PERSOL Starts Operation of AI Agent 'Goal Support Coach' for Employees
PERSOL HOLDINGS will launch an AI agent called 'Goal Support Coach' in April 2026 to help employees set goals. This initiative aims to reduce managers' workload and promote an increase in the ratio of female managers.
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- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 22:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 14, 2026 at 13:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 17:19 (123h 47m after Collected)
PERSOL HOLDINGS CO., LTD. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and CEO: Takao Wada), which promotes the group vision "Work, and Smile," will start operating an AI agent-type "Goal Support Coach" developed by HR for employees starting in April 2026. This initiative is positioned as an expanded and advanced version of the generative AI-based goal setting support aimed at "making things easier for managers," which began in October 2025. By enhancing the quality and convincingness of employees' goal setting, it aims to reduce the burden of interviews on managers and support further improvement in the ratio of female managers.
■ Background and Overview of the Development of the "Goal Support Coach"
PERSOL HOLDINGS has been promoting goal setting support using generative AI since October 2025 (*1), with the aim of reducing the operational burden on managers, enhancing employee autonomy, and supporting efficient business execution by managers. This initiative was born from the feedback often received when HR interviewed managers, stating that "subordinate goal setting interviews" took up a lot of time.
As the first phase, we developed and launched seven types of prompts that can be selected according to individual issues for 463 regular comprehensive career employees. The number of prompt downloads reached 225, accounting for about 50% of the target group. Furthermore, a post-use survey revealed that 80% of employees answered that it was "helpful." Positive effects were observed, such as comments from employees who used it saying, "Previously, we had 2-3 interviews with our boss to align our goals, but by using the prompts, goal setting was completed in a single interview," and comments from managers saying, "Employees who utilized the prompts have significantly improved their resolution regarding goal setting." Based on these positive outcomes, as the second phase, we will turn this into an AI agent and begin operating it as the "Goal Support Coach" from April 2026.
The "Goal Support Coach" was developed using "CHASSU CRE8" (*2), which incorporates Dify, allowing for the development of AI agents without code or with low code in the internal version of GPT. By asking questions tailored to an individual's grade and challenges, it encourages the person's self-reflection through dialogue, faces the fundamental issues and goals they need to consider, and supports them in setting appropriate goals.
(*1) October 28, 2025 Press Release: "PERSOL HOLDINGS Expands HR Measures to Improve the Ratio of Female Managers ~Starting October 2025, Generative AI-Based Goal Setting Support to 'Make Things Easier for Managers' and 5-Month Training for Manager Candidates~" https://www.persol-group.co.jp/news/20251028_01/
(*2) August 28, 2025 Press Release: "PERSOL Implements AI Agent Development Function in Internal GPT ~Nearly 100 AI Agents Operating in About Half a Year, 99% of Developers are Non-Engineer Employees~" https://www.persol-group.co.jp/news/20250828_01/
■ Initiatives to Improve the Ratio of Female Managers (PERSOL HOLDINGS Non-consolidated)
Aiming to increase the ratio of female managers, PERSOL HOLDINGS is focusing on two main points: (1) Reducing the workload of managers, and (2) Training and supporting female manager candidates. First, by reducing the current workload of managers and creating an environment that "makes things easier for managers," we are promoting a workplace where anyone, regardless of gender, can easily aim for a management position. At the same time, we are proceeding with specific measures aimed at improving the ratio of female managers in parallel.
Purpose | Initiative | Implementation Status | Content
Reducing Manager Workload ~"Making things easier for managers"~ | Goal Setting Skill Training | Started April 2025 | Training primarily for non-managers to improve their goal setting skills. Aims to reduce manager workload by having employees acquire skills to set quantitative and achievable goals that meet grade requirements.
Goal Setting Support using AI Agent | [NEW] Started April 2026 | An advanced initiative from the generative AI prompts that started operation in October 2025, primarily for non-managers to smoothly set goals with a high degree of conviction. Developed an AI agent specialized in verbalizing challenges for growth and supporting appropriate goal setting by encouraging self-reflection. Together with the 'Goal Setting Skill Training', this will aid in employees' goal setting...
■ Background and Overview of the Development of the "Goal Support Coach"
PERSOL HOLDINGS has been promoting goal setting support using generative AI since October 2025 (*1), with the aim of reducing the operational burden on managers, enhancing employee autonomy, and supporting efficient business execution by managers. This initiative was born from the feedback often received when HR interviewed managers, stating that "subordinate goal setting interviews" took up a lot of time.
As the first phase, we developed and launched seven types of prompts that can be selected according to individual issues for 463 regular comprehensive career employees. The number of prompt downloads reached 225, accounting for about 50% of the target group. Furthermore, a post-use survey revealed that 80% of employees answered that it was "helpful." Positive effects were observed, such as comments from employees who used it saying, "Previously, we had 2-3 interviews with our boss to align our goals, but by using the prompts, goal setting was completed in a single interview," and comments from managers saying, "Employees who utilized the prompts have significantly improved their resolution regarding goal setting." Based on these positive outcomes, as the second phase, we will turn this into an AI agent and begin operating it as the "Goal Support Coach" from April 2026.
The "Goal Support Coach" was developed using "CHASSU CRE8" (*2), which incorporates Dify, allowing for the development of AI agents without code or with low code in the internal version of GPT. By asking questions tailored to an individual's grade and challenges, it encourages the person's self-reflection through dialogue, faces the fundamental issues and goals they need to consider, and supports them in setting appropriate goals.
(*1) October 28, 2025 Press Release: "PERSOL HOLDINGS Expands HR Measures to Improve the Ratio of Female Managers ~Starting October 2025, Generative AI-Based Goal Setting Support to 'Make Things Easier for Managers' and 5-Month Training for Manager Candidates~" https://www.persol-group.co.jp/news/20251028_01/
(*2) August 28, 2025 Press Release: "PERSOL Implements AI Agent Development Function in Internal GPT ~Nearly 100 AI Agents Operating in About Half a Year, 99% of Developers are Non-Engineer Employees~" https://www.persol-group.co.jp/news/20250828_01/
■ Initiatives to Improve the Ratio of Female Managers (PERSOL HOLDINGS Non-consolidated)
Aiming to increase the ratio of female managers, PERSOL HOLDINGS is focusing on two main points: (1) Reducing the workload of managers, and (2) Training and supporting female manager candidates. First, by reducing the current workload of managers and creating an environment that "makes things easier for managers," we are promoting a workplace where anyone, regardless of gender, can easily aim for a management position. At the same time, we are proceeding with specific measures aimed at improving the ratio of female managers in parallel.
Purpose | Initiative | Implementation Status | Content
Reducing Manager Workload ~"Making things easier for managers"~ | Goal Setting Skill Training | Started April 2025 | Training primarily for non-managers to improve their goal setting skills. Aims to reduce manager workload by having employees acquire skills to set quantitative and achievable goals that meet grade requirements.
Goal Setting Support using AI Agent | [NEW] Started April 2026 | An advanced initiative from the generative AI prompts that started operation in October 2025, primarily for non-managers to smoothly set goals with a high degree of conviction. Developed an AI agent specialized in verbalizing challenges for growth and supporting appropriate goal setting by encouraging self-reflection. Together with the 'Goal Setting Skill Training', this will aid in employees' goal setting...