I don't even know where to begin. Before taking this role - I did a regular thorough search on the internet (also Glassdoor) to check for any red flags - however most of the reviews were overpowered by store associates. I thought that was odd, but not very out of the norm so I did not think twice.
It turns out, there is a very unbalanced relationship between the stores and the corporate office, aptly called Store Support Center (SSC). Not once during the interview process was it made evidently clear to me that I would be entering into more or less a store-like environment at the corporate level.
If you're someone who likes to be in a traditional American work-environment, this is not the place for you. Get ready for a culture shock - first from the overwhelming amount of expatriates from Japan (who are all in key leadership/decision maker positions) to the way that you interact and behave in the office.
Couple of major issues about the workplace culture/environment:
You must clock in/clock out - even when you are a full time salaried employee . You cannot eat at your desk. You cannot listen to your headphones at your desk. You must keep your desk clear of things at all times. It is nearly always silent, the tension you feel can be cut with a knife- no loud noises, it's considered a distraction. Very low budget for anything - the best workplace perk is that you get free tea packets, hot water, and instant coffee that only serves 8oz at a time. Everyone is quick to say "no" and opt for the safer choice because they are scared that they are next on the chopping block. No collaborative thinking, everyone just does what they're told without questioning why or if there is a better way to do it. Almost everyone here is from the retail stores - once a store associate or manager - and has no background in the trade that they are leading or making (i.e. store manager running website build).
Actual Work issues:
Nobody here really has any decision making power or budget to do the job because these decisions are up to the CEO and CFO. Most of your work is to make sure that you get the appropriate signatures on the right forms - because this process is so tedious and long, you opt for the safer option that is uncontroversial to relieve the pain you are going to face if you were to think outside the box.
Every purchase, even $200 ones, have to be approved by the CEO and CFO - to note this is a company of 100 people with several tiers between these two C-suite folks. THEN you must get buy-in from the store managers because the stores hold the budgets. Directors/VPs don't have this decision making process - so if you are someone who is used to owning your own budget and projects, you have to pitch every time you want to spend why it's worth the value as well as bring 2 other competitive bids to prove that you are truly getting the best value.
There is just so much more that I can say, but this is not a place for new found and innovative thinking. IF anything, you will waste so much energy here trying to get people to see the way that you see it - is probably better spent elsewhere growing and testing new ideas (if you don't have numbers to prove why your idea will be successful - so forget about gut feelings and intuition- forget about getting it approved).
