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Rakuten Kobo

Part of Rakuten

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Rakuten Kobo reviews

4.2

83% would recommend to a friend

(261 total reviews)
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Michael Tamblyn

88% approve of CEO

82% positive business outlook

Rakuten Kobo has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 261 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Rakuten Kobo employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Retail & Wholesale industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

261 reviews
3.0
Nov 4, 2021

Not the place to grow your career

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- The people (on the non executive and management level) are great. All very friendly and generous with their time - Flexible WFH options

Cons

- Raises and promotions are given to the select favourites every year. When the same five to ten names constantly get promoted without acknowledging the other people on the team that helped achieve the goals it is clear favouritism that is transparent to everyone in the company. That being said, unless you are in the inner circle and can adhere to high school politics, do not expect any career growth - Raises are hard to come by. It should not feels like you have to beg and make powerpoint presentations in order to demonstrate why you deserve a raise especially when the starting pay is already well below market - locker room or high school "clique" mentality is strong, especially within certain departments. This has been mentioned in quite a few reviews before mine and seems to get brushed off

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Rakuten Kobo Response
4y
Thank you for your detailed review. We are glad to hear that you found our employees to be friendly and generous with their time, as well as enjoying the flexible work from home options. We are disappointed to hear that you also had a negative experience during your employment at Rakuten Kobo. We evaluate all employee salaries on a regular basis and provide raises on an annual basis to employees based on their performance. We encourage employees to speak with their managers for their career development as well as work with managers to provide them with resources to develop their talent. We offer training and development opportunities to all our employees, as well as our Rakuten Kobo mentorship program and the Rakuten mentorship program. We also offer coaching to several of our employees. The opportunity for career development is there and we encourage employees and leaders to make the most of what is available. About the cliques, let’s talk a bit about that. There are several employees who have worked with each other for 8+ years and have developed strong work relationships. Many individuals have found some of their best friends while working at Rakuten Kobo. Perhaps how close they are might be perceived as a clique, however, we find that our employees are inclusive and are open and welcoming to their colleagues. As you’ve mentioned, the people that work at Rakuten Kobo are friendly. We offer several groups (i.e. Kobo Speaks, Kobo Tech Ladies, Queerly Kobo, Buddy Program, Donut Program, etc.) to employees where they can connect with members of different teams and we encourage all employees to join them. We host regular Thirsty Thursday socials where employees can meet new people across the organization as well. Our employees are welcoming and probably the friendliest bunch you will find in any organization.
3.0
Feb 10, 2021

Limited career growth but a decent stepping stone

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great culture of people, competitive employee perks (e.g. free lunches, RRSP match, free weekly ebooks/audiobooks), dog-friendly, accessible through multiple transit routes, flat hierarchical structure results in less bureaucracy and formality This is a good option for young professionals looking to gain industry experience and the brand power from both Rakuten and Kobo serves as a good stepping stone into future opportunities.

Cons

- Pay is not competitive and is well under-indexed compared to market - Limited career growth opportunities; annual goal setting exercises are fairly fruitless if at the end of the day, there exists no opportunities for role progression - Questionable strategic decision-making within senior management; management tends to rush into business opportunities without fully considering the strategic implications and the product-market fit - The lax work environment is nice in the moment but does more harm than good in the long run. Echoing a previous review, "Don't let the illusion of comfort dull your skills. The longer you stay, the harder it will be to adjust in the real job market"

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Rakuten Kobo Response
5y
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. Although your journey at Rakuten Kobo has only been for a short period of time, it sounds like you have really been enjoying some of our employee perks, which is great! We would however like to take this opportunity to discuss some of the areas above that you’ve pointed out. In terms of our compensation, our Total Rewards team ensures that our compensation packages are equitable, fair and adhere to industry standards through benchmarking data. Our Performance Management process is also a fantastic way to outline your annual objectives, creating alignment to your personal, departmental and organizational goals with mid-year and year-end reviews. Another great resource to discuss career development is with our dedicated in-house Training & Development Specialist. We encourage you to schedule some time with this person to discuss a career development plan. We also have Individual Development Plans, host frequent lunch & learns and have an online learning platform with training courses available 24/7. We hope to hear from you soon to further discuss these opportunities!
1.0
May 24, 2019

Would Not Recommend

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The decisions you make have a large impact

Cons

Lost a lot its culture since being purchased by Rakuten

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Rakuten Kobo Response
7y
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We value the opinions of our former employees, which is why it saddens us to hear that you feel we lost some of our culture since joining the Rakuten family. Since joining Rakuten, we’ve been exposed to many exciting opportunities allowing us to integrate aligning principles and programs. Not only has it strengthened our core values and made our one team culture stronger, it has allowed us to achieve our main goal – to empower booklovers to read more – because we believe reading makes the world a better place. We wish you the best of luck with your future endeavours!
Viewing 19 - 21 of 261 Reviews

Glassdoor has 328 Rakuten Kobo reviews submitted anonymously by Rakuten Kobo employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Rakuten Kobo is right for you.