Talent Management

Rakuten's Approach

Rakuten values its employees. We support our employees' growth by offering a wide variety of training, upskilling and reskilling opportunities. Our workforce comprises talented, pro-active employees who are already challenging society's status quo. We are proud of our workforce and we want everyone to thrive in a culture that encourages continuous learning. We are committed to attracting the best and brightest from around the world while promoting employment in the communities where we operate.
Please visit our Diversity & Inclusion page and Health, Safety, and Wellness page for our efforts to promote diversity and the well-being of our employees.

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Strategy

We want to build a winning team with winning people. Our Back to Basics Project was launched in 2017 to realize this vision. "Back to Basics" means returning to the three fundamental pillars of proper talent management; recruitment, development, and retention.

People Analytics

Rakuten is a KPI (Key Performance Indicator)-driven company and our data analysis culture is also put into practice for our talent management initiatives. With our common HR management platform that traverses global operations, we use human resource data in various ways to check the progress and effectiveness of our different initiatives.
For example, with Rakuten's rapid business expansion in new industries and geographies, we put particular emphasis on securing a sufficient number of talented employees to achieve business objectives without increasing overtime and incident numbers, or decreasing in productivity.
We apply people analytics to workforce planning to help us better predict whether headcount targets can be reached for a given organization and whether hiring activities and new-graduate assignments are sufficient. It also helps us redirect our attention to where it is needed and consider options such as internal rotations.
Analyzing the organizational structure also provides details, including an employee's grade, which can help to highlight a need for other solutions, such as reinforcing managerial skill training.

Talent Hiring

Mutual understanding is the first essential step in any hiring process, as it enables us to seek a beneficial agreement with potential candidates. We have established several online and offline communication channels to accomplish this.

Interest in joining Rakuten is growing every year. LinkedIn, for example, ranked Rakuten 1st in its Top Companies 2022, highlighting factors including the "ability to advance", "skills growth", "company stability", "external opportunity", "company affinity" and "gender diversity".
Rakuten also ranked 4th in the overall ranking and 1st within the telecommunications and information services industry in the Employer of Choice ranking published by the recruiting information website Caritas Shukatsu.ranking published by the recruiting information website Caritas Shukatsu.

Ready to join the team and make your impact? Search the opportunities here

Employee Voice

What are your current responsibilities?

As part of the PR Team for Rakuten Mobile, I promote the strengths of its services to as many people as possible. I am responsible for writing press releases, distributing information and news across various media, holding press conferences, and handling interviews and inquiries.

What career possibilities are available at Rakuten?

At Rakuten, we have an approach that "values numbers" and a culture of "getting things done." As long as you can demonstrate these two values to everyone around you, Rakuten's environment will encourage you to take on challenges regardless of your age or position, a major characteristic unique to Rakuten. Thanks to this culture, upon joining the company as a new graduate, I was assigned to a sales position where I handled an important client and achieved monthly acquisition targets. Later, I transferred to a public relations role, a job I had always wanted. I am very grateful to be working in an environment where I can take on such challenges and enjoy a fulfilling career.

Riko Tamura

Public Relations
Rakuten Mobile, Inc.

Talent Development

Rakuten aims to be a "learning organization" where employees can continuously maximize their potential. Rakuten supports the career development of its employees through self-development and learning opportunities which enhance and optimize their daily operations and benefit their career journey in the long run.

Goal-setting and Evaluation

All employees define biannual objectives that are evaluated based on their competency and performance. Competencies are defined by Rakuten Shugi Principles and the Five Principles for Success that comprise Rakuten's core values. The competency evaluation results determine the monthly compensation, while performance evaluations determine bonus allocations*. This framework allows employees to receive a fair assessment of their abilities and achievements, regardless of the number of years of service, allowing them to advance their careers to the next step. In addition, Rakuten sets clear expectations in detail for every employee grade through the Competency Development Handbook, laying out definition of each competency and an approach to handling challenges and quick and accurate decision-making with concrete example of actions. The Handbook even includes expectation on demonstrating compliance with sustainability policies. This way, employees know how they can elevate their careers and enhance their competencies.

*Bonus: Variable compensation paid based on business performance and individual achievements.

1-on-1 meeting

1-on-1 meetings are held regularly between team members and their managers to reinforce smooth communication and encourage an open exchange of opinions within the teams. Team members discuss their concerns and receive feedback on competency development and goal achievement from their managers. Conversely, managers receive specialized training on effectively providing appropriate feedback to their subordinates, enabling 1-on-1 meetings to be the opportunity for mutual improvement.
Click here to learn more about how 1-on-1 meetings have impacted and benefited the way employees work. In 2022, 96 % of employees held 1-on-1 meetings, with a satisfaction rate of 95%.

Training programs

For All Employees

Our training programs deliver everything an employee needs to know to thrive in a constantly changing global business scene. The training programs are available to all employees according to their grades and are classified into three categories: level-based training, business skills training and Englishnization Next.

Click here for details on Cross Cultural Management Training & 1on1 Meeting Skills Training as examples

For New Graduate Hires

Rakuten places significant importance on hiring new graduates and the scale of hiring is increasing. We strive to give new graduates meaningful roles to allow them to contribute to the business, teaching Rakuten's corporate culture and creating opportunities for a wide range of career paths within the Rakuten Ecosystem. Since 2018, we have provided programming training to all our new-graduate employees, including those in non-engineer roles as well. This baseline of technical knowledge enables smoother communication between businesses and technical departments. The introduction of programming training prepares our employees for a future in which information technology will permeate every corner of society. This training gives candidates basic knowledge of coding, programming languages and how AI strategy and big data are utilized. Their efforts are later showcased in a large-scale hackathon, where teams of new graduates compete for the best product development.

For Engineers

Rakuten's development teams are exceptionally diverse. Given this culturally diverse environment, our business skill training programs have been designed to transcend the differences in nationality and language and instill the mutual respect necessary for smooth communication. Technical training programs, some of which are showcased below, are also provided for employees to acquire the technical skills required to carry out Rakuten's systems development. Employees who have completed specific trainer certification programs may have the chance to become trainers themselves. Many of our employees use this opportunity to take the role of a trainer to build on their areas of expertise.

• Managing Bias

  Helps emplovees be aware of their own unconscious biases and develop strategies to counteract those biases on their day-to-day work.

• AI Fundamentals
  (Artificial Intelligence)

  Provides insight into how employees can apply machine learning and other AI technologies.

• Agile Software Development Introduction

  A hands-on course on agile software development.

Click here for details on the engineer-specific training offered

Internal Open Position System

The size and diversity of the Rakuten Ecosystem provide a multitude of career and growth opportunities to employees willing to challenge themselves in different positions. An internal transfer system, the Open Job Information Portal, was established to support people's moves. The Portal is provided for employees to find out about opportunities available inside the Rakuten Group and to understand the requirements for those opportunities, including skills, knowledge, and qualifications needed for a smooth transition to the next stage in their career.

Expert Certification Program

An Expert Certification Program is targeted at employees with advanced technical skills in data science and engineering or practical knowledge of information security and privacy. Certified employees elevate the technical strength of the entire Rakuten Tech community. As a company, we encourage employees to support our internal specialized training and to actively engage in the external expert communities, to help produce leading global engineering talent.

Talent Retention

Many factors determine whether an employee wants to stay in a company. We're aware of the limitations that can arise in a fierce, global competition over talent, in an age of "the Great Resignation." We value our workforce and we want to show it. Our Talent retention scheme is simple; a fair and adequate compensation package, flexible work arrangements for all and an attractive workplace for comfort and safety. We let employees decide what's right for them while boosting their satisfaction and encouraging them to take up stimulating challenges for career development.

Click here for details on the employee benefits offered

As a result of these efforts, Rakuten Group, Inc.'s employee turnover rate in 2022 showed a 1.3% decrease compared to 2017.

Employees' Stories at Rakuten

Discover the inspiring stories of our diverse employees at Rakuten. We invite you to read their personal stories, including their work styles, career journeys, and reflections on what makes working at Rakuten unique.