Hikaru Nicole Ikehara

- Provide regional leadership, guidance, and coordination to the Japan People Solutions team (5 members), ensuring alignment with global Total Rewards strategy and local execution. - Serve as a key regional point of contact across Japan, Korea, and ANZ, bridging global CoE, regional stakeholders, and local teams to enable effective delivery of benefits programs. - Lead end-to-end benefits governance and operations across multiple markets, ensuring compliance with local regulations, service quality, and alignment with company policies. - Drive process optimization and standardization initiatives by analyzing current processes, identifying gaps, and implementing improvements across countries. - Partner closely with Total Rewards Plan & Design (CoE) on program design, enhancement, and regional rollout, contributing to discussions beyond operations and supporting strategic initiatives. - Support and lead regional initiatives including M&A, organizational changes, and benefits transformation projects. - Manage relationships with external vendors, ensuring service delivery, SLA adherence, data integrity, and smooth implementation of changes across systems and processes. - Own escalation management and issue resolution across countries, ensuring timely and effective outcomes. - Contribute to data-driven decision making through reporting, analysis, and insights on benefits utilization, service quality, and operational performance.

- Led the design, implementation, and administration of compensation and benefits programs, ensuring alignment with market practices and business needs. - Acted as a trusted HR partner to employees and managers, providing guidance on employee relations topics including leave, performance, and workplace issues. - Drove the development and implementation of HR policies and processes to enhance organizational efficiency and compliance. - Managed performance review cycles and supported performance management initiatives across the organization. - Analyzed HR metrics (e.g., attrition, hiring trends) to provide insights and support data-driven decision making. - Maintained HRIS and employee data, ensuring accuracy and compliance with local regulations. - Led initiatives to improve employee engagement and well-being, including introduction of new benefits and workplace programs. - Supported talent acquisition, onboarding, and training initiatives in close collaboration with business stakeholders. Key Achievements: - Designed and implemented a structured compensation framework for Japan using Aon market data, including salary benchmarking and new graduate salary design. - Introduced Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and centralized employee health and stress check management system, significantly improving employee well-being and compliance. - Successfully proposed and implemented full-flex and remote work policy (no core time), revising work regulations to enhance work-life balance and employee experience.

Working as HR Manager for a client company – reporting to APAC - Provided end-to-end HR support for a client organization, covering compensation, benefits, employee relations, and compliance. - Managed recruitment and onboarding processes in collaboration with hiring managers to support business growth.   - Ensured compliance with local labor laws and regulations across multiple markets, maintaining HR policies and governance. - Handled employee relations matters, including disciplinary actions and investigations.   - Delivered benefits management across Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, coordinating with local stakeholders and vendors.   Key Achievements: - Designed and implemented compensation and benefits programs across multiple countries using Mercer benchmarking data. - For Japan: introduced mental health training, wellness app, and redesigned retirement system (age extension from 60 to 65, DC vendor change). - For Korea, Australia, and New Zealand: implemented and managed country-specific benefit programs (DC plan, superannuation, KiwiSaver, allowances).

- Led a team of 2 and managed full-scope HR operations including payroll, benefits, budgeting, and employee relations. - Oversaw payroll and bonus processes for approximately 4,000 employees, ensuring accuracy and compliance. - Managed total personnel cost and headcount planning, supporting business financial planning. - Led large-scale HR projects including “equal pay for equal work” initiative and Great Place to Work program. - Designed and managed compensation and benefits frameworks, including retirement plans, salary structures, and job grading systems. - Ensured compliance with labor laws and managed regulatory documentation and updates. Key Achievements: - Led company-wide compensation and benefits redesign in response to equal pay for equal work legislation, covering multiple employment types. - Conducted benchmarking analysis and presented recommendations to Rewards team to align compensation structures. - Led payroll system transformation project by defining requirements and improving system specifications. - Redesigned benefits programs including retirement plans, health programs, and allowances based on market analysis.

- Supported end-to-end HR roles including recruitment, payroll coordination, onboarding/offboarding, and employee data management. - Partnered with business teams to define hiring needs and facilitate recruitment processes. - Managed payroll coordination with vendors and finance team, including year-end tax adjustments. - Administered social insurance, benefits programs, and absence management. - Supported performance review processes and employee engagement initiatives. - Contributed to HR system implementation and process improvements. - Managed HR reporting including headcount, hiring metrics, and organizational data.

- Managed payroll and attendance tracking for temporary staff, ensuring accuracy and compliance with labor regulations. - Administered labor management processes including social insurance, employee benefits, and government-related procedures.   - Supported end-to-end recruitment coordination including resume screening, interview scheduling, and candidate communication. - Conducted candidate sourcing and assisted consultants in matching candidates to client requirements.   - Prepared and reviewed employment contracts and renewal agreements with basic legal checks. - Produced KPI reports and operational metrics to support business performance tracking.   - Acted as a key point of contact for clients, candidates, and internal teams, ensuring smooth communication and coordination.

Project-based Assignment (Global Corporate Services / IT Optimization Support (Outsourced to US Asset Management Firm)Project-based Assignment (Global Corporate Services / IT Optimization)  - Supported corporate services operations including logistics, reporting, vendor coordination, and internal/external communications. - Managed cost tracking and administrative processes while supporting global communication in English. Project 2: Mobile Device Optimization Project (US IT Consulting Firm) - Led optimization initiative for mobile device and IT support operations, managing 1 team member. - Managed cost reporting and vendor selection for approximately 1,500 employees to improve efficiency and reduce expenses. - Developed user manuals, conducted end-user training, and improved operational processes through data analysis and workflow redesign. - Supported budgeting, billing, and data management to ensure operational accuracy. Key Achievements: - Automated billing and reporting processes using Excel Macro and Access, significantly improving efficiency. - Received Japan IT Best Practice Award (2012 Q3) for operational improvement initiative. - Improved ticket escalation process between Japan and offshore team by introducing issue tracking, analysis, and categorization.

- Assisted in managing a high-volume retail store (approx. 30 employees), supporting daily operations, staffing, and sales performance. - Managed shift scheduling, sales tracking, inventory control, and customer service operations. - Led sales initiatives including promotional campaigns, customer engagement programs, and sales script development. - Provided escalation handling for complex customer issues and supported technical troubleshooting. - Conducted sales analysis (by product, customer segment, and demographics) to improve performance and customer targeting. Key Achievements: - Increased store profit by 20% year-over-year through data-driven sales improvements and team coaching. - Improved individual and team sales performance through development of sales scripts and structured training. - Received Regional Top Sales Award among 90 employees across 10 stores.