MVP across the organization.
Yurika Machiyama's growth trajectory

I am Miyagawa, the manager of Monosus Thailand (hereinafter Monotai). This time, Yurika Machiyama, a Monotai member, was selected as the Japanese Monosus Monthly MVP, even though she was not originally eligible, and I was asked to write this article.
Machiyama joined the company in March 2016. She joined the company (i.e. moved to Thailand) with no prior experience in the industry, and before I knew it, two years and three months had passed. Machiyama has now grown to a position that could be called ace, let alone fully-fledged. This time, even though she belongs to a different company, the fact that she has been recognized in this way, beyond the boundaries of the organization, is something that we are very proud of and deeply moved by.

Reasons for receiving MVP award

• After the project was delivered, the feedback from the customer was very positive.
• In a collaborative project with the Yoyogi department, the ability and attitude to coordinate projects across departments was highly praised by each department.
• The attendance during the Japan-Thailand joint company trip was excellent.

The first person to recommend Machiyama as an MVP was Tatsuta , the head of the marketing department. He felt that Machiyama's work, which has earned him high praise and trust from clients, had revealed the core of the services Monosus wants to cherish.
Recently, Machiyama has had more opportunities to work on projects with Japanese colleagues, and I think his work has become more noticeable in Japan.
This time, I would like to look back on her career from the time she was hired to the present and consider some of her unique characteristics.

What kind of work does Machiyama do in Thailand?

Monotai has had an office in Bangkok, Thailand since 2013, and has been responsible for much of the coding involved in the creation of Monosus' website. Machiyama is in charge of directing the coding work.
The big difference between the production systems in Japan and Thailand is that in MonoThailand, the direction is done by Japanese people and the coding is done by Thai people. Therefore, when creating a Japanese website for an order from Japan, there is inevitably a language difference. Understanding the vague and intuitive specifications of front-end web production and assigning work to Thai coders through an interpreter or by communicating directly requires high direction skills that are different from the division of labor between Japanese people.

At the time of hiring

When he was hired, Machiyama applied by creating a simple self-introduction page using HTML/CSS, in response to the requirement to submit a "free format" resume (CV/work history, etc.).
It is unclear whether he perfectly understood the hiring manager's intentions, but he was the only one out of approximately 50 applicants who demonstrated the ability to execute as expected.
While many people express their enthusiasm for joining the company in writing, such as "I have no experience, but after joining the company I will quickly learn the job," the results of having already taken action clearly showed that he was not passive.
Even in the interview that followed, I could sense his determination to move to Thailand, and I remember that his reasons for wanting the job were the only ones that were coherent.

Training period

Machiyama was originally scheduled to be a member of the first class of the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku vocational training course in Kamiyama, Tokushima Prefecture. However, due to a delay in the timing of the recruitment advertisement, he missed the enrollment period, and after undergoing a two-week check training at the Yoyogi office, he came to Thailand immediately.
Although his wish to stay in Kamiyama did not come to fruition, Ito , who was the head of the Coding Factory department at the time, had just finished teaching at the Kamiyama Monosasu Juku and was seconded to Monotai for a few months, so Machiyama received three months of intensive one-on-one training from Ito.

Machiyama spent his training period completely off-the-job training, learning from Ito the basics of coding and the working mindset. Machiyama had such good instincts that Ito said, "He's quick to pick up technical things, so I'd like to train him as a coder."
In Mr. Ito's teaching method, he doesn't really tell students the answers. He gives them hints and assignments to help them think and develop the ability to arrive at the answer on their own. To deepen his understanding of what Ito taught him, Machiyama stayed after work and studied hard until late into the night. The days of training passed by in an instant, and he was finally about to make his debut on a real project.

A flurry of cases

Shortly after his debut on a real project, one of Monotai's two Japanese directors at the time retired. Things began to develop rapidly from there, and newcomer Machiyama found himself faced with an overwhelming number of projects.
Even though he had completed Ito's training, the types of cases were diverse. He learned much of the business knowledge only after he started working, and he was busy solving problems that arose one after another without knowing what to do. While I supported him from the sidelines, each case was sure to accumulate as Machiyama's experience and gave him confidence.
Until now, Monotai has received many small and medium-sized project requests, but I think Machiyama has the most projects delivered in the last two years, even when looking at Monosas as a whole.
The reason why Machiyama has experienced the most projects within the company and led them to delivery is, in addition to the scale of the projects, his high task-processing ability and the wide range of project types he can handle.
Because he can do it, he is asked to do it, and because he is asked to do it, he is able to do more. I think that it is in this cycle that Machiyama's strengths are nurtured.

What are Machiyama's strengths?

Machiyama is often requested by clients to "please hire Machiyama again next time," and he received some kind words from clients during interviews, which was one of the reasons for his award this time.
What was particularly impressive was the comments that "they notice," "they make suggestions," and "I feel like I'm being properly directed."
They notice small issues that the client had not noticed and propose solutions. We have heard that this is extremely helpful.

Machiyama cares very much about the feelings of those around him. This is due to his natural sensitivity, which is a bit different from the feeling of reading the atmosphere, more like an ability to empathize. He is sensitive to what others need and realizes what he should provide them. His ability to read ahead and pay attention to those around him was also on display when he was attending a joint Japan-Thailand company trip.

Machiyama also seems to have a subconscious love for solving problems. He himself has said that he is "good at Googling," but I think he is good at and enjoys identifying problems, solving them, and saving the situation.
When I think about it, both Monotai and I are greatly helped by her efforts every day. Watching her from the sidelines, even when she has a huge amount of tasks to do, she never leaves out anything important and always completes each task carefully and reliably, which makes me feel almost godlike.
I will be watching over him from behind tonight, worried that he will not hurt himself.
Thank you as always. Congratulations on being the MVP!

Comments on winning the award on Google Hangouts from the Bangkok office

We will be introducing Machiyama in more detail in a member introduction article coming up in July. Also, please read his previous articles to find out why he decided to move to Thailand and his struggles in the first year after joining the company.