JR Central has hired its first ever “career-hired station staff” this spring. What was the reason for taking the plunge and hiring in the “railway division,” which had not previously done so? At Tokyo Station, used by more than 1 million people every day, as station staff gather for morning roll call, wearing a trainee badge, is Saya Uchibori (27). She is JR Central’s first “career-hired station staff.”
JR Central’s Saya Uchibori: “My previous job was at a welfare equipment manufacturer in the Kanto region, where I was doing sales to a limited number of people, and I got the impression that I was doing work that supported the daily lives of various people regardless of age or nationality (which is why I changed jobs).”
She decided to change jobs after using the Tokaido Shinkansen for weekly business trips, and joined the company through career recruitment. In fact, JR Central had not previously hired career staff for positions in the “railway division,” which require a high level of expertise and experience, such as vehicle maintenance. However, the job market in recent years has been an unusually strong seller’s market, and in order to secure talent, they started hiring career staff last year.
JR Central’s Human Resources Department, Natsuki Munemoto: “(In the future) the competition for talent will likely become even more difficult. To prepare for this intensification, we want to acquire excellent talent through career recruitment.” JR Central’s Sayaka Uchibori: “Welcome.” Passenger: “From Tokyo to Ota Station.”
JR Central’s Sayaka Uchibori: “Is Ota Station correct? There are several routes.” Station staff are required to have specialized knowledge to instantly guide passengers to the most suitable route from the complex fare system, so they have not been included in career recruitment until now. To acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for station staff, they are diligently training with instructors in the station’s training room.
Training instructor: “Hikari and Nozomi trains use the same platform in Nagoya, so it’s better to match the car numbers (on the tickets).” The rules for calculating fares and operating the dedicated terminals are a completely different world from before. The training instructor said, “Railway knowledge is broad, and there’s so much to remember that even studying isn’t enough, so it seems challenging.” When she actually tried dealing with foreign tourists in practice…
JR Tokai’s Uchibori Saya: “Do you know where Hagota is?” There were times when she had to ask the instructor for help. Nevertheless, Ms. Uchibori handled the job with the polite customer service she cultivated in her sales position at a manufacturer, making eye contact and speaking to people carefully. The company felt that she was making the most of the experience of hiring someone with a full-time position. The training instructor said, “With trainees, you often get comments like, ‘Hurry up,’ but Ms. Uchibori didn’t say anything like that; she only received words of encouragement.” Ms. Uchibori has become the company’s first full-time employee. After passing the exam, she is now working on her own.
JR Tokai’s Uchibori Saya: “There may be times when I feel confused, but I want to do my best to provide reassuring service to customers while providing customer service in my own way.”
