In terms of human resources development, we believe that it is necessary to develop human resources who can evolve and transform various operations, for realizing the 2030 Business Plan, which we intend to transform our business portfolio, implement structural reforms to improve profitability, and strengthen the business management foundation. We will actively invest in human capital to develop leaders who will drive such evolution and transformation, as well as human resources who will execute each strategy.
We are implementing initiatives from a medium- to long-term perspective to continuously develop candidates at all levels.
For officer candidates, we offer one-on-one coaching with an outside professional. Through this one-on-one coaching, candidates are given opportunities to deepen self-understanding, such as how to be a leader. We continue to develop human resources who meet the Group’s management personnel requirements, including leadership skills.
For general manager candidates, we conduct off-site training and the Group's own training that teaches the framework for problem-solving. In off-site training, discussions are held in a group setting with participants of the same rank from other companies on the theme of solving social issues.
For manager candidates, we conduct training for future leaders targeting select employees in their 30s to develop the eight requirements* of future leaders over a nine-month period. This training program has been held on a regular basis since2019, and there are now cases where participants have gone on to become managers.
* Problem formation, problem solving, innovation and creation, risk-taking and growth potential, independence and pioneer spirit, persuasiveness and influence, listening and interpersonal relationships, guidance and development.
Recognizing that they are indispensable in each business domain for the Group to achieve sustainable growth, we will work to secure human resources with advanced expertise and develop them over the medium to long term. In FY2022, we defined human resource requirements for DX, accounting, and global human resources as key areas. This definition spans several levels, from the development and growth phase to the advanced specialization phase. We have set the required number of people every three years until 2030 and are working to develop and secure human resources following this plan.
In FY2023, we have begun providing expert-level training options based on the definition of human resource requirements. In addition to continuous learning centered on e-learning, the options consist of training that imparts a wide range of knowledge. Based on the concept of self-sustaining career development, we respect the independence of employees and openly recruit some participants.
Aimed at clearly defining individual employees' growth path and properly running a training PDCA cycle on site, the Program consists of three phases: assessment, development of a training plan based thereon, and implementation of the plan. In the assessment phase, the person subject to the training identifies his/her own strengths and weaknesses jointly with his/her supervisor according to the definition of capabilities required for all Morinaga employees regardless of the job type, and develop an annual OJT- and Off-JT-based training plan. In the implementation phase, an interview session is held every quarter to review the employee's performance and confirm programs scheduled in the future. When these phases are completed, a training PDCA cycle is run.
Morinaga has been particularly focused on the education and training of young employees and provide them with a basic training program that spans three years after joining the company. Included in the program are the OJT Trainer System for new employees, annual group training in the form of an Off-JT, and career interviews by the Human Resources Division. The Human Resources Division provides diversified support to younger personnel in such areas as skill, mind, and career. The three year program is designed to help participants develop.
We continue to provide training to employees who have completed the three-year basic training program to help them further improve their skills, mindset, and behavior, according to the organizational roles they are expected to play.
Our theme-based training programs, which are focused on management and business challenges, include the following: next-generation leader training, managementgame training, and educational training to improve specialized knowledge and skills required to perform duties specific to each division.
At their assigned workplace, new employees learn how to accomplish their duties by running the experiential learning cycle for a period of one year, under the guidance of the OJT trainer in charge of them. An increasing number of facilities and employees have adopted the Human Resource Development Program in sequence, and, in conjunction with the use of personnel appraisal system, each workplace is actively implementing OJT programs to ensuring that employees can grow and develop their skills through the programs.
We provide a wide range of programs that motivate employees to learn more, according to individual employees' training themes. These free-choice programs include distance learning, e-learning, Company-sponsored theme-based training, and external seminars whose fees are partly paid by the Company. Participants in the distance- and/or e-learning programs can freely select their own courses from approximately 200 options. We have established financial assistance programs under which employees can receive an amount roughly equivalent to half of tuition fees, or monetary incentives if they attend a course as a group. A number of affiliate companies have adopted similar assistance programs to support their employees' learning.
In an effort to listen to our employee’s opinion, we hold various interview sessions between supervisors and their subordinates every quarter. These opportunities include quarterly accomplishment review, the Human Resource Development Program, and career design interviews. In this process, we make efforts to enhance employees' skills and performance by providing guidance and support for problem solving and growth while also emphasizing the process of reaching goals as well as evaluations based on MBO. We have established a system whereby employees who are subject to 360 degree evaluation are given feedback each time the evaluation is conducted, and are able to reflect on their own management style by receiving advice from their superiors.
In addition, the Human Resources Division holds an individual interview with participants in the rank-based training programs, ensuring that the Division can directly listen to employees and share their opinions.
The All Morinaga Labor Union, which consists of nine labor unions—six from Morinaga Group member companies and three from Morinaga Milk Industry Group member companies—operates under a union shop system. All regular employees, except for managerial or executive positions, are members of the Union. The Union discusses various measures and is working on such issues as the improvement of workplace environment.
We have continuously and regularly conducted employee awareness survey for more than 40 years. The survey is designed to identify issues to be resolved about corporate culture and various measures. The survey questions include those concerning the level of satisfaction with work, company, workplace, and supervisors, as well as other unique questions aligned with the times or circumstances, such as those asking the respondents' degree of understanding of the Medium-term Management Plan and their awareness of regulatory revisions. The results are shared with the management and each division's top executives, allowing them to use the results as important data for formulating management strategies and solving issues in respective organizations.
Morinaga is characterized by high employee satisfaction with the top management's communication regarding corporate vision and employees' great pride in their work and the Company.
Every year, Morinaga carries out initiatives to employ the diversity of ideas produced by individual employees and generate innovation.
Under this system, the President personally screens and honors employees (teams) who have brought tremendous tangible benefits to the company through inventions, discoveries, or ideas, or who have demonstrated the spirit of challenge and action in achieving goals that would be impossible to achieve through ordinary efforts or ideas.
New Business Development Division, which is engaged in efforts to create new business models, has recruited members through an internal open recruitment system.
The Division is also creating a culture of pioneering spirit,by providing training sessions for employees who wish to be involved in the creation of new businesses and by organizing lectures to learn about changes in the external environment and gain a heightened or broad perspective.