In order to become “a company in which every employee feels pride and satisfaction in his/her work” and to further advance reforms, the Group is promoting work style reforms from the three perspectives: flexible work styles, business reforms, and the use of IT/AI. By offering a variety of work styles, we intend to create a work environment in which each employee can achieve results while feeling pride and job satisfaction.
Targets and results
We achieved certain results through the Work Style Reform Action Plan from April 2018 to March 2023.
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| Systems | Contents |
|---|---|
| Telecommuting system | Introduced a telecommuting system in FY2019 for full-time employees (temporary and contract employees may apply at the discretion of their department head), with no restrictions on the reason or number of days of use. |
| Annual Paid Vacation Accumulation System (Expired Paid Vacation Reserve System) | Eliminated the free use of the Expired Paid Leave Reserve System, which was made available in FY 2018 for childcare and family care reasons. The number of days accumulated was changed from 2 days/year to 5 days/year. In addition to full days and half days, employees can now take leave in one-hour increments. |
| Super Flextime System | Aiming to improve productivity through efficient work execution, a flextime system without core hours was introduced in FY2015 to allow employees to voluntarily and systematically set their own working hours to the extent that it does not interfere with their work. |
| Hourly Paid Holiday System | In FY2016, we introduced an hourly paid leave system to promote awareness of the importance of each hour of work and to change the way we think about time. |
| Flexible Leave System | Introduced a Flexible Leave System in FY2019 that allows employees to take a leave of absence for personal reasons for up to two years based on their own needs, such as for career development or to spend meaningful private time. |
| Nursing Care Support System | In FY2016, the nursing care leave period was increased from 93 days (statutory) to 365 days, and the shortened working hours for nursing care benefit was expanded from 1 hour/day to 2 hours/day. |
| Internal Multiple Role System | Introduced an Internal Multiple Role System in FY2021 that allows employees to expand their horizons by taking on projects of interest in parallel with their existing work. |
Systems to promote work-life balance
Based on the concept of “work hard, rest well,” we will promote a true work-life balance through flexible work styles. In addition to weekly no overtime days, we have systems such as refreshment leave, memorial leave, hourly paid leave, and super flextime without core time. We are supporting more flexible work styles by easing restrictions on the reasons for using super flextime and by revising the system so that it can be used by employees who work shorter hours. In addition, although the reasons for taking paid leave under the unused paid leave reserve system had been limited to childcare and nursing care, the system has been made usable regardless of the reason. We also have a telecommuting system for all employees and a flexible leave system that allows employees to take personal leave once during their employment for a maximum of two years, at their own discretion. In FY2022, four employees used the flexible leave system for the purpose of obtaining qualifications, etc.
Manufacturing Innovation(Monozukuri Transformation)
Envisioning where we want to be in five and 10 years, we have worked in two teams: one that aims for automatization, mechanization, and the elimination of the 3Ds (Dangerous, Dirty and Demanding) for the Monozukuri Transformation, and the other that aims for digitalization and the reform of work styles and education (work-style reform). We decided to conclude these activities in March 2023, and after selecting themes to be continuously promoted, we will work on these themes at each factory. Going forward, we will change the name of these reform activities to “Monozukuri Transformation,” and establish the Monozukuri Transformation Center within the Nagoya Factory in July 2023. Regarding digitalization and work-style reforms, we will pursue process optimization, automatization, labor saving, etc.
Awareness reform and system building to create a workplace environment in which diverse human resources can play an active role
- Measures to promote women’s empowerment [internal and external training program and exchange meeting, maiden name usage system, seminar to support work and childcare balance for those returning to work after childcare leave (partner participation recommended)]
- Systematic planning to develop human resources and their systematic allocation
- Review of the course/job group system (eliminating generalist and specialist positions to unify them into an associate position)
- Implementation of skill development interviews, etc.
Internal Multiple Role System
Sanyo Chemical aims to create an "exciting company" that maximizes the potential of each and every employee to further enhance corporate value. In February 2022, as a measure to enhance employee job satisfaction and motivation, we began a trial operation of our Internal Multiple Role System that allows employees to expand their horizons by taking on projects of interest in parallel with their existing work.
Items at present (number of persons as of March 31, 2023)
- Development of odor sensors (7 persons)
- CO2 absorber - development of separation membrane (3 persons)
- Peptide Agriculture (8 persons)
- Co-development of wearable body fluid sensor devices (4 persons)
Open work environment
In order to create a state in which employees feel satisfaction and pride in doing their jobs safely and securely, and are willing to make a high level of contribution to the company while voluntarily demonstrating their abilities, it is important to have a thorough dialogue with executives, the organization, and people in various capacities. We actively provide opportunities for communication.
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| Dialogue with executives | The “Dojo” is a system that allows executives and employees to have thorough dialogues. The executives act as dojo owners and invite students (employees) to join a dialogue once a month for a period of six months to one year. The theme (message to be conveyed to the employees) is left entirely up to the dojo owner. Twelve dojos were open in FY2022, with six to eight participants (students) in each dojo. This system will continue in the future. In addition, the “morning meeting for all employees,” in which executives give a lecture to all employees once a month, will continue to be held. |
|---|---|
| Training retreats | This is a system in which each division or department spend one or two days discussing organizational dreams and issues, and the company subsidizes the costs of the reception and lodging. |
| Salon | Managers and higher ranking executives lead the salon and talk with several employees. |
| Coffee meeting | This is a system to deepen mutual understanding through dialogue with the head of the organization. |
| Internal social exchange fees | Subsidies are provided for the holding of social gatherings within the company. |
Business innovation
- Introduction of a virtual desktop service that allows intranet access from outside the company
- Utilization of RPA (Robotic Process Automation)
- Utilization of a BI (Business Intelligence) system
- Introduction of an e-POST system that allows employees to make proposals directly to the president and executives through the intranet, etc.
External evaluation
"First Best Practice Company" in Kyoto Prefecture
In 2016, our company was recognized by the Kyoto Labor Bureau as the first Best Practice Company in Kyoto Prefecture for its proactive efforts to "reform the way we work".
Certified with 3.5 stars in the 6th Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey
We were certified with 3.5 stars in the 6th Nikkei Smart Work Management Survey, which selects leading companies that take on the challenge of productivity innovation through work-style reforms. This survey has been conducted by Nikkei Inc. since 2017, targeting listed companies and leading unlisted companies across the country. It defines “smart work management” as efforts to maximize organizational performance through three elements: realization of diverse and flexible work styles, a system for creating new businesses, and market development capability. Companies are evaluated on a five-star scale. We received an S+ rating for innovation capability, an A+ rating for market development capability, and an A++ rating for human resource utilization.
