Ezen / Japanese Gallery - Internship induction

Welcome to your internship at Ezen / Japanese Gallery. The following induction page covers the general rules and responsibilities that are covered by our internship program:

Starting Time

The gallery opens at 9am, therefore we ask that you arrive at 8:45 in order to help with the set up and replenishing items prior to opening.

 

Basic Rules

  • No social media/telephone/text/email during working hours unless it relates to work. In matters of urgency, please discuss with staff for permission.
  • Please do not listen to your own music during working hours. It is important to be reactive, whilst making sure not to impair communication amongst the team.
  • Sickness or lateness to be reported as soon as possible.
  • Files saved on the desktops are automatically deleted daily as our computer terminals are shared amongst the team. Please ensure any documents are saving in the appropriate place.
  • If you have not been shown how to do something or are unsure, especially taking payments, please do not attempt as errors can easily occur.

 

Our Expectations

  • Professional behaviour
  • Punctuality
  • Attention to detail
  • Patience
  • Respect
  • Reliability
  • Independence and enthusiasm
  • Self-criticism and acceptance for fair comment
  • Always present your thoughts and ideas with confidence

 

Diversity and Equality

We also have a strong policy where there is to be no discrimination as regards to race, gender and sexual orientation. Should there be anything that causes troubles or concerns in these areas, please make sure that management is made aware of this in order that this can be addressed.

 

Your Expectations

  • From an initial in-depth induction meeting, periodic meetings take place to enable updates and for you to discuss any issues or concerns. We have years of experience with interns, and we ask that matters to be brought up with us directly prior to raising matters with your agency/university.
  • Please respect this practice as it saves everyone a lot of time, and the agency and universities are aware of this requirement and agreement, and by not raising any issues with us first, will be contrary to the agreement of the placement. If anything cannot be resolved internally, the second stage is to raise the case with the respective institution which we will undertake where necessary. Our aim is to make sure we are all happy.

 

Content and Structure

Our internship program entails a wide range of activities, of which you will be assigned tasks depending on your performance, skills, and progress. Depending on which organisation, our contents vary and some interns involve themselves in both organisations to gain skills and experience in a variety of areas. Depending on the area that we focus on, some or all of the following will be covered.

  • General administration and management
  • Assisting with correspondence and projects.
  • Liaising with clients both B2C and B2B.
  • Involvement with suppliers and service providers to our organisation.
  • Opening and closing of our store/office.
  • Replenishing stock / order management (online and in store).
  • Production management (B2B and B2C).
  • Actively joining in for brainstorming for projects or designs.
  • Branding and marketing visuals to contribute thoughts and feedback.
  • Seeing areas of improvements for product as well as other materials.
  • Learning how to handle original works of art.
  • Research of artwork and producing authentication certificates.
  • Digitation of artwork and basic editing using Photoshop.
  • Learning skills of mounting and framing.
  • Exhibition co-ordination with possibility of curating.
  • Newsletter content research/design and mail outs.
  • Compilation of data for prospection.
  • Social media marketing through Twitter/Instagram.
  • Looking at potential collaborative projects with other organisations.
  • Periods where we are involved with trade fairs, project managing for trade fairs in the logistics and set up.
  • Online database management
  • Managing product listings on our online platforms.
  • Activities on our websites (B2B and B2C) as well as Amazon platforms.
  • Analysis of the industry to improve our web presence.

  

Some helpful tips:

  • Observe as much as you can.
  • Always have a little notebook and a pen, so you will be ready to take notes when being taught in order to not have to be taught the same thing twice.
  • When showing work in the group chat send a screenshot. If you are using windows instead of using the ‘Snipping Tool’ Use ‘Screen Snip’ and then paste it in the message bar.

Dress code

We ask members to wear a black jacket. If you do not have one, please obtain one once your placement has been confirmed. Please also wear a plain office shirt that is long enough to be neatly tucked into trousers with a smart belt, or paired with a long black skirt. Piercings are not permitted. Interns are expected to adhere to this dress code, and those who do not may be asked to leave.

Customer engagement

As we are based within a gallery/store space, this is an ideal opportunity to practice customer sales and engagement, whilst gaining linguistic growth for those whose native language is not English.

Some basic guidelines:

If you are in the middle of doing other work, temporarily put it on hold and prioritise the customer. Attend to them as you would like to be attended to if you walked into a new premise.

Whether Japanese gallery, or Ezen, we must all greet customers that come into the premises. Greet them, and ask if they are looking for anything in particular. Imagine if YOU are the customer. Being ignored, and not greeting, creates a very hostile cold environment.

If you would like to start a conversation with customers - questions such as: ‘Are you looking for any particular subject?’; ‘Can I help you at all?’;'What brings you to the gallery today?'

Usually customers will say they are ‘just looking.’ If they do so ask them: ‘Is it the first time you’ve come to this gallery?’ If it is the first time, introduce the Gallery:

  • Then Give the customer space and a bit of time to browse after the above introduction and mention ‘Please have a browse and do let me know if you have any questions.’
  • ‘The prints are organised according to subjects’
  • ‘The items with certificates are all original woodcut hand prints. The dates on the labels are the original dates and are not copies. Many of them are over 100 years of age.’ etc...
  • ‘Has anything taken your fancy so far?’
  • e.g. Do you have an interest in Japanese art?
  • Have you been to Japan before?
  • Is this the first time you’ve been to our gallery?
  • How did you find us?
  • If the customer remains looking after 5 minutes or so, they definitely have an interest. Approach again and try to see if they are looking for anything.

Try to understand what they are looking for and make suggestions. You can talk about Japanese Art/any other related topics:

Any specialist question that you are not familiar with the answer, simply respond by saying that you will ask a colleague to come and assist. Listen to the answer, and this way, you can answer yourself for the next time.

To customers who have purchased, or have expressed an interest in purchasing, please ask for their email address. This is vital for customer relationship and marketing. It is important to introduce them to the benefits of the newsletter; “We would love to keep you updated with special offers and events – would you like to leave your email with us?” etc.

Whether your primary goal is marketing, business admin, graphic design, our aim is to maximise your learning experience, and to improve your CV/portfolio whilst developing your business skills to set you on the right path for a stronger career prospect.

You will have a final assessment meeting at the end of your placement, where you will discuss your performance and a recommendation letter will be provided.

For safety reasons, NEVER leave a customer in areas that cannot be seen (i.e. going downstairs alone if nobody is downstairs, please accompany the customer.) If they look suspicious - stop working and watch them carefully. London is a big city and we have had multiple thefts over the years. See if they have a big bag where they could easily slip in art prints, even if they have a small bag people have managed to slip art prints in there and steal. Please always be careful.

 

Telephone

Please beware of the phone. If the staff are busy and unable to answer (and we try to answer within three rings) please be ready to pick up. If you struggle to understand, simply ask the caller to hold the line and pass the call immediately to a member of staff.

 

Benefits

As a thank you for your time, we offer discounts to all our staff and interns the following: 

Museum Association card avaialable for staff and interns for free access to museums in the UK (ask a member of staff)Japanese Gallery: 10% Discount

Ezen (Cards, bookmarks, art prints) 25% Discount

Ezen (notebook, phonecase) 20% Discount

 

Keeping standards

To ensure a professional and welcoming environment for both colleagues and customers, we ask all employees to uphold our basic workplace standards.

Behaviours such as persistent lateness, use of personal phones during working hours, chewing gum in front of visitors, or failure to follow the agreed dress code are not accepted.

If these standards are not met:

  1. A verbal reminder will be given.

  2. If the issue continues, a formal meeting will be arranged.

  3. If it persists, the matter will be referred to the Director.

  4. Ongoing issues may then be raised with your agent or organisation.

 

Employee Fire and Life safety

Fire can occur due to electrics, explosions, accidents and a host of other reasons. Two essential things covered in this manual are the following:

  • An emergency action plan and what to do when a fire occurs.
  • A fire prevention plan to best prevent any fire from occurring.
  • In the case of a fire
  • The exit is on the ground floor as indicated on the diagram. There is only one entrance/exit but always be aware in the case of emergencies, and note where all the fire extinguishers are in the property (though it will most likely be the staff member who will attend to this, it is worth noting just in case).
  • Should there be a fire, and the fire alarm signals, immediately stop any work and proceed to vacate the premises. Customers must be guided to the exit. The member of staff on the day will remain at the exit point to make sure that the premises has been cleared, whilst monitoring that everyone is assembled at the fire assembly point (next page).

Assembly point

The assembly point for the staff and intern is in front of 'Buns from home’ shop just across the road (12 Islington high St, London N1 8ED). Please make yourself aware of this property on your first day.

Accident log

Should there be any accidents, please note this on the logbook below. A first aid kit is available on the premises, but all incidents should be reported to a staff member as soon as possible. If in doubt for severe cases, dial 999. Less emergency cases, please contact NHS Direct on 111.

Good handling technique for lifting

  • Plan the lift. Can handling aids be used? Where is the load going to be placed? Will help be needed with the load? Remove obstructions such as discarded wrapping materials.
  • Adopt a stable position and make sure your feet are apart, with one leg slightly forward to maintain balance
  • At the start of the lift, slight bending of the back, hips and knees is preferable to fully flexing the back (stooping) or fully flexing the hips and knees (squatting). Avoid twisting the back or leaning sideways, especially while the back is bent. Shoulders should be kept level and facing in the same direction as the hips. Turning by moving the feet is better than twisting and lifting at the same time.
  • Keep the load close to the waist: the load should be kept close to the body for as long as possible while lifting.
  • Keep the heaviest side of the load next to the body.
  • Keep the head up when handling: look ahead, not down at the load, once it has been held securely.
  • For a long lift, consider resting the load midway on a table or bench to change grip.
  • Don't lift or handle more than can be easily managed. There is a difference between what people can lift and what they can safely lift. If in doubt, seek advice or get help.

 

Please be aware that management is available at all times to discuss any matters that could be a cause for concern and this should be the first step to take as most matters can be resolved with healthy communication and of course, our collective aim will always be to address all matters as best we can to keep a healthy working space.