Creating a development organization like creating a product: DevHR's goal of product management for development organizations

In addition to the company-wide HR organization, XICA has an organization called DevHR that specializes in recruiting and building the development team. We asked DevHR manager Yuta Watanabe about the development organization that XICA's DevHR aims to create.

What is DevHR?

── First, please tell us what DevHR is.

DevHR stands for "Developer's HR."The role of designing the careers of people involved in manufacturing and supporting their growthSoftware engineers, product managers, IT systems engineers, etc.Create an organizational culture that allows all members to flourishThis is also an important role of DevHR.

── Is the organization DevHR a common one?

There are very few people in the recruitment market who can specialize in recruiting for development positions.
It is probably rare for a company with around 60 employees to have a DevHR department established as part of its organization.

── Why does XICA have DevHR?

What is necessary for a product-making company to achieve rapid growth isA system and culture that allows people working in the organization to continue to growAt the same time as our products grow,We have established a dedicated organization called DevHR in the Development Headquarters to support the achievement of results by specialized organizations.DevHR is trying to create an organization that supports people who make things and allows them to develop their talents. The people who belong to DevHR aim to specialize in "supporting specialized organizations" and make it their career. The existence of this HR organization dedicated to manufacturing can be seen as a symbol of XICA's efforts in manufacturing.

▼An article in which CTO Korezawa talks about the importance of investing in manufacturing organizations

[CEO/CTO Interview] I want to work with "people who will be great in the future" rather than "people who are great now". What is the ideal "manufacturing" organization and working style that Xica's new CTO aims for? | Xica's Blog

At my previous job at Speee, I worked with Korezawa, the current CTO of XICA. At first, we recruited for the product team as part of the company-wide recruitment process, but we came to the conclusion that we needed a different strategy for recruiting development staff than for business staff. From there, we formed a dedicated development team with Ihara-san, the director and technical advisor, and Korezawa, and started working on it.

After a certain amount of work, the recruitment of product teams became more efficient, and Ruby committer mrkn and others joined Speee. This experience became the starting point for establishing a DevHR organization at XICA.

── What are the features of XICA's DevHR?

The DevHR at XICA has three roles:

Strengthening the development organization will have a significant impact on XICA's management.
We originally offered a service called "MAGELLAN" that visualizes the effectiveness of all types of advertising, including TV commercials and transportation ads, whose effects are difficult to see."ADVA"and MAGELLAN was integrated into the ADVA lineup.

Currently, the company is made up of four services - "ADVA MAGELLAN," "ADVA PLANNNER," "ADVA CREATOR," and "ADVA BUYER" - and provides services that utilize data science to maximize the results of marketing, especially commercials.

In order to increase the value of each solution that XICA provides to customers, it is essential to increase the value of the products we provide.To improve the value of the product, it is important to improve the recruiting ability of the product team and create an organization where everyone can perform well..

DevHR Initiatives

── Please tell us what initiatives DevHR is currently working on.

There are three major ones.
Data collection of recruitment activities,Designing the Candidate Experience,Building good habits.

Data collection of recruitment activities

FirstConvert recruitment activities into data and turn it into assetsWe created a system.
We collect quantitative data related to recruitment activities, such as the number of interviews conducted by each interviewer, the sources of candidates, the scouting acceptance rate by medium, and satisfaction and level of understanding through interviews.

Candidate Experience Design

In recruiting, it is important to design the candidate experience.I hope that my involvement with XICA will help me develop my talents.Therefore, to ensure that we are providing a good experience to candidates, we conduct a survey after each interview and use the feedback we receive to make improvements.

Building good habits

I believe that DevHR's most important mission is to create a culture within the development organization.
Organizational culture is not something that can be created in a day, but is formed by daily habits. Therefore, we need a system to improve daily habits.We have been improving the system.

For example, in order to make the OKRs that XICA sets every quarter more effective, we set up a time to share the progress of OKRs on a weekly and monthly basis. We are trying to create a habit of correctly understanding progress and changes so that we can achieve our goals in three-month increments.

Build an organization like you build a product

I was a product manager in my previous job. Using that experience,I would like to treat the organization as a single product and create an organization based on product management methods.I think.

When managing a product, you start by thinking about user stories. The same goes for recruiting.We design a user story that describes the process from when a candidate participates in a casual interview, through selection, joining the company, onboarding, and achieving results.The missing parts of the story are defined as issues, and measures are taken to improve them.

Of these, the one that I feel is the most challenging right now is onboarding. Because we are dealing with a product that is far removed from personal life, it is difficult to understand the user's sense of problem and the value of the product. Knowledge of mathematical statistics is also required, and there were many stumbling blocks.

In order to resolve these issues and get results quickly, we have established a definition for onboarding. We are currently creating the operations required for each step. We plan to make the process publicly available in the future.

I want you to be a hospitable "nail that sticks out."

── What kind of organization is XICA's development organization?

In short, it is an organization that allows you to take on challenges.The reason why this challenge is being embraced is because of the "Manufacturing Vision" created by our CTO, Koresawa.

It serves as the basis for all decision making"Refine your choice & make it the best"This is the vision of the development organization, and the development organization of XICA is solely focused on this vision.I can utilize my skills to take on the challenges I want to tackle, perform better, and grow even more.This is an organization that provides opportunities for challenges to those who work hard.

── What kind of person do you think would be a good fit for XICA's development organization?

People who can expect great things from themselves and continue to make effortsI think so. People who have a strong will and can work hard without putting limits on themselves will be a good fit for XICA and will be able to thrive. On the other hand, if you are not very ambitious, you may not be a good fit for XICA. I also think it is particularly important to be able to absorb skills from people you think are more capable than you are, and to have the attitude of being able to receive feedback from others as a gift.

── Do you want to be the nail that sticks out?

I hope that this will become the case. In the Development Division, we tend to raise expectations and encourage people who have a strong will for "what they want to become in the future" to take on new challenges. However, this does not mean that they should just blindly assert their own will, but that they should also be prepared to produce results and have a positive impact within the organization and society through their own efforts. They will feel joy in creating a good product together,We want people to have the hospitality to realize our will and commit to the success of the organization.is not it.

An organization where companies and individuals can coexist in a positive wayI would like to make it so.
I believe that being able to do this allows companies to make maximum investments in individual growth.

Towards a development organization where everyone can play a leading role

── Finally, please tell us the ideal development organization that DevHR aims to create.

Giving individuals freedom will lead to greater achievements, and the more autonomous individuals are, the better the organization and society will be.We are aiming for

To that end, including contractorsI want to give all members more opportunities to be in the spotlight.I think.

For example, OKRs in a development organization are for both executing organizational strategy and for individual growth.
The entire development organization strategically supports the individual growth that can be achieved by achieving challenging OKRs, and as a result, we aim to achieve the organization's goals. All members, including contracted employees, have OKRs and conduct reviews every three months.

Also, we now play background music during casual interviews, which is an initiative we started with the opinions of our members in mind. We asked everyone to tell us about a good experience they had during an interview, and based on their experiences and opinions, we thought about what makes a good interview.

── The opinions of members are reflected in the policies.

Yes. Information flows smoothly.I want to create a culture where everyone can speak up and work together to make the organization better.I think.

We also created a Slack channel called "#dev-gaya."

In an online meeting with 20 people, it's hard to see reactions, and some people end up not being able to say a word. We imagined a user-participation event and prepared a place where real-time commentary could be done in parallel with the meeting.

the important thing isBeing able to be open about yourselfI think the hardest thing is not being able to say "I'm tired" when you're feeling down. So I want to create an organization where people can honestly express their negative feelings when they have them.

As "Resilience" is stated in the XICA WAY (XICA's Values), the ideal organization is one that has the resilience and strength to allow people to be true to themselves.

Finally, I would like to create an organization that can say nice things.
"If we achieve this vision, the world will change" - everyone is working towards this goal and celebrating the results.I would like to create such an organization.

▼Read the interview with DevHR Manager Watanabe here!

Continue to be an executor of talent development

▼If you want to know more about XICA's DevHR, click here

XICA's DevHR creates an organization that remains attractive to those who make things | XICA Co., Ltd.

*The affiliation and title of the interviewee are those at the time of the interview.