Introduction

My name is Iwamoto, and I lead the HR recruitment team in the CIO Office at KINTO Technologies. My career includes working as a hotel front desk staff member, as a career adviser and HR staff member at a foreign-owned dispatch agency, and as an HR staff member in a mega venture’s business division and also setting up the HR operations at a startup. I’m responsible for a wide range of HR-related work these days, too. I’m usually surrounded by four dogs and two cats, so I my everyday is a bit like Mutsugoro-san’s, the well-known Japanese animal lover. In this article, I’m going to introduce the HR Team.

What Does the Team Do?

The HR Team is involved in recruitment and organization building at KINTO Technologies, based on the values below.

Specifically, the details are as follows.

Recruitment

This is mid-career recruitment of engineers and creators to lead the development work at KINTO Technologies. The organization had just under 160 employees when I joined it in November 2021, but as of December 1, 2022, that figure has grown to around 280. So, the number of employees has gone up by a factor of about 1.5 in around a year. Once again, let me thank all you employees for choosing to join the KINTO Technologies family! Going forward, we’re going to work on improving the recruitment experience, spreading information internally, and more, with the aim of becoming a company that other companies use as a reference for all things recruitment.

Employee Interviews

As a measure to gather information about the company's issues and make it a better organization, we have been conducting post-employment interviews, interviews with all employees, interviews with employees on leave, and interviews with employees leaving the company since February 2022. The company was only founded three years ago. Partly due to its rapid organizational expansion, it’s facing many challenges. What we’re doing is building up a picture of the actual situation through communication and interviews with employees, then planning and running activities like organizational development initiatives to create organizations that will be strong and appealing for both the company itself and for its employees, too. Of course, if you have any concerns, then please feel free to discuss them with us anytime and as often as you like, not just during interviews! :-)

Management Training

In cooperation with engineering education and training project members, we’re planning and running training for group managers.

Updating Working Environments

We’re also involved in creating environments that will enable employees to feel highly motivated as they work. We’re making a conscious effort to create experiences that will make working at KINTO Technologies fun. Examples include an office snack station where employees can buy food when feeling a little bit hungry, displaying TOYOTA miniature cars, and installing vending machines wrapped in a KINTO Technologies-themed design!

Other Miscellaneousr Things

• Orientation support upon joining the company, and follow-ups afterward
• Cultivating culture and putting missions, visions, and values into words
• Support for engineering events

And lots more. Anyway, we’re working hard every day to provide HR support—and sometimes even lead—for everyone working at KINTO Technologies, both carrying the balls we’re handed, and picking up ones that have been dropped, too!

What Kinds of Members are There?

Actually, until recently, I’d been doing the recruitment and organizational adjustment work all on my own. However, a team was launched with the addition of more members this April, and there are now seven of us including myself.

Our respective areas of expertise are as below, but we don’t draw lines in the sand about anything (which is why we’re able to spot and pick up dropped balls), so we’re often working on multiple projects in a cross-disciplinary fashion.

"Instead of thinking about what you can't do, think about how you can do it."
"When someone is in trouble, think about how you can help them together."

I feel that kind of mindset is well-rooted. They’re heartening members have on board!

What Lies Ahead for the Team

I want us to go on valuing the things the HR Team should cherish that I covered at the beginning of the article, and to aim to be a team that employees can rely on, and one that exceeds their expectations.

I’d also like to start rolling out strategic measures to improve the company and its organizations, and from an HR perspective, I believe that KINTO Technologies is going to become an even more unique and interesting organization than it already is. So, I really hope you all watch this space.