Building a Scalable Team that Balances Growth and Agility
At SmartHR, we see ourselves as a "scaleup" company, a business that’s rapidly growing in size while remaining nimble. To spread the concept of “well-working” across Japanese society in the shortest amount of time possible, we will need to ensure that our impact is wide-reaching—all the while maintaining the agility and energy of a startup. In order to achieve this, we’re constantly evolving how we build and manage our organization.
This section explores the values that drive us and the systems we’ve put in place to support our continued growth.
Our Team’s Evolution
Our organizational journey began when SmartHR was still a small team of around 10 people. Back then, we focused on creating a fair evaluation system to recognize and reward our early team members, who took quite a leap of faith to join us.
As our business grew, so did our need for a sustainable, forward-looking organization in order to one day reach our Northstar goal—our corporate mission. We’ve adapted at every stage, regularly refining our approach to match the needs of our evolving company.
Now, as a scaleup, we’re continuously upgrading our organization to support both rapid expansion and long-term success. Our focus is on bringing in diverse talent to fuel this growth, while creating a workplace where every team member feels engaged and motivated. We want to build an environment where both people and the company can grow together.
Our Core Values and Culture
The Values That Drive Us Forward to Go Fast, Go Far, Go Together
At SmartHR, we see our values as the guiding principles that drive decision-making, helping us maintain our competitive edge. They also serve as a framework for how each employee approaches their work, decisions, and learning.
We believe that our values should evolve along with the company’s growth phase, business strategy, and changes in the external environment. Most recently, in 2024, we redefined our values around the concept of "Go Fast, Go Far, Go Together."
As a scaleup company balancing rapid growth with business expansion, these three values help us stay focused on achieving our corporate mission as efficiently as possible.
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Be the Spark, Not the Spectator
No one has a crystal ball to see the future, so don’t wait for the perfect moment—create it. Move at the speed of light, make waves, and learn by doing. It’s the bold moves, even the messy ones, that pave the way to success.
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Exceed What People Want
The world never sits still, so why should you? Forget “good enough” and aim for what’s beyond the obvious. When you push past the norm and exceed expectations, that’s where greatness begins.
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Speak the Unspoken
Our bold ambitions require bold conversations. Constructive feedback fuels progress, pushing us forward. Break the silence, confront the elephant in the room—and clear the way for growth.
"Open, Flat, and Playful"—A Culture That Stays Strong As We Grow
Our culture is what brings our values to life.
We believe that a strong culture not only enables employees to embody our values more easily, but also helps us stay focused on the tasks and challenges at hand, rather than getting caught up in personal matters.
Our culture is all about being open and flat as an organization, while also preserving a degree of playfulness in our work. These values have been central to who we are from the beginning, and even as we grow, they remain woven into the fabric of our company.
We know that culture isn’t self-sustaining —it’s nurtured every day by the actions we take as a team. This makes our culture a unique strength, one that is not easily replicated.
In fact, it’s fair to say that the strength of the entire SmartHR team comes from these cultural values.
Open
Being transparent with our employees is a core principle at SmartHR. We openly share a variety of business information, including our progress on key KPIs, meeting agendas, and minutes. We also dedicate time to properly updating all employees on the key decisions and discussions from our executive meetings.
Flat
We believe in working as a team without regard for job titles or ranks, following the principles of HRT (Humility, Respect, Trust). We emphasize constructive discussions around outcomes, listening to others’ opinions without preconceived notions, and trusting that others are capable of and naturally inclined to make the right decisions. We encourage open dialogue, whether in real-time or through other channels, with both parties working to understand the context and intent to ensure clear communication and avoid misunderstandings.
Playful
At SmartHR, we believe a little bit of "playfulness" is essential for communicating our vision and goals to the world. We believe that simplifying complex ideas and engaging people’s emotions is key. That is why we embrace playfulness in our daily work, focusing all of our energy into creating impactful communication.
Initiatives for Building an Engaging Workplace
We’re focused on creating a workplace where every employee feels empowered, motivated, and proud of their work. We want our people to feel like they’re growing, achieving, and contributing to something bigger.
We believe that when employees thrive, the company thrives too—and that’s how we’re building a workplace where everyone can succeed together.
Investing in Talent Development
At SmartHR, we believe that every employee has the potential to thrive within our organization. As we continue to grow, we’re focused on identifying the skills needed for the future and ensuring that our talent development aligns with each person’s individual goals. Starting from 2025, we are expanding our hiring efforts to include fresh graduates, offering even more opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to join us. Our training and career development programs are constantly evolving to foster an environment where everyone can thrive and grow together.
Some examples of our talent development initiatives include:
New manager training, people management courses, company-wide feedback workshops, SmartHR Talent Program (STP)
Future career development strategy session
Our Approach to Talent Management
At SmartHR, we see our HR strategy as being inseparable from our business strategy—it’s people who drive the success of our company. That’s why we focus on building an organization where our HR efforts are directly aligned with our business goals. By empowering our employees to reach their full potential, we strive to achieve "well-working" for both individuals and the organization. Our approach to talent management is one of constant evolution and refinement to make this a reality.
Supporting a Work-Life Balance for Every Employee
At SmartHR, we believe that maximizing individual performance leads to greater overall productivity. To support this, we’ve introduced flexible work systems and benefits that make it easier for employees to tailor their work style to their individual needs. These systems are continually updated to stay relevant.
Here are a few examples of our flexible work arrangements and benefits:
Flexible work hours
- No core hours
- flexible working time between 5:00 AM and 10:00 PM
Choice of work location
- Remote work is available for business and corporate roles
- fully remote for product roles
- Support for changing your home office location
We also offer support to help employees work more comfortably
- Self-care leave
- Relocation assistance (for recent graduate hires only)
Recognition as a Great Place to Work
In 2024, SmartHR was certified as a "Great Place to Work" by the Great Place to Work® Institute Japan. The Institute defines a great workplace as: “one where employees trust the people they work for, have pride in the work they do, and enjoy the people they work with. To be truly great, that experience must be consistent for every employee, no matter who they are, what they do, or where they work. This consistent and inclusive experience is what we call ‘For All.’ “
SmartHR scored above average across all evaluation categories, with particular praise for the alignment of words and actions between management and staff, involving employees in decision-making, and clearly communicating important changes and issues.
Looking Ahead: The Future of SmartHR
Our Own "Well-Working": An Essential Step to Realizing Our Mission
At SmartHR, we believe that achieving our corporate mission of creating a "well-working" society starts with us. If we push ourselves to the point of burnout while chasing ambitious goals, we won’t be able to sustain our growth or maintain our values. That’s why we’re focused on creating a workplace that balances employee well-being with engagement.
As we continue growing at a rapid pace, we’re committed to maintaining this balance, ensuring that we don’t sacrifice our well-being along the way. We’ll keep refining our approach to create a sustainable and motivating environment where people can thrive.
The road to fulfilling our corporate mission is long, and it’s not without its challenges. To get there faster, we know that we need to attract a wider variety of talent and strengthen our team. We’ll continue to invest in building a company that is not only successful but also a place where people want to work and grow together.
Gathering a talented team to do great things together—that’s the vision we’re striving for. Until the day we achieve "well-working" in Japanese society, we’ll keep evolving.
