Tokopedia - Nakama Academy : The Beginning

10:13 PM nakama , nakama academy. start up , tokopedia , toped 0 Comments

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?"

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!

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!

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!