Tokopedia and Nakama Academy From NewKama Point of (Inter)View : Part One

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At Nakama Academy, we got a lot of lessons about Tokopedia, whether about its features, work culture, or stories from each functions. Other than that, we were assigned to do another task, which is Networking Task. Each NewKama needs to interview NewKama and Nakama from each functions that were existed in Tokopedia. Actually, at first I didn't think that I would make it because of the number of people that I needed to talk to (which is a lot), but as time goes on, I think I'm starting to enjoy the task. Why? Because getting to know about each other is just another way to know if there's another person/people who's as weird unique as me!


My objectives for this week is to interview the NewKamas first, then I should continue with the Nakamas. My ideal interview is to have two-way conversation with the interviewee, rather than just throwing them with questions and expecting them just to answer. Well, I think I met my ideal because I wasted at least 30 minutes in interviewing my new friends. There's just so much thing to learn about the other person, and how they think about Tokopedia. 

The first person who approached me for the interview is Tika, and I told her that in return she should just agree when I asked her to be interviewed. Haha, I knew that I was being petty. Anyway, she asked me a lot about Tokopedia, and how I got into Tokopedia. A nice friend, and it turns out that she's my cousin's two years junior and we're just graduated last August from the same university, even though with different faculty. We laughed it off that the world is just as small that we had full four years to meet as students at the same university (and our faculties are practically really close neighbors) but we really get to know each other here at Tokopedia. 

I decided to interview her on the next week, and I was surprised at how open she was when being asked by me. I made one question on my interview question list with intention to know a lot of the other person in only five until ten minutes:
How do you describe yourself in five words or phrases?
At first, I didn't expect anyone to tell a lot about themselves. I was kinda expecting that they would just throw out some random adjectives or phrases without explaining why they think that they're like that. I was surprised when she gave me full details in every description that she told me. 

"I'm a simple-minded person. I rarely get stressed, and I'm happy.", she said.

She also didn't hesitate to say some negative traits that she had. I was so happy that she's so open about that issues to a real stranger like me. I liked how she was all confident about herself and it's a good feeling that someone trusted you. 

After that, we talked about Tokopedia as a whole. She said that she's an Operational Customer Care, specializing in Email. When I asked her why she joined Tokopedia, she said, "I went to UI (Universitas Indonesia) Career Expo and the last stand that I saw was Tokopedia's. At first, I wasn't interested to drop my CV there. My friend then persuaded me, and I ended up applying for Tokopedia as an Customer Care - Email Specialist and HR Specialist."

Well, the thought that came to my mind was I could totally relate with her because I didn't know about Tokopedia at all at first. About why I changed my mind and apply to Tokopedia, maybe I should make another blogpost, huh? :p

Then she said, "After I got home, I searched about Tokopedia and I liked their concept a lot. In the end, I was called for interview and was accepted as Customer Care."

She told me that she worked as a call center operator before, and she sometimes felt call center operator are not treated well. But here, in Tokopedia, she felt like call center operators or any customer care specialist are very precious to the company and well appreciated as well. She hoped that there would be no problem working together with her teammates, doing greatly at her tasks so that she could be as great as her mentor.

One thing is, as a new employee, Tika felt like she still had a lot to learn about Tokopedia. Now that she has to reply thousands of email tickets per day, she felt a lot of responsibilities to solve the customers' problems. She cannot give a careless answer because Toppers believe in us. 

When I asked her how she thinks about Tokopedia in 2-3 years later, she told me excitedly, "Tokopedia in 3 years would not only be a marketplace, but one of their plan in expansion should be achieved. We cannot be at this state too long."

She also told me what she thought about herself at that time, "I'm going to improve myself, of course."

I also got excited at her answer and gave her a taste of my imagination about what will happen in three years (which is a secret :p), but we both believed that Tokopedia will make one of their dreams into reality soon.


Next, I started to ask her about what she thought about Nakama Academy. For her, Nakama Academy is like an orientation that we got when we first started enrolling in high school or university. The difference is, now that the orientation is held in a workplace, which is Tokopedia, she felt like she could totally relate with the lessons that we got from Nakama Academy. We will use those knowledge in our work for real.

"It feels like our eyes were opened," Tika said, "Even if it's not from Nakama Academy, we wouldn't know how other functions other than mine work."

She personally liked Ko Eka's material regarding the history of Tokopedia. The information about finance and business in Tokopedia were the ones she looked forward into. She also enjoyed the games such as folding color papers and human bingo. She wished for more games, though.

At the last question, I asked her expectations at the end of Nakama Academy. Her answer?

"I work in a shift. I'm afraid that I'll only know the friends that working on the same shift," she replied earnestly, "I really wish that our friendship as Nakama Academy Batch 3 participants will last. We are friends who enter Tokopedia together at a time, anyway."

Well, Tika. I wish this post will make us, Nakama Academy Batch 3 NewKamas, realize how we spent the last seven days together like a friend, but also like a family. We might have hard feelings to each others through our debates and as team rivals, but we laughed together much more than that. We shouldn't forget what we've been through for the last seven days.

Nakama Academy will end soon, but similar with Tika, I wish that we should also continue our friendship even longer

Me with Tika. Captured a day after the interview because we forgot to take a photo.

Bonus question!
Which NewKama in Nakama Academy Batch 3 that you would like to know better?
My intention is to make this question a trap (like... there's someone you REALLY interested with), and I thought it will work on my first interview. So her answer is...

*drumroll*

"I want to know better a lot of them."



"-but if I should choose, I have to choose Dika. She seems fun and good at talking. I'd like to talk more with her!"

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Tokopedia - Basecamp here in Slipicon Valley

7:56 AM 0 Comments

Gone are the days when offices layouts are rigidly arranged in cubicle system enclosed with plain white walls, where the only chance to interact with your co-workers is during short breaks to the bathrooms or water fountains!  Tokopedia is following the footsteps of corporate giants like Google and Facebook who have proved the creative modern office concept to be successful.  As a soon-to-be Nakama, we can count ourselves lucky to be working for Tokopedia who places such high priority on providing work environment that stimulates creative thinking and inspires innovative breakthrough.
Curious  to take a sneak peak inside Tokopedia Basecamp?
We got you covered! Here from the "Slipicon Valley", the Bear Clan is reporting…

Video coming up...

Did you enjoy the video featuring many Nakama in action? Was it too fast? Here are more pictures the Bear Clan snapped around Tokopedia Basecamp!

 Unconventional  Office Furnitures
In Tokopedia, we bid our farewell to the old school library-esque desks and chairs! We believe that if Nakama enjoy their workplace, they will be more motivated to embrace whatever tasks ahead of them.

Auditorium Tokopedia used for Nakama AcademyRelaxing Chair at Tokopedia Lounge

Glass Chair Room at Tokopedia LoungeSmall Meeting Room with Inspiring Poster at Tokopedia

Various Break Areas
Fully stocked pantry, equipped with coffee machines and light bites that sure will pamper all Nakama. The perfect place to unwind or, if you re feeling ambitious, these break areas can be the sweet spots to brainstorm ideas for Tokopedia!

Burger Bed at TokopediaFloating Chair at Tokopedia

Bar Table Set at Tokopedia LoungeSmall Bed at Tokopedia Lounge

Use of Greeneries
Don’t underestimate the power of greens in the office space, be it real plant or fake plant! Here in Tokopedia basecamp, we've got plenty!
Tokopedia GreeneriesTokopedia Trees and Greeneries

Hybrid Layout, Wall Treatment and other Fancy Fixtures
To add some kicks and punchs, Tokopedia incorporates some twists into its interior design. Like the icing to a cake, we have rooms filled with beanbags, green grasses leading its way to even more surprises!
Tokopedia Fancy FixtureSwings at Tokopedia Office

Round Bulb at TokopediaFancy Bulb at Tokopedia


By breaking down the physical walls, interactions and communication amongst  Nakama is naturally encouraged. Furthermore, office hierarchy are slowly knocked down,  as all Nakama can approach any other Nakama more freely without the need to mutter up enough courage to be knocking on doors. Last but not least, as a tech company who needs to keep on delivering innovative products, Tokopedia  has chosen the right work space that that let's creative minds and risk takers thrive!

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Tokopedia - Nakama Academy: 3 Seemingly Absurd Questions to Help You Find Your Purpose

9:04 PM , , , , , , 0 Comments

"I want to be a can opener!" I still remember how quickly my nephew blurted out his answer when asked the question what do you want to be when you grow up. He proceeded by recalling numerous instances where his mother would look around for help when it comes to opening jars or cans. As absurd as it sounds, this gives a little insights as to the quest to finding you life purpose: PROBLEM SOLVING & CLOSENESS TO HEART.
Can Opener

To piggy back on the absurdness of things, here are three seemingly "absurd" questions that might help you find your purpose:

1. What makes you forget to eat and to sleep?
Can you recall the last time you were so into something that you started to lose the sense of time? For some of you, it might be those new video game releases your brother got you into. For some others, it might be those chick flick drama series you binged watch post break-up. Notice one thing similar in those two scenarios: how much you are absorbed into what you were doing. Imagine if you can be that passionate in whatever your life purpose is, how rewarding and accomplishing can that be! (and of course, minus the guilt)
Kids Playing Game

2. If you can ask for any types of superpower, what would you choose and how would you like to be remembered?
Be it the superpower to eradicate poverty or the superpower to go back in time to prevent catastrophic events in history, that says a whole lot about yourself.  How would you like to be remembered? What is the legacy you would want to leave behind? One of the books Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh recommends, "Search Inside Yourself", talks not only about finding your ideal career path, but also finding inner joy while doing it. One's priorities must be in synchronize with his values and beliefs in order to bring him the utmost contentment in life. So now, how are you working towards your goal?
Superheroes

3. Which flavor of "melted" ice cream would you choose?
Lets assume that it is a scorchingly hot day in Sunny Wonderland, where the only option you have is melted ice-cream. I know I know, that sounds ridiculous! My point is, you might have all these life plans laid out, not forgetting to prepare your Plan B, C, D, E. The truth is life does throw people down at times! This might seems like a very depressing way to end this article. However, this is actually a very liberating concept! Keeping this in mind, you might as well pick any "melted"ice cream with the best flavor available. Essentially, it is our ability to persevere through rough patches and to ride out inevitable gloomy days that matters.
Melting Ice Cream

How does all these tie in to our purpose as a soon-to-be Nakama then? Well, Nakama Academy provides us NewKamas with the hard and soft skills we will need at later stages in our career path. However, ultimately, it boils down to our ability to achieve happiness and fulfillment at work.

Now, only if it strikes your fancy, jot down 3 things that can add meaning to your experience as a Nakama. Repeat this by writing down 3 problems you care about at Tokopedia and start solving them. Obviously, you are not going to turn Tokopedia into some ready-for-a-Wall-Street-IPO company overnight. Also, you might start thinking "Gee, is it all that simple?"

Glad you asked…

The answer is no. But the Bear Clan believes that Tokopedia is one of the few companies in Indonesia who provide ample of opportunity to its Nakama to grow and flourish. With our annual Nakama Day, Tokopedia has gone an extra mile in providing various outlets for its Nakama to channel their creativity and entrepreneurship spirit. After hitting the halfway mark of the Nakama Academy 3rd batch, we are very positive that finding you purpose at Tokopedia has been made a lot more "organized" and "intentional"; therefore, making it somewhat easier on us Nakama :)

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Tokopedia - Nakama Academy : The Beginning

10:13 PM , , , 0 Comments

0.1% acceptance rate? Wow, we could tell from the surprised faces everyone put on when one of the coaches presented his data. As much as we were all pleased to hear that, it was pretty mind-blowing to think that out of 1000 applicants, only a single soul is accepted!

That was pretty much how the third batch of Nakama Academy started on October 7th, 2015. For some of us, we might wonder why do we need a full 2-weeks worth of orientation? Maybe the stereotypical view of orientation still lingers at the back of our mind, one where they would make us sit down, read details about your job desk, read some more, and read even more!

With that in mind and the staggering amount of workload ahead of us, honestly we were like: "WHY DO THIS?"

But Why gif


OH BOY, WE WERE SO WRONG! As a NewKama, oppsies we yet to define what NewKama is. Well, as some of you might have guessed already, NewKama is New Nakama, recently joining employees who are still under their probation period.

So where were we? Yes, as a NewKama, we have to pass this super duper cool orientation process, called NAKAMA ACADEMY, during which we are given various "ready-to-use" presentations and "well-designed" simulations!

After 3 days, we are starting to be able to answer our initial curiosity of "WHY DO THIS?" and here is our five cents on things:

1. WE ARE ONE BODY- Integrated Divisions
So far, regardless of our divisions, all NewKamas have been exposed to knowledge from our "neighboring" divisions. You might think, oh well, that's expected! What I would like to highlight is the degree to which we have to understand how things roll within each division. Like today, we witnessed some Software Engineers giving their best shots at answering customers complaints, not using their coding language BUT using call center language. No pun intended!

We Stand Together, We Are One


2. WE ARE NAKAMA- Sense of Unity & Belonging
Remember seeing this alien-like word of NAKAMA earlier on? Well, Nakama is a Japanese term to illustrate such a close bonding, typically cultivated by soldiers during battleship, where friendship is more like a family, fighting for the same purpose. Likewise, here all the soon-to-be Nakamas are given the privileged to be able to defy the common hierarchical top-down approach and instead to work within a family-like company setting with a common vision!

Nakama One Piece


3. WE ARE TOKOPEDIA - Building Indonesia
To be honest, many of us might feel somewhat "powerless" or "insignificant" when thinking about contributing back to Indonesia. I mean it is a country of 17,508 islands! However, there was this section that we thought hit and, at the same time, empowered many of us NewKamas. Videos of seller stories were being flashed, showing the impact Tokopedia has at its current stage. We were then presented with the expansion plan Tokopedia has in-store moving forwards by our dearest Eka Wirya. Now, imagine how much more impact Tokopedia can help build Indonesia and the good news is we, NewKamas, might take part in it!


As of now, we are just at the end of Day 3 of Nakama Academy! The "Bear Clan" believes good things are meant to be shared, so stay tuned for more updates or (potentially) sneak peaks into what actually happens during Nakama Academy!

So far, this is our verdict: 8/ 10!

Ok gif




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