■Business Overview
1. Business content
PROGRIT ＜9560＞ offers the English coaching service “PROGRIT” and the subscription service “Shadten.” The business concept is “people x technology,” and in order to innovate English learning, we provide English learning with scientific evidence that combines human power with the power of technology. In order to achieve customer learning goals, the enhancement and efficiency of learning content is improved by using technology at key points in the process of developing and providing services. For example, in conventional English learning, it is common for students to receive lectures from teachers in the classroom and learn through English conversation, and learning is promoted using standardized handouts, books, paper, and pens. Today, many students and working adults own and use information terminals such as laptop computers and tablets, and these technologies are changing conventional ways of learning such as lectures. When comparing cases where these information terminals are used with cases where conventional paper teaching materials are used, needless to say, the former can improve learning efficiency in various aspects, so the company is also following this trend of change, and technology for various purposes is used in all service development and provision. We develop learning applications in-house, and use them to find effective learning methods by promoting data-driven practices, such as acquisition/analysis of student learning data using them. In addition, it is also used for schedule management, weekly interviews and consultations, English correction, etc. based on individual data of participants.
(1) Progrit
It is a service that reliably improves the customer's English proficiency in a short period of time. The monthly price of the service is around 150,000 to 200,000 yen (excluding enrollment fees). Service content is characterized by being customized to meet individual customer needs. Specifically, not only are optimal learning method selections and learning continuity support packaged for each English learner, but a dedicated consultant is attached to the learner to provide guidance from how to learn to improve lifestyle habits. Since the sense of attainment (including usage environment, purpose of use, etc.) that participants are looking for when learning English is different, the learning purpose and learning situation are first heard. Based on these situations, a “custom-made learning method” blending various elements such as study time, teaching materials, and learning methods is proposed by consultants. Tailor-made learning plans optimized for each learner improve individual motivation to learn, and learners can also feel that their abilities improve efficiently. Furthermore, when evaluating learners' performance, the impact of the implemented learning plan on learning outcomes is simultaneously monitored. Thus, as learning progresses, personalization of learning design guidance is further optimized, and the autonomy, engagement, and efficiency of learners can be improved.
The English coaching service has 4 courses and 7 price plans. It consists of 4 courses: “Business English Conversation,” “TOEIC (R) L&R TEST,” “Beginner,” and “TOEFL iBT (R) /IELTS,” and customers pay fees according to the enrollment fee and the duration of each course. Incidentally, the main customers are business people who use it for purposes such as work practice or qualification acquisition, and the customer base with a high sense of cost performance seeking effects in the short term is the main one. Note that the completion rate for this program is 96%.
(2) Shadow Ten
“Shadten” is a service that provides the public with a “shadowing correction course,” which is a continuous course initially offered to customers who have graduated from “Progrit.” The service name is an abbreviation for shadowing correction. Shadowing is a method used as training for professional simultaneous interpreters to reproduce and express English heard by voice, and it comes from learners not immediately voicing a sentence, but rather reproduces the expression by imitating it like a shadow (shadow) a little later after the sentence is uttered. It is a highly difficult practice method for simultaneously listening to and pronouncing English, and “shadow ten” is a service that makes this practice method possible for anyone. Sales of “Shadten” accumulate as the number of users increases. As inflow routes, there are general inflows via a “shadowing correction course” after graduation from “Progrit” and via digital marketing, etc., but the latter contributed greatly to recent rapid growth.
(3) Consultants
The quality of consultants (coaching staff) is the foundation of business growth, and since it affects the quality of the company's services, they are selected using strict recruitment criteria. Consultant recruitment is carried out in a wide range of ways, such as referral recruitment of existing consultants, secondment to recruitment media, enhancement of articles on Wantedly and in-house recruitment sites, and holding meetups. Among them, it is taken into account not only the English proficiency required for work as a consultant, but also whether they have essentially high communication skills to be able to convey advice necessary to achieve customer goals without hesitation. In addition, the company's service does not teach English itself, but also includes elements of consulting related to learning methods and time management, so logical thinking ability is also required. Also, being able to embody the values “FIVE GRIT,” which the company emphasizes in carrying out business operations, is also an important factor. Since human resources equipped with these elements are employed, the recruitment rate of applicants is extremely low at 0.88%, making it a small group of elite consultants. In addition, it is also characteristic that they are all employed as full-time employees. Also, in order to further increase recruitment power and provide an environment where consultants can work with high motivation, the company has raised salaries for all consultant positions by 500,000 yen per year from 2023/9.
In addition, as an effort to maintain the quality of consultants, a system for the entire organization to learn has also been built. There are “BPS,” which shares consultants' best practices, “CS up,” where fellow consultants give advice on issues faced by consultants due to customer support, etc., improvement activities carried out based on questionnaires from customers, and training to acquire coaching skills. Consultant education and management are also thorough, so the coaching service is structured so that all consultants can maintain high quality. We are proceeding with the recruitment of consultants to respond to the expanding business, and recruitment exceeding plans has been realized in the 2023/8 fiscal year. Currently, the company's coaching service has been in a state of waiting for about a month and a half after participants have applied for the course. This waiting period is positioned in the form of a preparation period, and since it increases customer motivation and can take the course with a practical attitude from the first day of taking the course, we believe that there is no need to worry about leaving customers during the waiting period.
(Author: FISCO Analyst Tomokazu Murase)