2025年度中小企業論第6回授業・ゲスト講演（誰かを守るから始まるキャリア）

Guest lecture purpose (business focus)

• Goal: Demonstrate the realities of SMEs and how they can broaden career options—specifically through the security industry.
• Core message: SMEs enable faster approval and earlier career advancement, but require owners/managers to handle significant responsibility and face persistent operational constraints (especially labor shortage).

Presenter / sources of business context

• Guest speaker: Kota Ogaki
  • Director, KSP Co., Ltd.
  • Representative Director/President, Alien Inc.
• Organization context: Tokyo SME associations (and the broader Doyukai network) used ongoing management study to connect SMEs with practical learning.

SME “operating system” (how SMEs run differently)

Key comparisons vs large corporations (execution-level)

• Ownership proximity: In SMEs, the employee–owner distance is short → easier direct communication (e.g., greeting executives).
• Decision speed: SMEs generally act faster.
• Flexibility: SMEs can pivot more readily than large firms.
• Tradeoff: SMEs can feel more “anxious” due to less stability, but large corporations still face volatility (e.g., layoffs).

Organizational playbook / operating principles Ogaki described

• Empowerment through empowerment systems: SME managers work to create an environment where employees feel fulfillment and can be proactive.
• Bottom-up improvement after changing leadership style:
  • Ogaki described a shift from top-down to bottom-up processes at KSP.
• Training + procedures as standardization (not micromanagement):
  • Create onboarding/training materials (e.g., “protocol handbook” / manuals).
  • Use on-site learning plus periodic gatherings for new grads.

Security industry operations: business model + constraints

Industry structure & positioning (high level)

• Security work is client-driven (not volunteer).
• Work is governed by Security Guard Code + training requirements.
• Training investment noted: 20+ hours before on-site work.

Four service categories (operational segmentation)

• Facility security (e.g., schools/buildings)
• Traffic security (road/events)
• Cash transport / valuables transport (cash/valuables movement)
• Bodyguard / executive protection (high-risk protection services)

Industry scale / KPIs (reported figures)

• SME prevalence in Japan: 99.7% SMEs (0.3% large companies), workforce composition ~70% from SMEs
• Security industry (Ogaki’s cited stats):
  • ~584,868 security personnel
  • ~250,000 police officers (security staff outnumber police)
  • Women: ~7%
  • Aging: 46.5% are 60+
  • Market sales volume: ~3.5 trillion yen
• Stability note: COVID-era sales stayed relatively stable—loss of some events was offset by demand for festivals and vaccination-site security.

Main operational challenges (constraints)

• Severe labor shortage + aging workforce
• Work-style reforms complicate labor management:
  • It’s hard to limit overtime while maintaining productivity and meeting client expectations.
  • “The customer won’t pay for extra headcount,” even when overtime limits require staffing changes.
• Recruitment image problem:
  • Students/part-time workers don’t choose security as a “chosen” part-time option.

KSP (case example): strategy, differentiation, and execution

Company basics

• KSP Co., Ltd.: a security-focused company
• 40th anniversary (HQ in Kinshicho, Sumida-ku)
• ~400 employees (including part-time)
• Operates from 3 locations in the Kanto region:
  • Tokyo
  • Saitama (“Minami-Ono”)
  • Yokohama near Shin-Yokohama Station

Client operations examples (where security creates measurable value)

• Transit station security (e.g., Tokyo/Ginza/Sakuradamon/Sumiyoshi)
  • Example flow: night patrols + shutter operation aligned to the last/first trains.
  • Risk scenario described: if a guard oversleeps → shutters may not open (high-consequence operational dependency).
• Facility security for NTT Docomo building
  • Disaster prevention/control room monitoring:
    • surveillance cameras
    • key management
    • access control
  • Also supports events when needed.

Differentiators (beyond “standard security”)

• In-house childcare/nursery school run by a company director
• Community-facing local activities:
  • e.g., Saitama children’s cafeteria providing lunches at ~100–200 yen
• Leadership/ownership approach to culture:
  • Create fulfillment and make it easy for young employees to have feedback heard.
  • Use training gatherings (including casual formats like barbecues) to keep learning “useful.”

Hiring & recruitment: tactics, campaigns, and measurable outcomes

Labor shortage KPI (recruitment impact metric)

• Ogaki cited that between 2022–2024, the company turned down 170 million yen+ worth of jobs due to labor shortages.
• Management implication: if KSP were “out of stock” on guards, revenue is lost—so recruitment becomes a revenue lever.

Recruitment targets & numbers (reported)

• New graduate hiring: hired annually
• Last year university grads: attempted, but 3 university-graduate hires were released/let go, and they left; lessons were applied afterward.
• Current shift: hired 2 high school students for on-site work
• Part-time hiring:
  • 113 part-time workers hired last year
  • This year’s Jan cohort: 42 people over a 5-month period (continuing to hire)

Compensation / incentive design (retention & attraction)

• Example part-time wage: 1,700 yen/hour
  • With full-day assignments (~8 hours), students earn ~15,000 yen/day
• For combat-sports recruitment:
  • Not only salary—offers free gym access plus subsidies for protein supplements

Partnership and referral systems (growth mechanics)

• Club/school introducer model:
  • Pay subsidies to clubs/groups
  • They introduce candidates who become part-time workers
• Referral bonus:
  • Employees can earn extra by referring friends
  • A candidate could make ~100,000 yen if they introduce ~23 people/year (as described)

Illegal work awareness campaign (brand/recruitment compliance)

• Awareness activities at University of Disaster Prevention, including posters discouraging illegal side jobs and encouraging legal security work.

“Marketing research” approach (data-driven recruitment)

• Ogaki described working with a university marketing department:
  • multiple university lectures + marketing survey
  • used results to identify which security companies are “easy to work for” and adjust messaging

Actionable recruitment takeaways (implied playbook)

• Treat “guards as a product” and solve the out-of-stock problem by building capacity:
  • recruit more staff
  • reduce onboarding friction via training/manuals
  • align incentives with candidate motivations (salary + lifestyle supports)

Internal improvement playbook: bottom-up operational scaling

Standardization & enablement

• Signage to reduce verbal confusion and fatigue (e.g., laminated signs)
• Logistics support: use larger vehicles so guards arrive less exhausted
• First manuals/protocols created when none existed:
  • focus on enabling part-timers to understand tasks quickly
• Career systems to create an upward path from front line to management

Career pathway strategy (organization design)

• Build “staircase” career routes:
  • front-line → managerial track / field professional track
• On-site leadership development:
  • assign team leaders/deputy leaders early
  • train juniors to reduce turnover and continuity loss

Culture shift process (top-down → bottom-up)

• Ogaki described an earlier workplace where executives were yelled at publicly.
• After leadership change, KSP moved toward:
  • employee input
  • proposal-based improvements (Ogaki initiated changes from the first year)

Entrepreneurship move: new consulting company (execution outline)

Why they spun off

• Ogaki planned to spin out security/business consulting based on:
  • 40 years of experience in a regulated, certified industry
  • learning/planning from a Doyukai seminar
  • anticipated demand for certification-backed consulting for pavilion/event security production

What the new company does (service offering)

• New company: Lélian
  • French for “to connect” (branding described as “Leia/Regia”)
• Current focus:
  • security consulting (and light business consulting)
• Vision next steps:
  • start training programs
  • increase “security guard” capacity
  • support real estate security staffing
  • scale outreach by partnering with many smaller security companies

Market execs (high level)

• Ogaki framed the industry distribution:
  • ~10,600 security companies
  • only ~10% employ 100+ people; ~90% are <100 employees (often part-time heavy)
• Strategy: leverage the network to coordinate improvements across many small firms (suggested career paths and potentially salary/allowance structuring).

Business network / capability building (Doyukai / SME education)

Process: management study as a recurring operating rhythm

• Ogaki joined Doyukai and attended monthly for ~12 years (never missed).
• He described the group like a “gym” for business owners:
  • study economics/management mindset
  • share problems and solutions with other owners
  • learn approaches for improving employee happiness

Key metrics & targets explicitly mentioned

• Security training: 20+ hours
• Security industry labor stats: 584,868 security personnel; ~250,000 police officers
• Security industry workforce makeup: 7% women; 46.5% age 60+
• Market sales: ~3.5 trillion yen
• Recruitment loss KPI: 170 million yen+ worth of jobs declined (2022–2024)
• KSP scale: ~400 employees (including part-timers), 3 locations
• Hiring numbers:
  • 113 part-time hires last year
  • 42 part-time hires as of Jan for a 5-month period (still hiring)
  • wage: 1,700 yen/hour
  • community lunch pricing: 100–200 yen
• SME prevalence: 99.7% SMEs in Japan; workforce ~70% from SMEs

Concrete recommendations (actionable themes from the talk)

• Treat labor shortage like a supply issue: increase recruitment capacity to avoid turning down revenue (the “out of stock” metaphor).
• Enable rapid onboarding: manuals/protocol handbooks + on-the-job training design for part-timers.
• Build career scaffolding: structured routes from frontline leadership to management.
• Differentiate employer value proposition: childcare/community support and lifestyle supports (e.g., gym/protein subsidies) plus predictable meaningful shifts.
• Use data-informed recruitment: partner with universities’ marketing departments and iterate messaging via surveys.
• Shift management culture to bottom-up: build mechanisms where frontline proposals are accepted and acted upon.

Presenters / sources (mentioned at end)

• Kota Ogaki (KSP Co., Ltd., Director; Alien Inc., Representative Director/President)
• Mr. Oh (Tokyo Small Business Owners’ Guide / organizer of the project, as referenced by the host)
• Tokyo Small and Medium Enterprise Association (public organization described as hosting recurring learning and connecting SMEs)
• Doyukai (business owners’ association study network)
• Mr. Mitake / KSP president (named as the founder family’s second generation leader; referenced for philosophy and operations)
• Mr. Ishii (director at KP; chairperson of an in-house nursery school; referenced for company profile)
• Sugano-kun / Sugano (Tokyo branch manager; referenced for leadership handover)