Interview with female employees "Kikushima Co., Ltd."

Kikushima Co., Ltd. founded a steel frame processing business in Konan-ku, Yokohama in 1964. Since then, he has been involved in the construction of custom-built houses, apartment, commercial facilities, education and welfare facilities, and has won numerous awards including the Good Design Award and the Kanagawa Architectural Competition. In addition, as part of our social contribution activities, we are also engaged in street furniture design contests related to urban development in Yokohama and beekeeping activities to preserve the local environment.

In 1994, he left a trading company where he worked at the time of his eldest son's birth. In 1999, I joined Kikushima General Affairs Department Co., Ltd. as a part-time worker three days a week. A year and a half later, he became a full-time employee and was assigned to the office of the Iron Works Department. Chief General Affairs Department in 2004, Chief General Affairs Department in 2006, and assumed his current position in 2010. Mr. Kanemoto raised his eldest son while playing an active part in the front line, and now also cares for his mother. I asked you about your passion for work and why you keep your motivation.

"I wanted to return to society when my son was five years old and childcare had settled down. So I went to Hello Work and found a job for Kikushima. Three times a week, a reasonable work system from 10:00 to 16:00, commuting by car was possible, and commuting time was 10 minutes, so I left my son in a nursery school and started part-time .
One and a half years after I joined the company, I received a consultation from a full-time employee. In addition to what I wanted to do more, I became a full-time employee when my son entered elementary school. At first, I was assigned to the office of the Iron Works Department. Ironworks are all men except me. Some of them were as old as fathers, and it was a warm environment like family. Among them, I was glad that I could gradually think that I was a reliable person, and I was working hard."

"It was highly evaluated for improving efficiency by building a system such as order management work and daily reports of employees using personal computers. I raised my voice saying "I want to make an efficient system myself" and proceeded with consulting with the managing director, but at that time I wasn't familiar with personal computers, so I learned it myself while reading books."

"Do we have a climate that gives opportunities to motivated people, regardless of whether they can or cannot do it? For example, all mid-career hires at General Affairs Department are inexperienced in clerical work.
In addition, an employee who was formerly in General Affairs Department wants to transfer to the Iron Works Department, and this time she is also starting from scratch. The reason why we accept and support such inexperienced people is that we believe that the desire to do so has the potential to make a big leap forward. The company will support you regardless of experience or qualification."

"General Affairs Department now has eight people, all women. There are three working mothers, all of whom are in their twenties. General affairs operations are diverse, including accounting and personnel affairs, management of tenders for construction work, public relations activities, and planning and operation of internal events such as employee travel. A unique job is to publish a booklet called "Kikushima Lifestyle Magazine" four times a year as part of public relations activities.
Contents include company messages, interviews with employees, and introduction of housing we worked on. A young general affairs director is the editor-in-chief, and several people are in charge of composition, coverage, and writing. We are proud to be a tool that rediscovers and communicates the goodness of the company from a female perspective.
I oversee and manage all of these tasks. I'm also involved in job interviews and personnel evaluations."

"In addition to building a system, we have implemented various systems so that they can operate smoothly, such as creating an in-house qualification system. I feel that our general affairs are departments that have been created from the standpoint of women and have a perspective that is not like a so-called construction company.
In daily work, we give each person a detailed form of each work so that there is no gap in a wide range of work, and have them report the progress at a monthly meeting. Work is allocated according to individual qualities, but work content is frequently shuffled. Then, they discover that the work they thought was not suitable for themselves is actually suitable, and they will come up with ideas more and more. I'm glad to show you that kind of motivation."

"Because I live with my parents, I had a lot of care when my son was little. Also, I was grateful for the company to send it out every time my son's school event was held. At that time, there were not many companies supporting working mothers as they are now, and my friends around me were envied. I believe that I can continue to work happily only with the help of my family and the understanding of the company.
My son is currently a second-year student. Since he was looking for a job, I have more opportunities to discuss the joy and rigor of working based on my experience. It is a moment when you feel joy to be able to talk like this with your son. Now that my mother is not in good physical condition, I take turns taking care of my father. I think it's a natural flow to work together as a whole family for both child care and nursing care."

"If you don't decide your limits and try anything, your possibilities will expand. Isn't it important to work happily and rewarding every day? Each one of them is small, but I think it will build up and bring great results over the years."

The space for spending time slowly, such as eating lunch and taking a break, was handled by female employees from General Affairs Department, from furniture and interior to selection of BGM. I also put books that are useful both for work and private life. You can see the green from the large window and refresh.

Company name: Kikushima Co., Ltd.
Location 4-39-7 Konandai, Konandai, Konan-ku, Yokohama-shi (Kannai Office) 3-34-2 Kitanakadori, Naka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kikushima Kannai Building
URL： https://www.kikushima.co.jp/ (external site)
Established: March 31, 1965
Capital: 50 million yen
Number of employees: 67 people
Industry: Construction of custom-built houses, kindergartens, nursery schools and public facilities, apartment, commercial facilities, etc.
Female Support System: Promote women to managerial positions / switch from clerical positions to technical positions / Actively promote women for all occupations / participate in seminars on women's advancement and other external seminars / Promote participation in school events for employees raising children / eliminate wage gaps between men and women
Job Opportunities https://www.kikushima.co.jp/recruit/index.html (external site)