After studying Indonesian languages at university, I worked in production management at a metal manufacturer. My role was to connect the engineers on the factory floor with the sales representatives, and to manage the schedule. It is a different job from what I am doing now, but there are surprisingly many overlaps in terms of human communication.

Instinctively, I looked more into ZenGroup’s job description and corporate website and thought the position and company culture was a good match for me. During my job search, I took the time to think about “what” I wanted to do and what kind of environment I wanted to work in, by carefully listing my own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the good and bad things about my previous job.Thanks to this process, there were no big differences between my expectations and actual experience working at ZenGroup. Actually, I received more responsibility earlier than I expected which I was happy about. Since my previous employer, I have been motivated to spread Japanese culture and technology worldwide and I am happy to find a place where I can do that.

ZenGroup has an environment where independent people gather and concentrate on their work. That may sound uptight, but I feel that there are many people who are comfortable here because they are each focused on their own role and can feel a sense of purpose. Everyone is friendly but focused on their own goals.

Part of me tends to question the logic behind rules and I like to have valid reasons and meanings that explain our actions. For example, other companies in Japan have customs or formal tasks where rationale behind them cannot be understood or explained. Here at ZenGroup, we value substance and rationality which is really great because it gives me a purpose. In addition, I think our company culture focuses on employee’s personalities as strengths and we make an effort to place people in the right positions. I guess it is not only because it’s good for employees but also because of the essentialism we have.

For friends that are ambitious and like to work with a certain degree of freedom, I would strongly recommend ZenGroup. Also, for self-sufficient workers looking for personal growth I think you will have a lot of fun here considering the company is also in a phase of rapid growth. On the other hand, people who want to just slack off or just get by with their work would not fit in here. If my friends are interested, I would define ZenGroup’s characteristics to help them decide if they can be a good fit.

I belong to the HR Assessment Team. The Assessment Team may not be a familiar term, but our main responsibility is to talk directly with employees to investigate whether they are working comfortably and identify if they have any problems. We also create an evaluation system based on the results of our investigations. I have another team member, but they often commute to our warehouses on a weekly basis to keep up to date of the situation outside of the head office. In addition, we also work on many projects in cooperation with other teams in the HR department.

When I made repeated mistakes, my coworkers helped me think about how to solve the problem and gave advice rather than just doing tasks for me. We also held countermeasure meetings in the past. Also, sometimes when I am in a hurry trying to complete a short-term task, they split up the work with me. I am very grateful for their help.

Off the top of my head, the words “Global” and “Diversity” come to mind. However, those words are overused and not very interesting. If I had to choose a different word, I would say “Independence.”

As for growth opportunities, the company offers free English and Japanese classes in the head office, as well as support for obtaining specific qualifications. Being able to take this classes with other employees is just a statement of the kind of culture we have here. In terms of work-life balance, the flex-time is also a great benefit. Being able to start work between 7:00 and 10:00 AM, gives employees the option to come in early to concentrate on their work, leave early if they have evening plans, or start work a bit later after finishing morning errands. Having a certain degree of “freedom” may seem small, But I feel trusted here which increases my motivation to work!