2024-01-03 22:23:47
Shiseido is committed to transforming communication methods for nearly 9,000 beauty professionals across the country. In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Shiseido’s founding in October 2022, the name Beauty Consultant (BC), which handles customer service and support in stores in Japan, has been changed to “Personal Beauty Partner (PBP)”. This represented an evolution from the former “Consultants who communicate methods to achieve beauty as beauty leaders” to “Partners who work together with clients to achieve their ideal beauty”. At the same time, in line with the medium to long-term strategy “WIN 2023 and Beyond” launched in 2021, the communication infrastructure used by PBPs has been renewed to accelerate digital transformation and quickly respond to the changing market environment. Shiseido has adopted the Microsoft 365 F Plan license, aimed at frontline workers. All PBPs were given individual email addresses and, by using Microsoft Teams for chat and online meetings, were empowered to have quick communications with all employees when needed. We asked Shiseido regarding the objectives of this transformation in communication and the results achieved so far.
Microsoft 365 F Plan adopted to develop an enterprise-wide shared communication tool for beauty professionals
In 1872, Shiseido was founded as Japan’s first private Western pharmacy in Ginza, Tokyo. Today, the company has expanded its skin care, makeup, fragrance and other cosmetics businesses to approximately 120 countries and regions around the world. Shiseido provides opportunities for people to experience happiness through its core beauty business in its efforts to achieve the corporate mission of “BEAUTY INNOVATIONS FOR A BETTER WORLD.”
Shiseido creates new value with its unique brand and business, but the closest presence the company has with customers are local beauty innovation leaders, PBPs. With the 150th anniversary of Shiseido’s founding, the company announced the change of the name Beauty Consultant (BC), which handles customer support and service in stores in Japan, to “Personal Beauty Partner (PBP)”. This represented an evolution from the former “Consultants who communicate methods to achieve beauty as beauty leaders” to “Partners who work together with clients to achieve their ideal beauty”.
In detail, the names of the BCs were changed to “Personal Beauty Partner (PBP)” in October 2022. The team has evolved into a position of partners who work with clients to create “personal beauty” for each client, meeting the needs of customers who are changing and diversifying quickly. Often, reform efforts like this go hand in hand with reforming the consciousness and culture of managers on the ground. Therefore, Shiseido also decided to renew the infrastructure of communication tools for PBPs. We had a conversation with Hiroko Katagiri from the Digital Platform Department, IT Headquarters, Shiseido Interactive Beauty.
“Our goal was to improve business productivity and cost efficiency, along with revitalizing organizational culture using the power of IT and digitalization. Shiseido has been moving forward with its company-wide efforts to achieve a new style of work. Up to this point, there was no shared company-wide communication tool for PBPs, and communication was done through a designated chat tool. Additionally, there was a need to use multiple applications for each job classification, which was often a hindrance to fast business execution. There was a congestion of tools by environment and job classification, so our goal was to simplify things and improve business execution” (Ms. Katagiri).
Microsoft 365 was selected for this role. Since Shiseido adopted company-wide remote work in February 2020, the additional use of Microsoft 365 has been promoted as a company-wide shared tool that can be used securely from home. Furlough (Plan F) for frontline workers has been incorporated for PBPs, and Microsoft 365 has been adopted as a company-wide communication tool.
PBPs were dealing with five to ten applications installed on the “B-TAB” tablet
PBPs use a tablet device (iPad) called a “B-TAB” for customer consultation and business systems use. Although Shiseido distributed a total of 25,000 units of company-supplied devices to each department, such as computers (Windows PCs) and smartphones (iPhones), of these, the B-TAB made up more than half, with 13,000 units being distributed (to approximately 9,000 PBPs, store front devices and for staff who come into contact with PBPs). Task-appointed applications were installed in the B-TAB, and there was a need for PBPs to perform their job functions by juggling these different applications.
“Each job classification had different applications to use, such as chat tools, note-taking functions, and special folders for saving promotional materials or questionnaires. The team had a minimum of five applications, and some even had to deal with ten applications. Additionally, the team did not have individual email addresses, and used different products for chat tools for people like department managers. For this reason, PBPs were unable to communicate directly with managers or report quickly through online meetings in times of difficulty. Additionally, there was also the issue of PBPs not having a way to directly contact other departments, such as marketing, research, and human resources, which have deep ties to the front-of-store businesses led by PBPs. Shiseido values our customers’ opinions, and it is important that all departments can share customers’ ever-changing opinions as quickly as possible” (Ms. Katagiri).
“Our themes when selecting communication tools were to “simplify (Simple)” the use of these multiple tools, “shorten, speed up (Short)” the multi-layered and congested communication system, and “streamline, in a direct way (Straight)” communication between the company’s departments and the PBPs, which are the closest relationship with customers. Microsoft 365 Plan F met all of these requirements and offered the same capabilities as the enterprise-wide communications tool, Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 Plan F was also a product that might be deployed in a large-scale environment in a efficient and economical. Teppei Takahashi, Manager of Digital Platform Department, IT Headquarters, commented on this.
“With Microsoft 365 Plan F, we can use Microsoft Teams (“Teams”) to replace all necessary applications installed within B-TAB. Additionally, this provides a secure access environment and identity verification using multi-factor authentication by providing each PBP with an email address. Authentication infrastructure can be integrated behind the scenes, and new business applications can be developed by linking to Microsoft products such as Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Power Apps (“Power Apps”). This was the smartest solution to the many problems we have had for many years” (Mr. Takahashi).
Teams made online chats and meetings possible, and Outlook made email communication possible
The project began by incorporating three applications offered by Microsoft 365. The applications were Teams for online meetings and as a chat tool, Microsoft Outlook for direct email communication with other departments, and Microsoft Authenticator, a multi-factor authentication application for communication safe.
We started introducing these apps in May 2022, but we were concerned regarding our reluctance to embrace the change from old, familiar tools to new ones. For example, B-TAB had been used for more than five years. The team was familiar with many of the apps we were using, especially those for chats. We anticipated there would be more instances of user confusion and decreased productivity when using Teams.
“Especially because chat tools were used daily, many were well versed in them, so I was concerned regarding whether the transition to Teams would be successful. Additionally, the conventional chat tool had functions that were not available in Teams, so I was concerned that this would make incorporating Teams difficult” (Mr. Takahashi).
For functions such as group chat, bulletin boards, notes, and folders used in the conventional chat tool, they decided to use the Microsoft Forms (“Forms”) questionnaire tool offered by Microsoft 365, and the low-code tool/ no-code Power Apps to create a system with the same functions but more convenient than before.
“We replaced group chat with the shared functions of Teams groups and teams. This allowed for more detailed configurations. The Teams Wiki functions and Microsoft 365 files functions weren’t enough to replace the old tool’s conventional notes and folders functions, so we used the Microsoft Power Platform and developed new functions to create a system that can be used in the same way than the conventional tool. What makes Microsoft 365 so attractive is its ability to leverage other Microsoft solutions to supplement missing features or new needs that the standard version doesn’t have, which significantly improves a system. Furthermore, a big benefit is that we can ask suppliers to develop additional elements, but we can also develop functions ourselves at minimal cost” (Mr. Takahashi).
“Microsoft 365, with all additional features developed, was scheduled to be rolled out to all PBPs by the end of 2022. As the rollout actually began, it is said that any confusion or opposition was rare and instead, many received warmly welcome new communication methods.
Making the introduction of new tools personal within the efforts made for happy customers
Here are some reactions regarding the adoption of Microsoft 365:
“This calling function is very convenient! Is it really possible to use it freely? (PBP)”, “After Teams was incorporated into B-TAB, I can hold seminars and meetings in stores anywhere! Not having time to travel is wonderful! (Professional beauty leader)”, “Now that I can see sales hours and beauty leaders and know when they are coming to stores, I no longer need to make unnecessary contacts, which is very convenient! (Professional beauty leader)”, “There are no limitations for online meetings! I mightn’t secure one-on-one time with PBPs despite being a leader… Now I can have one-on-one sessions with everyone in half the time! (Professional beauty leader).”
The following comments were received from branch managers and sales representatives:
“Before, we mightn’t speak directly to PBPs and store managers unless we went into stores, but now we can communicate face to face on a daily basis, which I’m very grateful for… (Branch Manager)”, “Usually, I needed one hour to create documents to share sales performances with PBPs. Now, I no longer need to create PDFs!! (Sales representative)”.
The reason the incorporation of this new communication tool went so smoothly was the close on-site communication with the cooperation of the business planning and beauty strategy departments on the Japanese business side, along with detailed support to promote the use of the system . Having an easy-to-understand manual was one of the concrete measures taken.
“I created a manual in Microsoft PowerPoint under the concept of ‘No need to read, just look’. The manual was accessible at any time with just a click on the B-TAB. I reduced the number of letters by 85% to create a ‘One Slide, One Action’ manual that provided necessary information in three screen taps. The manual was created in-house so that it might be updated immediately with input from those working on site, and was completed following more than 100 revisions” (Ms. Katagiri).
The manual was very well received, and one professional beauty member commented that “having a setup manual that requires no reading is wonderful. Team members who are not good with IT tools were also able to do initial setup. Settings took no more than five minutes.”
Along with support through the manual, Shiseido is also committed to sending clear messages within and outside the company. In doing so, the company stated that it accepted the differences between the ways of thinking in various positions within Shiseido’s departments, offices, PBPs, customers and suppliers, and paid attention to increasing empathy.
“For example, we made efforts to talk to each department to deliberate on the benefits of incorporating Microsoft 365 and plans for business improvements, along with ideal and dream scenarios, according to each position and business mission. Through direct video messaging, we had senior members of the Japanese commercial and beauty departments, along with managers, convey the objectives, goals and results of these initiatives in a way linked to Shiseido’s strategies. By making the new communication tools a personal matter and understanding what efforts are needed to make customers happy, the use of the system gained speed” (Ms. Katagiri).
We want this communication reform to result in an innovation in beauty
With the rollout of Microsoft 365 for PBPs, the total number of Teams users in Japan now exceeds 30,000 people. Although the system is now in its utilization phase, we can see the benefits of implementing the system, supporting the claims made by the previously mentioned officials. Ms. Katagiri gave us details.
“Up until this point, meetings and seminars were held at headquarters so everyone might see each other. This required time to adjust participants’ travel and schedules, and some meetings might only take place by scheduling them more than six months in advance. But now, we can hold an interactive meeting with everyone at the best time needed. In most cases, there have been reductions of more than 50% in transportation costs, travel time, venue expenses and business travel. Furthermore, as there are fewer limitations, fast and timely communication is now at our fingertips. Some other comments on the benefits of the system say: ‘Time reduced with this system has been converted into time used for customer satisfaction’, ‘This can allow us to boost communications to expand sales’, ‘Sales activities have been simplified and we are now much closer to clients and PBPs’, ‘We can keep up with rapidly changing and diversifying client needs much more quickly now’, ‘Using Teams meetings has increased PBPs’ time efficiency, which has left a good impression on customers’” (Ms. Katagiri).
Furthermore, Mr. Takahashi highlights that from a future IT utilization perspective, the use of Forms and Power Apps will enable the flexible expansion of Teams functions and will greatly contribute to the development of applications that meet on-premises needs.
“The use of Forms and Power Apps on several occasions has already spread throughout the company. In our department we make the most of user support for PBPs. For inquiries, we can now provide efficient support by having the other party submit their convenient dates and times in advance using Forms, so that support managers can get back to them at that time. Additionally, Power Apps is being combined with Microsoft Power Automate to automate work itself. Along with in-person sales, new proposals using digital technology are becoming more important to provide beauty for every customer since our company was founded 150 years ago. I look forward to making new proposals to customers using digital technology, promoting in-house production and agile improvements” (Mr. Takahashi).
By incorporating a popular, globally used system that is Microsoft 365, Ms. Katagiri hopes it will be beneficial to global communication and career development for beauty professionals.
“Using Teams allows, for example, beauty professionals to communicate between China and Japan, or share differences in how makeup and promotional methods differ in each country in real time. It can also be used as a measure of BCP in disasters. By changing the way communication is conducted, we want to pursue beauty innovations that only Shiseido can offer, toward our corporate mission of BEAUTY INNOVATIONS FOR A BETTER WORLD” (Ms. Katagiri).
Microsoft supports Shiseido initiatives through information and digital technology, including supporting frontline workers with Microsoft 365.
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