#Japan #Tunagu Group #Chuo, Tokyo #Alumnia #alumni hiring

Tunagu Group Launches Innovative Alumni Talent Pool System "Alumnia"

On July 1, 2025, Tunagu Group Holdings, headquartered in Chuo, Tokyo, officially released its alumni talent pool system targeted specifically at part-time and temporary workers known as "Alumnia." With a focus on addressing an anticipated labor gap of 6.44 million in 2030, this initiative is based on the belief that utilizing experienced workers through alumni hiring could be a viable solution.

Having operated a pilot version of "Alumnia," the company successfully verified the effectiveness of matching previously employed personnel with jobs based on mutual convenience. This approach resulted in filling previously unstaffed shifts and enhancing labor productivity, which led to the decision for a full-scale launch of the system.

"Alumnia" serves as a connection between former employees and companies, offering not only talent matching but also helping to reduce recruitment costs and managing overarching staffing concerns that businesses face.

Addressing Workforce Shortages in a Changing Society

Japan is currently grappling with rapid aging and declining birthrates, leading to a significant reduction in its labor force—a pressing challenge for the nation. In labor-intensive sectors, particularly in the service industry, securing immediate, skilled personnel has proven remarkably difficult, which hampers business growth and service quality.

From the workers' perspective, changing life stages and career interruptions have heightened the desire to return to previous workplaces. According to a survey by Mynavi Career Research Lab, about one-third of job changers expressed a wish to return to their former employers. Against this backdrop, "alumni hiring" is gaining attention as a critical strategy. Re-employing former employees who are already familiar with the company culture minimizes the risk of mismatches while also enabling a quicker return to productivity.

However, previous alumni hiring efforts have largely focused on full-time positions, leaving part-time and temporary worker applications relatively unexplored. Therefore, Tunagu Group leveraged its experience from assisting over three million part-time workers annually to build the "Alumnia" system designed specifically for this demographic. The system allows alumni to maintain connections with the company and easily return to work on a day-to-day basis, fostering a more sustainable relationship between entities in the long run.

This fresh perspective recognizes that losing an employee does not equate to losing capital; instead, it emphasizes the importance of re-establishing relationships and maintaining a cyclical flow of talent. Companies can re-engage potential talent based on historical employment data.

A Comprehensive App-Based Process

Streamlining the hiring process, the "Alumnia" platform integrates all key steps—from job postings to payment—within a single application. This design significantly eases the burden on both employers and job seekers. The app allows for centralized management of who worked when and where, ensuring rapid compliance with labor laws while minimizing administrative errors.

More than a mere re-employment platform, "Alumnia" operates as a strategic human resources database that systematically accumulates knowledge about former employees. Organizations can consolidate data such as job types, employment duration, workplace locations, and availability to effectively create a candidate pool. This ultimately reduces the time, cost, and effort associated with new hiring processes.

The capability to share records of former employees among companies within the same group or franchise enhances resource utilization beyond organizational boundaries, provided all legal requirements for personal disclosure are met.

Future Developments

Looking ahead, Tunagu Group aims to enhance the capabilities of "Alumnia" further in support of building a robust alumni network for part-time and temporary work. The initiative encourages companies to incorporate employment maintenance and re-employment strategies more actively. By promoting the cyclical utilization of human capital, Tunagu Group seeks to address chronic staffing shortages and provide flexible career opportunities for workers wishing for a non-full-time engagement.

Striving to mitigate labor supply and demand gaps moving forward, Tunagu Group is committed to proposing new employment paradigms directly from the frontlines of recruitment.