I originally belonged to the customer support department at the Tokyo headquarters, and when the customer support department was newly established in the Kumamoto office, I was told by my boss that he wanted me to play a central role in leading this newly established department.
New employees who joined the Kumamoto office were assigned to the customer support department, and at first I was in charge of instructing them remotely from the Tokyo headquarters. As I communicated with the new employees, I gradually began to think that I would like to meet them in person, so I actually went to the Kumamoto office once.

I saw how the new employees were taking the initiative in their work, and it made me realize that I wanted to make the new organization a success, and that I wanted to provide guidance while communicating directly with the new employees. Originally, I had no intention of moving to Kumamoto, but before I knew it, I started thinking "I want to go to Kumamoto," and here I am.

In my case, I would be working while raising my children, so I was looking for an environment that would allow me to work with a certain degree of flexibility to suit my life stage, including being off on weekends and holidays.
During my job search, I found a company that had a flexible system in place.
In an interview with an employee posted on the company's recruiting website at the time, an employee in the customer support department said, "Each customer has a different level of skill and sensitivity regarding systems, so when we prepare correspondence, we try to change the granularity of the procedures and use plain expressions according to the customer's situation and personality. I decided to enter the company because I wanted to work for a company where I could put my experience to good use.

In my previous job, I was in charge of handling inquiries from within the company.
However, as I got to know the engineers in the company, I realized that I would like to gain specialized knowledge and improve my career, which is why I decided to enter the IT industry.
In addition, I wanted to work in Kumamoto, so I entered our Kumamoto office.

The Customer Support Department mainly handles inquiries from customers using our products.
The flow of a day differs depending on the team, but in my case, I start my workday around 9:30 a.m. The day begins with a daily meeting at 10:00 a.m. to confirm shared and consulted matters, check progress, and make adjustments.
After that, I respond to inquiries from customers, sometimes in cooperation with the development department.
In addition to responding to inquiries, I also prepare Q&As to be used when responding to inquiries, and collect data and conduct research based on the content of the inquiries.

Employees in the customer support department at the Kumamoto office basically work from 9:30 to 18:30. When I cannot finish responding to inquiries, I have to work overtime, but I have the impression that everyone leaves the office between 7:00 and 7:30 p.m. at the latest.

I come to the office about once a week and telework from home on other days.
I had never experienced teleworking at my previous job, and to be honest, I was worried about the communication aspect, but once I actually started working there, I found that the environment is very conducive to easy communication, which is very helpful.

For example, the team leader would take an inventory of tasks with me at the 30-minute daily meeting every morning, and senior members would proactively answer questions I threw up in the chat group. Naturally, I never felt uncomfortable asking questions, and if I couldn't understand something just from the chat text, I would connect to the web MTG on the spot and ask a question directly.
In my case, I also had a daily meeting in the evening so that we could review any issues that had not gone well during the day's correspondence.

In addition, I have regular 1-on-1 meetings with my manager, so in addition to talking about work, we can also have small talks and exchange information such as "this tool is easy to use," which helps us to have a good balance in communication.

Yes, I would like to know more about the company's services and how they can help me. I think the support of senior staff, not only in resolving questions, is significant.
For example, in our company's evaluation system (MBO-S), you are to take your own steps toward the goals that you have worked out with your supervisor, and you consult with your team leader and manager to see if each step is in line with your goals.
In terms of responding to inquiries, by informing the team leader of the line where "it is difficult to respond any more" based on your own goals and the number of cases you already have, the team leader will make adjustments as necessary, or senior staff will reel some of them in, etc. This is an environment with follow-up that is tailored to the situation at that time I think.

A little additional note...I think the most important part of our job is the speed at which we respond to inquiries, that is, to respond in a way that doesn't affect the customer's business.
And since we work as a team, the person assigned to an inquiry does not necessarily have to close that inquiry. If there is a possibility that we will not be able to respond in time by the response deadline, we routinely have other people come in to help, giving priority to the deadline.
One of the key points in proceeding with work is to be aware of the "response date (so as not to stop the customer's work)" as the top priority, and if there is a possibility that the response will not be ready in time, to ask for help as soon as possible. I think this makes it easier for those around you to support you.

I agree.
Our goal is to solve our clients' problems and contribute to the enhancement of their corporate value. Based on this philosophy of our company, I think it is important to be aware that if you are alone in something you "don't understand" or "can't handle," it may not lead to a solution to the customer's issue. By being aware of this, I believe that this will lead to the movement to ask for help or consultation from others when necessary.

The IT system support department accesses the customer's system environment from a security room in the office and works on the server. When we receive an inquiry from a customer, the consulting or customer support department basically responds to the inquiry first, but if in the process of responding to the customer's inquiry it becomes necessary to work on the server, the IT system support department receives the request and we start working on the server in the security room. We then go to the security room to do the work. We don't have the opportunity to talk directly with the customer, and we generally work with our in-house consultants and customer support.

We also handle accounting products, so when there is a change in the law, we upgrade our products. In such cases, we also need to upgrade the versions for customers who are already using our products, and we handle that work as well. Some of the work requires catching up on a case-by-case basis, so training to catch up is also part of my duties.

In my case, I basically followed the education curriculum within the team to catch up. The level of difficulty varied depending on the work content, so I sometimes learned about high-level work by following alongside my seniors as they worked and observing how they worked, and sometimes in a practical format where I actually did the work while having my seniors follow alongside me.
For a while after I joined the company, I had a senior colleague as a business mentor who supported me so that I could achieve results, so I could check with the business mentor whenever I had a question.

Even now, I have a "skill sheet," in which my work process is reviewed by my seniors, and if there are no problems, I receive a circle mark as proof that "I can work alone from the next time. I can start working alone after receiving the approval of my seniors, which gives me a sense of security that my abilities have been recognized and that I can be entrusted with the work.

In terms of difficulties, the IT system support department directly handles customers' information assets, so the scope of influence of a single task is extremely large. Therefore, in the beginning, I had a hard time confirming one by one where I could take charge and where I should ask for help from my seniors.
On the other hand, I feel that it is rewarding to see the number of tasks I can do increase and the number of tasks I can be entrusted with increase, because I have a lot of responsibility in this job.

Even if there is something I don't understand, the people around me are willing to teach me, and they think from the fundamental point of "Why didn't you understand that part?
For example, they may think that there is a problem with the educational documentation, or that there are areas for improvement in the educational system.
I think that many people are able to work proactively because they really think together about the cause of the problem and how to solve it as if it were their own business.

And what I felt was a big difference from other companies was the transparency of information.
Our company has a "Wappo! and "WAP's Dawn," in which the CEO answers employees' questions and provides information on the company's business status in numerical form. I thought this kind of communication and transparency of information was rare compared to other companies.

I think many of our employees approach their work with a sense of purpose.
They are always thinking about what they are doing and how they can solve problems in the most appropriate way. I think the atmosphere is very good because each person has such a way of thinking, so if someone has a problem, they all cooperate with each other and follow up if necessary.

Customer support is a welcoming position, even for those with no IT experience.
We have started a "step-up training program" and there are many other senior employees who are willing to teach new employees. We are looking forward to receiving entries from enthusiastic people who are willing to ask questions and work proactively!

*The step-up training system is covered in this article. Please read it as well.

We are a company that is flexible to change, and we are constantly taking on new challenges, such as a 3-day/4-day workweek at our Kumamoto office, and lifting the ban on side jobs.
We also provide a tolerant environment where employees are encouraged to take on challenges if they raise their hands, and it would be a shame to remain passive.
That is why I think the more you actively ask questions and challenge yourself with a strong desire to grow in this environment, the more you will enjoy the environment.
The work histories of our mid-career employees who joined us through the Kumamoto office vary widely, and many of them started with no IT experience.
I hope you will put your experience and knowledge to good use at our company, and I would be happy if you would share them with me.

Many employees in the IT System Support Department, including myself, started with no IT experience.
Even if you have no experience, we have a curriculum in place that allows you to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills as you work your way up the ladder, so please don't worry if you don't have any experience.
If you have ambition, you can grow a lot in this environment, and we would like to work with people who are willing to take on challenges!

(Laughs) I think the most attractive thing about moving to Kumamoto from Tokyo is the living environment. Compared to Tokyo, rent and prices are much cheaper in Kumamoto, so I use the money I save to buy a car and go for a drive on holidays.
I think people can lead different lifestyles by spending the money they have saved on their private life.
Kumamoto also has hot spring and sauna facilities, so you can go there on weekends and enjoy it like a petit trip.
We also have an in-house subsidy program for employees to move to Kumamoto, and I am looking forward to the most recent move of another employee from the Tokyo head office to Kumamoto!

I think this is a story not limited to the Kumamoto office, but the customer support department is very comfortable taking paid leave.
We work as a team, not as individuals, so when someone takes a day off, we can follow up with each other within the team or ask other teams to help out.
Incidentally, my boss has been with the company for a long time, and he has used all of his paid holidays and has never had any go unused.
This kind of environment makes it easy for me to take time off and work with a sense of balance.

The Kumamoto office was just opened in 2021 and is located in a good location in Kumamoto City!
The IT system support division basically comes to the office due to the nature of our work, but it is also easily accessible, and it is in a location where it is easy to go out for lunch with everyone in the department or to have a drink after work.
It is easy to go out for lunch with other members of the department or have a drink after work. I feel that the environment is refreshing in this aspect as well.