An interesting exchange with Flora Louvet, Head of Corporate Communications, who shares with us how the company cultivates transparency and commitment thanks to a ritual inspired by Japan and a deeply human approach.

At Rakuten France, internal communication means rhythm, clarity and participation.

"It's a moment everyone's been waiting for."

Every two weeks, at precisely 9:30 a.m., the 200 employees of Rakuten France get together for a meeting like no other: theAsakaï - "morning meeting" in Japanese.

For half an hour, the CEO shares figures and news, the teams present their projects, and the room comes alive with collective energy.

"This ritual allows us to celebrate our successes, talk about challenges and, above all, cultivate transparency," says Flora Louvet.

An in-house survey conducted with HR Director Marianne Yalfani confirmed its success: short format, sincere exchanges, ideal frequency. The challenge ahead? Add even more interactivity.

Short, visual and human messages

At Rakuten, internal communication is primarily via the internal social network, which has become the heart of team life. "It's interactive, lively, everyone can react with emojis sometimes invented by our employees themselves!"

But Flora tells us that: too many messages, even on a good channel, ends up saturating attention.

"The most important thing is to be brief, human and visual: a picture is worth a thousand words."

His team also designs posters and frames todecorate offices: portraits of employees, awareness campaigns or successes to celebrate. A simple and warm way of making corporate culture visible on a daily basis. We love it.

AI, a pragmatic ally

A 100% digital company, Rakuten France is moving forward pragmatically on the use of artificial intelligence. "All our employees are trained in AI, but we only use it if it brings real value."

In his team, AI supports content production or video subtitling, without ever replacing the human touch:

"A spelling mistake or an awkward tone is noticeable. AI helps us go faster, but it's up to us to keep the message right."

Between start-up heritage and Japanese culture

Although Rakuten France is part of a global group with 30,000 employees, it retains the agile spirit of the former PriceMinister, from which it sprang. "This start-up DNA is still felt: we share, we experiment, we remain agile even within a large group."

Transparency, rhythm and attention to detail: this is the recipe Flora and the Rakuten France team use to keep their employees engaged.

"Repeating messages, making them simple and visual, is the key. Engagement is all about regularity and attention."

Many thanks to Flora Louvet for this exchange. At we advocacyour mission is to give power back to internal communication and make it a living lever for corporate culture, brand and performance.