minutes after the closing time. If they apply for paid leave, they can get it smoothly. Their superiors only tell them to "call out to the people around them on the day before they take a leave." The location of the company, which is just a few minutes' walk from Gakugeidaigaku Station on the Toyoko Line, is also a favorable condition for workers.

In addition, the unimaginable improvement in human relations must also keep them away from leaving their jobs.

Together with the above, management that respects human autonomy is also important. Every Monday morning, Sato Works holds a general meeting in which all employees participate. The purpose is to "share all the problems that occur in the company with everyone, investigate the cause and think about preventing recurrence", and it has been five years since it started. By sharing information, people can think and act for themselves. One time, at a general meeting, a young female employee raised her hand and proposed measures to prevent a recurrence of a problem that she was not directly involved with. The content of the proposal was excellent, and the person in charge also agreed, and everyone agreed and decided as a recurrence prevention measure. The female employees did not solve the problem by being instructed to do so, but thought about how to deal with the problem on their own initiative. Also, we can see the self-directed behavior of young people who set their own goals by planning and implementation of educational content for internships, proposals for new employee training content, production and publication of the monthly public relations magazine "Brazing News", and voluntary efforts to acquire skills from the 75-year-old best veteran as a "professional model."

Mr. Sato basically makes it a rule to give “GO” to proposals from young people. Let them do it even if he knows they will fail. Once he let them do it, he never intervenes in the middle. If they fail, he improves together. He keeps telling their bosses to respect the suggestions of younger people. The worst thing is that young people stop speaking. Young people won't even propose if their superiors reject them before they do.

People have an innate desire for autonomy to be their own master, and fulfillment of that desire is a reward. Also, if their achievements are appreciated by those around them, they will be rewarded with a sense of competence. People seek not only economic rewards but also emotional rewards, and a rewarding workplace that provides such rewards attracts people.

It is also an innate desire for people to seek relationships with other people. Good relationships require that each person be autonomous and act according to their true selves. If there is a controlling relationship between people, there can be no good relationships. Management that respects autonomy must have contributed to the improvement of human relations at Sato Works.

まとめと課題

企業経営者は市場の住人であり、競争に生き残るには貨幣的価値を追求する「資本の人格化」としてふるまわざるをえない。一方、人ならば誰もが持つ、自律的でありたい、よき関係性を得たいなどの欲求に基づく社会の住人でもある。佐藤氏の行動はこの後者の側面が強く表れており、「良き仲間を得たい」という極めて人間的な思いに立つ、人への思いの強い経営と言える。

佐藤氏は、最近、佐藤製作所が全てうまくいっている順風満帆な会社だと思われる事があるが、経営者も組織も未熟で課題は盛りだくさんだという。同社にはまだ成文化された経営理念や体系化された経営計画が見られないのも未熟の一つと思われる。従業員20人以下の企業だから、佐藤氏の言動から社内に経営理念が伝わっていると考えられる。経営計画も毎週開かれる全体会議の積み重ねによって代替されていると思われる。しかし、従業員規模が今以上に大きくなれば、理念や計画の「見える化」が必要となるだろう。各種経営管理の制度化も緒についたばかりのようだ。経営の制度化を社員の主体的な活動によって推進し、社員がこの制度は自分たちのものだと言えるものを構築することが求められているように思われる。


※※※[Video]※※※

 

銀ロウ付けとは/What is silver brazing?

https://youtu.be/OFas1yHIal8

 

銀ロウ付け体験教室/Silver brazing experience class

https://youtu.be/55aO8WoRmNA

 

銀ロウ付け工場? 佐藤製作所とは？/Silver brazing factory? What is SATO Works？

2022年3月8日/8 March 2022

https://youtu.be/UjAdkzbh-r8

 

テレビ朝日「東京サイト」で放送/TV Asahi

男性職人の世界で女性起用　抵抗も…意識改革で黒字に！　東京・目黒区金属加工企業

Women in the world of male craftsmen, resistance to hiring women... Profitability through mindset reform!

2022年3月15日/ 15 March  2022

https://youtu.be/0mxAStoxbgA

Summary and challenges

Corporate managers are inhabitants of the market, and in order to survive in competition, they have no choice but to act as the "personification of capital" that pursues monetary value. On the other hand, they are also residents of a society based on desires that everyone has, such as wanting to be autonomous and wanting to have good relationships. This latter aspect is strongly reflected in Mr. Sato's actions, and it can be said that his management is based on a very human feeling of "wanting to make good friends," and is strongly thoughtful about people.

Mr. Sato says that recently, Sato Works seems to be a smooth sailing company where everything is going well, but he thinks, the management and organization are inexperienced and there are many problems. The fact that the company has yet to see a codified management philosophy or systematized management plan seems to be one of its immaturity factors. Since it is a company with less than 20 employees, it is thought that Mr. Sato's words and deeds convey the company's management philosophy. It seems that the management plan is also replaced by the accumulation of weekly general meetings. However, if the number of employees grows larger than it is now, it will be necessary to "visualize" the company's philosophy and plans. It also seems that the institutionalization of various business management has just begun. It will be necessary for them to promote the institutionalization of management through the independent activities of employees, and to build something that employees can say that this system belongs to them.



2022年最終出勤日/Last working day in 2022

2023年４月28日新入社員歓迎会　/　Welcome dinner for new employees in fy2023 on 28 April 2023