The theme for this year’s International Youth Day is Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World. Looking at global trends, SkillsFuture, a government organization in Singapore, has announced specific green skills that should be acquired by the public in order to realize a green economy. In Japan, the GX Conference was recently held, and there is a big movement in the world regarding education and reskilling training for people to acquire skills.

In celebration of International Youth Day, we interviewed Ms. Samizu, BRUSH Training Manager, who trains young people around the world, from the perspective of training methods that draw out the abilities of young people.

 

Develop young people who are good at “understanding” into professionals who can “move”!

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I also provide training to sales staff, and recently I have noticed that the participants are becoming more ” Obedient and Good Students”. A few years ago, there were a couple of participants who would protest, saying, “I understand the customer best!” or “There is nothing to learn from someone who doesn’t even know the actual shop floor.”

In this age of information overflow, it is natural to know the basics of the training content in advance, and they may think that there is no need to use repulsive energy. Generation Z youth, in particular, are greedy about collecting information. Gather information from the Internet and SNS, listen to primary information from people who are familiar with the industry, and evaluate the information. This ability is the skill and value that young people possess.

 

However, being able to evaluate and understand information is not the same as being able to do so. For example, there is too much information on customer service skills. Some people say, “I don’t know the real answer,” or “I don’t have confidence in my answer.” Observing actual their movements during training, I found that they have a rich imagination and are very good. I believe that one of the important points of the training we provide is to make them aware of their talents and challenge them through trial and error.

 

 Verbalize their feelings and Deepen their understanding

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Fashion, cosmetics, and luxury goods rarely sell without satisfying the customer’s trust, peace of mind, and enjoyment (sensory things). This is just like an unchanging truth; it is only because values and the environment are changing that sales communication methods must change.

Until now, Luxury brands have been making efforts to make the in-store experience unique, but after COVID-19, more brands are emphasizing the “In-store Experience” as a method of communication with customers.

Even young staff with little practical experience can explain the products by reading the materials provided by the headquarters. However, in order to provide a “quality” in-store experience, it is important for them to be able to confidently communicate optimally with customers with their minds, I believe that it is difficult to develop and improve their skills only through OJT.

Some young people who deal with customers on a daily basis have a ” feeling” of what a quality experience is. I think it is a very wonderful thing. And that is why I try to logically verbalize that feeling in training so that young people can feel, ” That makes total sense!”

 

Japanese-style Customer Service Skills that are in high demand from overseas

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From a global perspective, the level of customer service in Japan is extremely high. Many foreigners are now enjoying the in-store shopping experience in Japan. As the values ​​of customers change, there is an increasing demand for training in Japanese-style customer service skills (Omotenashi-skill) at overseas branches.

Management and headquarters, who want to develop the brand over the medium to long term, seem to have a sense of crisis about the current in-store experience. Japanese-style customer service skills are related to the spirit of Omotenashi, which is unique to Japanese culture.

It tends to be thought that it is difficult for staff at overseas branches who do not know it. Of course, it is true that there are difficulties. However, our training is unique in that we provide localized planning and training based on an understanding of that difficulty, and by looking at the worksites of each country and brand.

 

From “I understand” to “I can do”, Sustainable Development

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The fashion and cosmetics are in constant flux. Customer values ​​change easily. For this reason, we have continued to provide training programs that sublimate “understanding” to “can do” after grasping the trends of the world, including values, that are felt in the field.

International Youth Day is a day to bring global youth issues to the attention of the international community and celebrate the potential of youth as partners in today’s global society.

I believe that supporting the growth of young people is an important mission for a sustainable future. We support the challenges of young people and continue to grow as professionals.

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Akemi Samizu（Training Manager）

~2007

Kao Corporation [SOFINA]

NUMBER THREE, INC. [Sebastian Trucco]

Instructor

Tokyo Beauty Art College, Department of Beauty, Hair & Make-up, Total Beauty, and Esthetics.

Subject Leader

Cosmetics Certification Examiner, Make Up Technic (Basic), Make Up Technic (Advance)

2007~　BRUSH

Based on her extensive experience in customer service sales and human resource development in the beauty industry, she is in charge of training new employees and training managers when opening new stores of major domestic and overseas cosmetics manufacturers, apparel, shoes, jewelry, etc.

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Are you considering training young people and next-generation leaders?

Please feel free to contact us

https://global.wmh.co.jp/contact

Human Resource Development to Customer Development.

Consulting for personal growth and store success. We offer one-stop services from various training, providing methods necessary for store operations, and on-the-job training. We also provide store diagnosis by professional researchers and production of customer service manuals.