Temporary Staff Interviews（１）

Ms. Sunagawa, Unit Chief, Client Support Unit

I’m currently working at a company that operates one of the largest beauty matching websites in Japan, where I support clients, such as beauty salons, who post information about their stores. What first led me to work here was when my dog suffered an illness.

At the time, I was working as a full-time permanent employee, and I wanted the flexibility to be as close to my pet as possible to provide proper care. However, the company I was working for did not offer remote work, so I had to look elsewhere.

Although it was during the COVID-19 pandemic and remote working was becoming more common, when I narrowed down my job search to only positions that allowed remote work, I only found jobs with a lower salary, and the number of hours or times that working from home was allowed varied, making it difficult to find a position that met my needs.

Then one day, I received a call from a PERSOL career advisor, who introduced me to my current position. Since I had always been interested in beauty and cosmetics and I was already familiar with the website that I would be responsible for, I was immediately interested and told my agent that I would definitely like to apply. And most importantly, the position met my requirement of being primarily remote.

As support staff, we teach new customers how to use the system as well as provide suggestions over the phone to existing customers on how to attract customers to their business more effectively. On occasion, we also create or revise the text to be posted on the introductory pages of our clients’ stores.

Looking back over my time working here, there have been a number of positive experiences. For example, the company noticed that I was making a large number of calls to customers and that these calls were resulting in improvements, and presented me with the department’s MVP award.
In addition, in my tenth month, I was appointed to the position of unit chief and tasked with leading the junior members of the unit. While all of these events were memorable to me, what has brought me the greatest joy is seeing how much the junior staff members I have looked after have grown in their roles.

On one occasion, I had a junior colleague who was having trouble finding motivation in her role. I tried sharing my own sense of purpose with regard to the job and why I always try to give my best when calling customers. This seemed to resonate with my colleague, and she began to put a lot of effort into her work. Her performance improved drastically—so much, in fact, that she won the MVP award twice in a row.

When, during her acceptance speech at the award ceremony, she said, “Thanks to Sunacchi-San (my nickname), I’ve found fulfillment in my work. I'm so glad that Sunacchi-san is my unit chief,” I was overcome with emotion. From my perspective, it was her alone that achieved the results, and my words were nothing more than a catalyst, but nonetheless, I was so happy to hear that she felt I had made a difference.

In my role as a customer support representative, it’s definitely when I’m able to help attract more customers to a client’s store. At work, I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to do something that doesn’t serve a purpose, so I always ask myself, how can I make my work meaningful?—In other words, will the work I am doing help the client?

The following episode is one of the most memorable conversations I’ve had with a client.
The client’s salon was experiencing great difficulty due to negative comments that were showing prominently at the top of the reviews section on the store’s page.
Naturally, we could not delete these comments. However, I didn’t give up, and after thinking about what I could do to help the salon, I suggested creating a coupon that customers could use if they posted a review.

Although I couldn’t delete negative comments, I could help increase the number of comments.
Until that point, the client had been reluctant to issue coupons as they didn’t want to fall into a pattern of selling at a discount. However, they embraced my idea, saying, “I see, that’s a different way coupons can be used.” When we implemented the idea, we found that we were able to increase the number of positive reviews while pushing the negative ones to the background, achieving the effect we had aimed for.

The best thing about consulting with PERSOL was that I discovered a job that felt like my true calling. I never knew there was a job out there that fit me so well. Besides being satisfied with the job content and the compensation, not having to give up my love of fashion during working hours is fantastic. I can come to the office in the same clothes I wear on my off days, and I can enjoy any hairstyle or nails I like.

PERSOL has also continued to support me after starting the job. When I began in the role, I used to meet with my career advisor frequently and discuss any issues or questions I had, but recently, we only meet once every three months for a regular catch-up interview.

Nevertheless, PERSOL still provides me with strong support at key moments. What I appreciated most was that they served as a bridge between me and my employer regarding my specific circumstances and requirements.

They communicate the matters that can be difficult to bring up directly from my position as a temporary employee on my behalf. Previously, I encountered an issue regarding the evaluation rules for my job that I found unfair and couldn’t agree with.
When I discussed the matter with PERSOL, they put me in touch with the upper management at my workplace, with whom I rarely had the opportunity to interact in my day-to-day work. Following this, improvements were gradually made, and looking back, I’m glad I took the leap and discussed my concerns with PERSOL.

This job suits me perfectly, and I want to keep working at it for as long as I can. However, as things stand now, this is not possible as there is a limit on how long my temporary employment contract can continue, and I will not be able to keep working after childbirth or childcare.

That’s why I’m currently working to become a direct contract employee, which would allow me to use childbirth and childcare leave and return to work afterward. I don’t want to sacrifice my life plans, my favorite fashion styles, or my career.To achieve this goal, I am approaching my work with renewed energy, while always keeping my customers and junior staff at the forefront.