Kaori
Bachelor of Business Administration
Joined in 2017
Service Planning / Vice Manager
Planning & Operation Group
Rakuten NATIONS Section
What are your current responsibilities?
I oversee the planning and managing of NATIONS, a service that offers workshops for merchants looking to increase sales on Rakuten Ichiba. I work together with my team members to expand our services and encourage the success of merchants by launching new programs and brushing up existing programs so that a wide range of merchants can join Rakuten Ichiba. I feel proud of our service when we receive words of appreciation from merchants that have participated in our workshops, such as “I am glad I attended NATIONS,” or “Sales have gone up and the number of employees has increased.” My other duties include promoting Rakuten Ichiba’s initiatives for sustainable development goals (SDGs).
What do you find challenging and exciting about your job?
I feel that Rakuten Group offers an environment that allows us to challenge ourselves. There are many opportunities to take on new challenges and we are steadily given more ownership in our work, which makes the job both rewarding and interesting. For example, the Rakuten Ichiba SDGs Promotion Project, in which I am concurrently engaged, started in 2021 as a project team of several people. As awareness of the SDGs has increased, the project has expanded in cooperation with many related departments and now, after one year, more than 100 employees are involved in the project. I was initially involved simply as a member, but in my second year, I was appointed the site leader. I continue to work in this capacity and find it rewarding to be able to propose and implement my own ideas and to be entrusted with leading the project.
What do you keep in mind in terms of your attitude toward daily work?
“Respond faster than required.” Prioritization is very important in order to accomplish this, and I speed up the process by first discussing and confirming matters that are difficult to resolve on my own before putting off those that I can handle by myself until later. Because of the wide range of work, I carefully visualize my individual tasks so that nothing is left out or missed. In terms of project management, I clarify deadlines, assigned personnel and items to be addressed, and I always create a Gantt chart to manage progress as we proceed. I am conscious of carrying out requested work on time, and when making requests, I give instructions based on the time available to the person handling the request and how it fits in with their other work. I feel this advances our work and leads to better results.
What has your career path been like, and how have you grown?
My first position was e-commerce consultant for Rakuten Ichiba, where I was responsible for about 100 merchants and made proposals to increase sales. Later, I was transferred to a department in charge of clients that are about to open new stores on Rakuten Ichiba. I was tasked with managing the NATIONS program and in recognition of my hard work I was officially reassigned to NATIONS. In my current department I am able make use of all my previous experience. In my first year with the company, I felt that I could do better, but I was not able to produce results. I had a difficult time and experienced setbacks. However, because of this experience, I feel that I have learned to collaborate with others while expanding what I can do on my own. I am grateful to my family and colleagues at the company who supported me through these difficult times.
SCHEDULE
- 08:20
- Arrive at the office. Check email, messages, schedule and tasks while having breakfast.
- 09:00
- Morning meeting. The entire team reviews daily and weekly actions.
- 10:00
- Project meeting. Progress reports, idea sharing and clarification of each person's responsibilities and schedule.
- 12:30
- Lunch with team members. After lunch, we have a coffee break, which offers a chance to talk about things other than work.
- 14:00
- In the afternoon, I take some time to prepare materials, analyze issues and proceed with other individual tasks.
- 17:00
- Team end-of-day meeting. Confirm today's actions, next day's actions and consultation items.
- 17:30
- After I get home from work, I enjoy cooking, which is a hobby of mine. On weekends, I sometimes go out to eat someplace a little fancy with friends.
*This article is based on information provided at the time of the interview.
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- Infrastructure Engineer
- Data Scientist / Researcher
- Security Engineer
- Information Security / Privacy Governance Specialist
- Technology Management
- Product Management
- Development Support（Q&A, etc.)