This interview was originally conducted in Japanese in mid-2023 and has been translated and adapted into English in 2024.

Nettower was established in 2000 to introduce tapioca drinks to Japanese consumers. In 2001, Nettower opened its first tapioca factory in Japan and launched its wholesale business “Tapioca World.” Since then, they have expanded their food and beverage business under the brand “Pearl Lady”, and as of 2023, have 44 branches around Japan, including tapioca specialty stores and coffee shops. Nettower began integrating DottedSign into their daily operations in 2022, mainly to digitize HR-related documents and workflow.

The DottedSign team invited one of the HR partners from Nettower to talk about the challenges they faced before introducing DottedSign, the impact after implementing DottedSign , and benefits of digitization to their business.

Summary

Challenges we were faced with before implementing DottedSign	1. Employees working in the physical stores found it difficult to manage documents while operating the business. 2. When managing paper-based documents, it was cumbersome; for each new employee, more than 10 documents had to be checked individually, company seals had to be processed, and each copy had to be mailed, incurring postage costs. 3. Processing HR documents consumed a significant portion of store managers’ time, as they needed to walk each new hire through the entries individually.
Effects of adopting DottedSign	1. Drastic reduction in document handling time and labor costs, allowing store managers to focus on core activities, such as general store management and serving customers. 2. When the eSignature task workflow is completed within the system, copies are sent electronically, saving postage and paper costs. 3. With eSignatures, new hires and employees can fill in forms by simply referring to the manual, freeing up managers’ time.
Main documents digitized with DottedSign	Employment contracts, labor condition notification forms, among others.

Over 1,000 Documents Digitized Annually with DottedSign

How are you using DottedSign specifically for digitizing documents?

We are using DottedSign to digitize the entire set of paper-based hiring documents we use internally. The main documents are related to human resources and labor affairs, such as employment contracts and labor condition notification forms. We utilize DottedSign for all documentation required when onboarding new employees.

In April, there seems to have been many new hires (March to April is considered the job-hunting season in Japan). How many documents are generated on a monthly basis?

We have not been able to grasp the exact number as new part-time employees join almost every day, but from the first introduction of eSignature software (in 2022) until now, for about a year and five months, we can confirm about 1,205 documents were marked as “completed” on the DottedSign system.

New part-time workers are onboarding all the time, so the number of documents varies from month to month. There is not a month without any exchanges of employment contracts or similar documents  as there are always some HR-related interactions occurring. We use DottedSign almost every day.

Deciding Factor: Affordability Compared to Other Companies

Can you tell us how you came to know about DottedSign and what prompted you to implement it?

We were introduced to DottedSign by an acquaintance of our company’s boss. Personally, I have experience using a different electronic contract tool at my previous job. When considering introducing an electronic contract tool at our company, DottedSign was overwhelmingly affordable compared to others, so there was no reason not to choose DottedSign.

What DottedSign subscription plan are you using at the moment??

We are using the Business Plan. Among the eSignature solutions available in Japan, DottedSign offers much more affordable pricing compared to other solutions, yet the functions are mostly the same. We are truly grateful for this.

Impact: Significantly Reducing In-Store Workload for New Hires

Please tell us about the challenges that were resolved by implementing DottedSign.

From the perspective of human resources and labor affairs, when we managed paper-based documents, our internal rules required us to complete over 10 signed documents for each new employee hired and submit them to the headquarters by the end of every month.

Employees working in-store had to handle administrative tasks while operating the business, resulting in various challenges such as incomplete documents or postage costs. With DottedSign, once the signature process is completed within the system, copies of the documents are automatically sent to the signers, which is really helpful. Not only has it facilitated paperless operations, but it has also led to significant labor cost reductions. We feel that the burden in the stores has decreased significantly.

What was the workflow before adopting DottedSign?

Before DottedSign, the store managers had to check each of the documents individually, submit these documents to the company headquarters for the seal, and then the headquarters mailed the copies to the employees. We renew employment contracts twice a year and would previously distribute paper-based employment contracts to all part-timers at every store for stamping. However, it was difficult to complete them due to a few issues, such as part-timers forgetting to bring personal stamps. Also, hundreds of contracts were submitted at any given time, resulting in a lot of paperwork.

When we used paper-based processes, the store managers had to walk each new hire through completing every form. Now, there is a manual that the new hire can refer to on how to operate the DottedSign system if required. All the documents can also be handled by the headquarters beforehand, leading to time-saving and reduced trouble for the store managers.

What is the overall impact of digitization?

We have many part-time employees across 44 stores in and around Japan. You can imagine the high turnover rate of part-timers and the amount of paperwork we had to deal with was quite a struggle. In a world where privacy protection is emphasized, loss of paper-based documents could be a big issue and could damage the company’s reputation. 

Digitization not only helps reduce physical labor but also alleviates mental strain. With DottedSign, since everything is stored in the cloud, there is no risk of losing documents or information. There is also no need to deal with issues like people not bringing their personal stamps.

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