Monex Securities and Monosus have worked together for many years on a variety of projects, including the creation of landing pages and special websites, as well as coding work.
Monex Group, Inc.'s recruitment website , which was revamped in June 2023, was created with the mission of "improving accessibility" so that everyone can use it without any problems. The Monosus production team, project members from the Monex Group Human Resources Department, and the Monex Securities Marketing Department spent nearly a year carefully creating the site. The site, which is filled with the thoughts of each individual, won the Excellence Award in the Corporate Site category at the 11th Web Grand Prix.
In a roundtable discussion, they looked back on the company's commitment to sophisticated, easy-to-read design and accessibility, as well as the path it took to win the Excellence Award.
Kenji Komoto (Senior Manager, Content Management Group Head, Marketing Department, Monex Securities Inc.)
He oversees production-related work in the marketing department at Monex Securities. His main job is to think about how to advertise and promote securities-related products on the website.
Midori Yamashita (Human Resources Manager, Monex Group, Inc.)
Responsible for human resources at the Monex Group. In order to realize the image he had in mind, he was actively involved in the creation of the website, and was also in charge of interviews and writing articles.
Yosuke Ito (Director and Coder, Monosus Inc.)
After retiring as head of the coding factory department at Monosus, he was in charge of launching Monosus Juku. He has worked with Monex Securities for many years and has earned a strong reputation for his work.
Makoto Hamabata (Designer)
A former band member from Wakayama Prefecture, he has worked with Monex Securities before and was once again chosen to work with them.
Reasons for taking on the challenge of improving accessibility on our recruitment website
Monex Group, Midori Yamashita
- Could you tell us how you came to ask Monosus to renew the Monex Group's recruitment site?
Mr. Yamashita (hereinafter, Yamashita) : The original trigger was that the Human Resources Department started thinking about renewing the recruitment website. When we created the previous recruitment website, we had an abstract idea of what we wanted to do, but we were unable to put it into shape. Next time, we wanted to ask a production company that could draw out our needs while taking trends into account and turn what we wanted into a reality, so we consulted with Mr. Kohmoto from the marketing department, and Monosus' name came up.
Mr. Komoto (hereinafter, Mr. Komoto) Our company and Monosus have been in business since 2015. I joined the company in 2019, and among the production companies that we worked with, Mr. Ito's work was particularly amazing. We were able to communicate with each other easily, and no matter what we did, there was a feeling that "this guy knows what he's doing." So after that, we started asking Mr. Ito to do more and more work.
Originally, Ito and I had often talked about how we wanted to improve the accessibility of the website. However, a securities website has a huge number of pages and the templates are fixed, so it was practically difficult to suddenly raise the level of accessibility. That's when Yamashita approached me about renewing the recruitment website. As the site was just the right size to take the first step in pursuing accessibility in the future, I told him that I wanted to take charge of it.
I immediately consulted with Mr. Ito and he said, "I'd love to work with you." It's actually pretty rare for a production company to say, "I want to work with you." So, as someone who is asking for work, I was very happy to hear that. Everyone was very motivated from the beginning of this project, and there was a lot of momentum.
Proposal to create a concept based on "giving form to your true thoughts"
Kenji Komoto, Monex Securities
- The Human Resources department wanted to revamp the recruitment website, and the Marketing department wanted to improve the level of accessibility in order to fulfill their responsibilities as a company. With each department having their own needs, what kind of website did they discuss?
Given that our mission was to improve accessibility , we needed to pay close attention to the source code, so we thought that parallax sites, sites that used video expressions, or sites that used JavaScript to perform unusual movements would be a hindrance. Working backwards, I think that everyone had a common understanding from the beginning that a plain site structure would be best.
Ito : At first, I was quite worried about the core concept of the site. But as we had repeated brainstorming sessions with Mr. Kohmoto and Mr. Yamashita, they told me a lot about their thoughts about the site. I felt that it was my role to organize and shape Monex's true thoughts, saying "This is what it's all about." However, there was one thing I was particular about, and that was the copy for the main visual on the top page. I wrote that alone.
The homepage is simple yet stylish and eye-catching, with the main copy that Ito was particular about: "For those who imagine the future of money for everyone."
At the time, we were not sure how much of the wording on the old recruitment site we could use and what we needed to update, but Mr. Ito organized it well and made suggestions. Not only the main copy, but also things that we should have decided on ourselves, he would properly understand our thoughts and suggest things that would make a difference. So it was very easy for us, and to be honest, we relied on him a lot.
Yamashita: As for the design, we would be using it for several years, so it couldn't be too unique, and we couldn't include any cutting-edge concepts. But we requested that the look be modern and stylish. That's a very difficult request, isn't it (laughs). Our company dresses casually, and the atmosphere in the office is casual, so we thought that this would differentiate us from other securities companies. They expressed that well in both the composition and the design.
Thinking back, I had regrets when I created a recruitment website in the past, and I expressed my needs in a way that complemented the negatives, saying things like I didn't want to do this or that. However, Ito-san and Hamabata-san transformed that into a positive and created a website that had a strong will. I felt comfortable with what they proposed, and didn't have to make any major changes, which I think is because what they created matched exactly with the image we had in mind.
Designer Makoto Hamabata (left)
Hamabata: When I first submitted the design proposal, Mr. Komoto told me, "With this design policy, it will depend on the quality of the photos and illustrations. With what is available now, you might only be able to achieve about 70 or 80 points." In order to "get closer to 90 or 100 points," we brought in photographers and illustrators, and there were some areas where it improved.
Mr. Hamabata Ito first came up with two design proposals. The other proposal was a single image made up of small photos lined up. At the time, I thought that was more lively. But Mr. Hamabata declared, "I think this is better," and that's the design we have now. When I thought about conveying the atmosphere of the company, I think the current design, where you can clearly see each photo of the people who actually work there, was by far the right choice.
I think the reason why Komoto first proposed a collage-like design was because of the quality of the photos. To tell the truth, we had given up on the idea of photos and illustrations because we couldn't be too particular about them due to budget and schedule constraints. However, by chance, a photographer came to us for another project and we were also able to take photos for the recruitment site, and an illustrator we had asked for something else happened to work out of schedule. With these strokes of luck, we were able to prepare high-quality illustrations and photos and make the most of Hamabata's design.
Everyone was amazed! Web Grand Prix "Corporate Site Category Excellence Award"
Monosas Ito participated online
- What did you focus on in terms of accessibility, which was your mission this time?
Hamabata: In terms of design, I paid particular attention to the contrast ratio between the text and the background, and the color composition for people with color vision deficiencies. Finally, when we had an expert check the accessibility, we received various comments. For example, the video on the top page is designed to scroll, but it seems that some people with disabilities lose attention when the video is moving. *So we added a "Stop video" button to the bottom right. There are still many things we don't understand about accessibility, and I learned a lot through this job.
*For example, people with attention deficit disorder may be distracted by moving content and have difficulty concentrating on other parts of the web page.
Ito: There are so many things I was particular about, but one thing I worked particularly hard on was actually operating the device with my eyes closed so that blind people could pick up information from the sound alone. For example, instead of reading "MONEX" as "MOONEEX" in alphabets, I adjusted it so that it would read it as "Monex."
However, on the other hand, this can also lead to stories of failure. If you do that, when the accessibility is checked by machine, it will be rejected due to an error. In the Web Grand Prix that I entered this time, the first round of judging for the accessibility category was a machine check. However, it seems that the extra effort I put in caused an error, resulting in a deduction of points and causing me to fail the judging.
Mr. Ito has some regrets that if he had gotten points there, he might have won the Accessibility Award.
Ito : There are a lot of them. If we had been able to pass the first round of screening, the ingenuity in our work might have been seen as a good thing.
Employee interview page. Photos are arranged large, and the amount of text is easy to read on a smartphone. By introducing the daily work flow in a timetable, it is easy to imagine what the work is like.
- It would be frustrating if you tried to improve accessibility and ended up failing the audit. But you won the Excellence Award in the Corporate Site category. Congratulations!
When I first received the news , I was like, "Huh? Excellence Award?" The premise is that we applied to the Web Grand Prix because we wanted to send a message that Monex values accessibility and is creating a website that is easy to access even for people with disabilities. In other words, we were only aiming for the Accessibility Award. That's why we kept the design and structure plain, and it wasn't flashy or showy like the other award-winning sites. I still find it strange.
Illustrations were commissioned from No.0 Co., Ltd. (member: Suzuki Asako). Thanks to the illustrations scattered throughout, the page is very easy to read.
Yamashita: I think that the design, which has a contrast with the idea of "a securities company, but...", broke the image that the judges had in a good way and left an impression on them. Many companies in the financial industry don't even have a recruitment website, so I think that we were evaluated for understanding the meaning and importance of this and making our ideal into a reality.
When I got a call from Mr. Kogen Ito in a very serious voice and he said, "Mr. Ito, we've won the Excellence Award at the Web Grand Prix!", I shouted "Seriously?!" in a voice about three times louder than usual (laughs). I was really surprised because I hadn't expected it at all.
Hamabata : What surprised me the most was the emails exchanged between Ito and Komoto afterwards about the award. I was able to join the thread midway through, and there was a whole line of messages from the two of them expressing their immense joy (laughs).
Komoto : That thread continued right up until the day of the awards ceremony (laughs). We all expressed our joy at winning the award in all sorts of ways.
Yamashita: I was also watching the thread, but the two of them were so excited that it wasn't the kind of atmosphere where I could really get involved (laughs).
An opportunity to pursue accessibility throughout the company
- By the way, have you received any feedback since the site was redesigned or winning the Web Grand Prix?
Yamashita: Right now is the peak season for job hunting, so the number of visitors to the site will only increase from now on. However, the number of visitors is higher than before, and we expect it to continue to increase. I think the satisfaction of those who visit the site will probably increase, so in the future we would like to review the recruitment flow, which we feel is an issue, and think about how to make the most of the site's strengths.
The award has also become a big topic within the company. For example, in the Human Resources Department, when discussing future websites, they say that the presentation of this recruitment website should be the standard. I get the impression that it is now positioned as a website to aim for.
Our ultimate goal was to raise awareness of accessibility on the various websites of the Kohgen Group companies and have them implement accessibility measures. Unfortunately, we did not win the accessibility award this time, but we would be happy if our site, which has pursued accessibility to the point of being worthy of this award, becomes a flagship that has a positive impact.
Ito-san, Hamabata-san, and another designer who I often work with, Kagawa-san, who is not participating this time, as well as the coder Baba-san, who is seconded to Monex, and the director Nakaniwa-san, make up a great team. I would like to continue to mass-produce good websites with everyone at Monosus.
- Everyone is really friendly and trusts each other. Mr. Kohmoto, when you work with other teams, is the atmosphere like this fun as well?
Komoto : No, I think this feeling is rare. In my usual position of broad management, I tend to be a bit strict with my criticisms, and I think people find it annoying. I would like to do other jobs in the same way, but in reality it's quite difficult. When I work with Monosus, Ito-san and Hamabata-san really support me, and they already understand the prerequisites and challenges unique to Monex and securities companies, and on top of that, they make suggestions that anticipate the situation. When that happens, we can talk about the next step and the atmosphere improves.
Mr. Ito Komoto takes great care of Monosus. He is considerate of the designers' schedules and even adjusts the internal schedule to accommodate them. Also, during meetings, when he is talking with the designers about creativity, he looks like he is having a lot of fun. Just seeing that makes me happy and happy. So I think that Mr. Komoto is the one who creates this kind of atmosphere.
- Mr. Komoto, you like talking about creativity.
I'm happy to be able to talk about more than just one point. Because Mr. Ito's proposals and Mr. Hamabata's designs are at a high level, we can skip the basic discussion and talk about creativity. That way, we can focus from the beginning on how to make the project better, so I think working with Monosus is always fun.
- Thank you very much! We look forward to your continued support.