Many companies are taking various measures to address the growing labor shortage problem. According to a survey by the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training (JILPT), approximately 60% of companies in the retail and service industries are experiencing a labor shortage of full-time employees and are struggling to cope with the situation.
◆Improvement of operational efficiency through the use of ICT
According to the survey results, the most frequently implemented measure to address labor shortages is “streamlining and automating operations through the use of ICT,” with approximately 75% of companies implementing this measure. In other industries, the introduction of RPA and the implementation of AI-based business support systems are progressing. In the future, it will be necessary to utilize AI and other technologies for simple and routine tasks, and have people focus on high-value-added operations.
◆Human resource development and digital literacy
Improving the skills of existing employees is essential to the success of manpower management. With the increasing digitization of business operations, improving employees’ ICT literacy, and more broadly, their “digital literacy” will directly lead to strengthening the competitiveness of the company.
Digital literacy refers to a wide range of skills and abilities to understand and effectively use digital technologies in general. It includes ICT skills as well as knowledge and skills in information retrieval and evaluation, and privacy and security management.
The company must first clarify the objective of improving digital literacy and share it with all employees to unify awareness within the company. Then, it is necessary to set up a system to share knowledge and expertise on digital skills and to provide education.
◆Creating an environment in which diverse human resources can play an active role
On the other hand, the survey results also indicate that raising wages and diversifying recruitment methods at the time of job offerings and actively promoting the elderly, women, and foreign human resources are also important measures to address labor shortages. The establishment of these systems will be necessary for companies to survive.
