A: Hey there, have you heard about the latest news in Japan?

B: No, what's up?

A: Well, they're having a tough time with their elderly care sector! They've got a serious shortage of workers.

B: Wow, that sounds tough! What are they doing about it?

A: One company, Sompo Care, is trying something cool. They're automating the back office work to ease the strain on their staff.

B: Oh, that sounds interesting! What kind of tasks are they automating?

A: Well, for starters, they've got this new software for handling paperwork, like the shift schedules. Employees can now submit their preferred times off through their smartphones, and the system creates the schedule automatically.

B: That sounds like it could save a lot of time! How much time exactly?

A: Managers say that a job that used to take 10 hours a month can now be done in minutes. Isn't that amazing? It means they have more time to focus on caring for the residents.

B: That's really helpful! Who made this software?

A: Major trading house Sumitomo Corporation developed it, and they plan to introduce it to about 30% of nursing facilities across Japan.

B: That could make a big difference! What does the care home director think about it?

A: He says that creating shift rosters used to take up a lot of their time, but now they can spend that time on staff and residents instead. Isn't that great?
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Japan's elderly care sector is grappling with a severe shortage of workers. As the job recruitment campaigns ramp up, one home operator is automating technology in the back office to help ease the strain on staff.



Sompo Care runs 450 facilities across Japan. A common complaint from its employees is that administrative tasks take up too much time -- distracting them from their main job of caring for the elderly.



This month, the operator introduced new software to handle the paperwork -- starting with staff rosters. Employees submit desired times and days off via their smartphones. The system then takes over and automatically creates the shift schedule.



Managers report that a job that used to take 10 hours a month can now be done in minutes. That allows workers to focus on caring for residents.



Saito Shota, care home director, says: "Creating shift rosters used to take up a lot of our time. Now it's possible to spend that time on staff and residents."



Major trading house Sumitomo Corporation developed the software service. It aims to introduce it to about 30 percent of nursing facilities across the country.