Basic Concept
In advancing its business portfolio transformation, the Nisshinbo Group believes that it is necessary to achieve a state where all employees enjoy change and boldly pursue high goals, in other words, a state where both organizational engagement and work engagement are high, in order to realize our business strategy, generate profits, and contribute to society through business activities. To achieve this, the Nisshinbo Group values its relationships with its employees and implements initiatives that respect the individuality and strengths of each and every employee.
Promotion System
Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. reorganized its organizational structure in April 2025 to establish a Managing Officer system for each functional division with the aim of building and overseeing a structure that would lead to urgent change. Talent & D&I Development Department has been established with three groups (Human Resources Development Group, Diversity & Inclusion Promotion Group, and Human Resources and General Affairs Group) under its jurisdiction. In addition to monthly Human Resources Responsibility Officer (HRO) meetings, the company convenes two annual meetings bringing together human resources personnel from all group companies nationwide (Group Human Resources Policy Meeting and Group Human Resources Strategy Meeting) to discuss cross-functional human resources policies and challenges.
The president of the Nisshinbo Group, who is the chief executive officer of the Group, conducts management reviews at the Board of Directors or the annual Board of Management* and receives progress reports from the Managing Officers in charge of the Talent & D&I Development Department with regard to the group's initiatives. Based on these reports, the president issues instructions on the matters necessary for management. Special items are reported to the Board of Directors as appropriate.
* The Board of Management: Executive conference consisting of Directors, Executive officers, etc.
Please refer to "Promotion System for Sustainability Activity" for details regarding the organizational structure for promoting sustainability.
Specific Initiatives of The Nisshinbo Group
6th Sustainability Promotion Plan (to be achieved by FY2027)
- ① Engagement score of at least 80% in the global survey
- ② Promote the practice of the Group's Corporate Philosophy, VALUE, and Business Conduct Guidelines (Affirmation rate in the Group employee survey, 80% or more)
In the 6th Sustainability Promotion Plan, which targets FY2027, the Nisshinbo Group focuses on engagement and practicing the Group's Corporate Philosophy as key activities. To achieve the goals of conducting the global surveys and communicating management's messages based on the Group's Corporate Philosophy, The Nisshinbo Group is promoting the above two initiatives.
The Nisshinbo Group conducted a global engagement survey again in FY2025. A total of 81 companies participated—36 in Japan and 45 overseas—with 19,830 respondents. The response rate was approximately 92.3%, which was exceptionally high even for a global survey. Starting in FY2025, the Group changed its survey vendor to enable each workplace to efficiently analyze the results and plan and implement improvement measures. This change was made to clarify each organization’s strengths and challenges and to enhance system functionality, including the reporting features. As a result, the method for calculating scores changed from previous years.
The Nisshinbo Group will establish a new target for item ① above going forward. At the same time, Nisshinbo will analyze the results, clarify and implement key initiatives, and establish a cycle of monitoring the changes in the scores in the next survey. Recognizing that each individual is a unique asset, Nisshinbo intends to foster an organizational culture that pursues innovation while respecting diverse perspectives and ideas. To this end, the Nisshinbo Group will implement continuous improvement activities, including sharing the status of initiatives across companies throughout the Group.
As a result of the efforts to promote the practice of the Group's Corporate Philosophy, VALUE, and Business Conduct Guidelines (Affirmation rate in the Group employee survey, 80% or more), the approval rate in the global survey for the entire Group, including both domestic and international operations, was 65% in FY2025, a decrease from the 77% recorded in FY2024. To support the ongoing business restructuring efforts, the Nisshinbo Group will strive to achieve its goals by distributing training materials and exploring ways to increase the frequency with which employees engage with the corporate philosophy on a daily basis with the aim of fostering its shared understanding, practice, and promotion.
Please refer to "Sustainability Promotion Plan and KPIs" for details regarding of the "Sustainability Promotion Plan."
Practice the Group's Corporate Philosophy
In the "6th Sustainability Promotion Plan," the Nisshinbo Group sets "Practice the Group's Corporate Philosophy" as a priority activity item and "Communication of management's message based on the Group's Corporate Philosophy" as an action item, and sets the KPI of "Promote the practice of the Group's Corporate Philosophy, VALUE, and Business Conduct Guidelines (Affirmation rate in global survey, 80% or more)."
To instill the corporate philosophy, in addition to efforts such as messages from the presidents of group companies through various opportunities, the Group enhanced the multilingualization of the corporate philosophy handbook and distributed educational videos using the Learning Management System.
The content of the educational videos changes every year. For FY2025, Nisshinbo structured its content to clearly explain the relationships between the Group’s corporate philosophy, VALUE, Business Conduct Guidelines, President’s Vision, and Midterm Management Plan by applying them to the 5W1H framework. Additionally, as a new initiative, Nisshinbo conducted a survey on measures to promote the adoption of the Nisshinbo Group’s corporate philosophy and other principles, and reaffirmed the status of adoption efforts at each company within the group. Nisshinbo analyzed the survey results, incorporated them into training videos, and shared them with the Group.
Measures to Improve Employee Engagement: Conducting a Group Engagement Survey
The Nisshinbo Group conducted its global engagement survey again in FY2025. To clarify the strengths and challenges of each organization and improve system functionality, including reporting, so that each workplace could efficiently analyze the results and plan and implement improvement measures, Nisshinbo switched survey vendors starting in FY2025. As a result, the method for calculating scores changed from previous years, so the Nisshinbo Group will establish new targets moving forward. The Group will now establish a cycle in which the Group will analyze the results, identify and implement priority initiatives, and monitor changes in scores in the next survey.
Initiatives to Improve Employee Engagement
To ensure that top management and employees across all companies work together as one, the Nisshinbo Group has appointed survey coordinators at each company. When providing feedback to employees on the results of the FY2025 Engagement Survey, top management issued a message to the entire Group expressing their commitment to taking the results seriously and working together to address the challenges. Nisshinbo hopes this message will serve as the driving force to translate the results into concrete actions that will help realize the organizational culture Nisshinbo aspires to achieve.
In addition, to ensure that each company and workplace can properly interpret the results and translate identified issues into concrete improvement actions, Nisshinbo shared the key points to focus on and best practices with HR representatives from each company during the Group HR Policy Meeting.
Moving forward, the Nisshinbo Group will use the survey results as a starting point to foster dialogue and establish a cycle that encompasses the selection, implementation, and evaluation of measures to address these challenges. By driving this initiative through both top-down and bottom-up approaches, Nisshinbo will further strengthen its efforts to improve employee engagement by involving leadership and middle management as well as frontline staff.
Labor Union Status (Japan and Overseas)
In accordance with the laws and regulations of each country and region, Nisshinbo Group companies in Japan and overseas maintain mutually trusting labor-management relations through regular dialogues with labor unions and employee representatives of each company regarding working conditions for employees and the management situation of each company. Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. keeps abreast of the status of labor-management relations at Japan and overseas group companies and provides support to group companies as needed.
Labor unions at Japan group companies are members of the UA ZENSEN Union and Japanese Electrical Electronic & Information Union. All of them have established good labor-management relations, which are in a healthy state, with annual labor-management council meetings as well as other opportunities for labor-management discussions. The collective labor agreement concluded with the labor union stipulates that when transferring or reassigning employees for work-related reasons, the wishes of the employees themselves will be taken into consideration, and the labor union will be notified promptly after the decision is made. In the event of reassignment or other changes in assignment due to business restructuring, they consult with the labor union on the basis of securing employment.
With regard to employee health and safety, in order to ensure safety, promote the maintenance and improvement of health, and promote the creation of a comfortable work environment, labor and management are working together to improve the level of health and safety at group companies in Japan and overseas by holding group health and safety liaison meetings and conducting safety audits.
Dialogue between Group Company Employees and Top Management
The Nisshinbo Group continuously conducts activities aimed at deepening mutual understanding through dialogues with employees. In FY2025, Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. President Ishii once again visited Group companies, with approximately 6,000 employees participating.
This year, the president expanded his site visits, which had previously focused on production facilities, to include branch offices and subsidiaries. Those site visits deepened the interactions with employees working on the frontlines in close proximity to Nisshinbo customers. In addition to visiting manufacturing sites, the president personally visits sales and service locations to gain a deeper understanding of the strengths and challenges of each business unit, while also listening directly to the voices of employees working on the frontlines. During his visits to the Group’s locations, the president personally shared details about his career and personality while conveying the Nisshinbo Group’s management policies and vision for the future to employees.
When Nisshinbo conducted a survey of employees at a later date, many respondents indicated that they resonated with the president’s character and management philosophy, making this a valuable opportunity for top management’s ideas and vision to reach the frontlines.
Employee stock ownership plan
Starting in 2024, NIsshinbo made it possible for all domestic group companies to introduce an employee stock ownership plan. As of the end of October 2025, 26 out of 32 companies (81%) had joined the program.
The Nisshinbo Group Employee Stock Ownership Plan is a system wherein the Company facilitates and assists employees in acquiring and holding shares of Company stock. Employees contribute a certain amount, and the company uses these contributions to collectively purchase shares and then distribute ownership stakes in proportion to the contributions. Through participation in the ESOP, the company aims to support employees' asset formation, enhance their sense of involvement in management, and boost their motivation in their respective roles.
Specific Activities of the Group Companies
Conducting President's Meetings to Advance Structural Reforms and Growth Strategies
With the aim of successfully implementing structural reforms and realizing its growth strategy, Nagano Japan Radio Co., Ltd., conducted one-on-one meetings between the company president and all employees from August to October 2025.
These meetings were made possible by President Oba’s strong desire to engage in direct dialogue with employees at this particular juncture. They were held in a face-to-face format with approximately 15 employees per session for just over an hour for a total of 54 sessions. During the meeting, the president carefully explained the company’s current situation, challenges and the objectives of the structural reforms. He also emphasized the importance of each employee thinking proactively about what needs to be done and taking initiative with a sense of urgency to ensure their company’s future growth.
This was a valuable opportunity for employees to hear directly from top management about the company’s policies and vision. The many questions and comments received helped clarify the direction Nagano Japan Radio should take and fostered a greater sense of unity among the employees.
Meeting with Management
Since September 2025, Ueda Japan Radio Co., Ltd., has been holding monthly meetings for management and employees to exchange views. The company held these sessions in September 2025 for employees in their 20s, in October for those in their 30s, in November for those in their 40s, and in February 2026 for those in their 50s. The purpose of these sessions was to bridge the gap between management and employees and to foster closer ties among colleagues of the same age group.
During the two-hour exchange session, participants discuss several topics in three groups. After each topic is covered, executives move to a different group’s table to discuss the next topic. For those in their 20s, topics include job satisfaction and the workplace atmosphere; for those in their 30s, the company’s strengths and challenges and expectations for management; for those in their 40s, challenges in developing subordinates and interdepartmental collaboration; and for those in their 50s, Organizational and Human Resources Issues and Career Expectations for Those in Their 50s. While the themes vary by generation, the sessions are always very lively, serving not just as a forum to listen to executives but as an opportunity for participants to voice their own perspectives on the company’s challenges and propose solutions.
Starting next time, Ueda Japan Radio plans to hold exchange meetings by department.
Town Hall Meeting
ProNav AS in Norway holds regular town hall meetings to ensure transparency, align everyone’s direction, and foster open communication. Through these meetings, employees gain a deeper understanding of the company’s performance, future outlook, and operational priorities.
Town hall meetings are typically held once a month. Depending on the agenda and the participants’ schedules, these meetings may follow a formal format, such as a presentation in a conference room, or a more casual format, such as during lunch. The CEO is responsible for reporting on the company’s current status.
At each town hall meeting, ProNav AS reviews monthly sales results (compared to the same month in each year from 2021 to 2025), changes in the product lineup and market conditions, and sales with low gross profit margins (which may impact monthly performance depending on the timing of orders).
The budget overview is addressed as a regular and ongoing agenda item. The budget proposal is made public and discussed openly; as necessary, various expense categories are reviewed, including service operations, tools and equipment, company vehicles, travel expenses, and related costs.
Furthermore, ProNav AS is holding discussions regarding delivery and sales forecasts, including the current order status and future outlook, and the company is reviewing information on planned orders (including involved vendors) as follows:
①Regarding projects and vessel deliveries
The company is reviewing cases requiring particular attention, such as delays in shipbuilding, product delivery delays, transportation challenges, personnel issues, and operational or technical challenges that could affect deliveries to customers.
②Product Lineup and Strategy
The company is evaluating the current product lineup and considering future directions (such as the potential discontinuation of specific products, the introduction of new products, and transitions from current products).
③Human Resources and Training
The company is reviewing current staffing levels, identifying training needs, implementing training at dealer facilities and via Teams, and planning for the upcoming holiday season.
④Inventory and Storage Management
The company is reviewing inventory levels and storage capacity to assess whether sufficient space is available for incoming shipments, the impact of project delays on storage needs, and whether adequate staffing is in place for product handling and storage operations.
⑤Environmental Responsibility
The company is conducting a regular review of its environmental impact, the proper disposal of various types of waste, the prevention of economic sanctions, efforts to improve environmental considerations and legal compliance, an overview of KPIs and discussions regarding abnormal values, and the submission of improvement proposals.
Finally, regarding sales, inventory, and promotions, ProNav AS will evaluate sales promotion activities, special campaigns, and other sales support measures based on product performance, sales trends, and current inventory levels.
Implementing an Open-Door Policy in the Workplace
Nisshinbo Automotive Manufacturing Inc. in the United States established a system that allows employees to consult the immediate supervisors, managers, or human resources representatives regarding any matters of interest or concern and widely publicized this system throughout the company. This procedure has been established for the benefit of employees.
Employees may have concerns regarding working hours, working conditions, rights under company policies, compensation, unfair or unequal treatment, disciplinary actions, or harassment. This open-door policy helps them resolve issues fairly and promptly by sincerely listening to employees’ feedback while also sharing the company’s perspective. Furthermore, Nisshinbo Automotive Manufacturing administers these procedures appropriately to protect employees’ rights and maintain confidentiality.
In addition, the company strives to foster a corporate culture where employees respect one another and enhance the awareness of human rights through training and other initiatives. Furthermore, to better address employees’ day-to-day needs and concerns, the HR Department relocated the HR Room to a location where employees feel more comfortable seeking advice.
Employee Interaction Through the Festival
Nisshinbo Do Brasil Industria Textil LTDA. held a festival (BBQ party) to foster interaction among employees and their families. To ensure that as many employees and their families as possible could attend, the festival was held on May 1, a public holiday, on the factory premises.
In 2025, 476 employees and as many as 1,000 people, including family members, participated. Amid the pleasant atmosphere of spending time with family over delicious food, communication that was not usually possible in the workplace flourished, and lively conversations were observed. Another highlight of the event was the recognition ceremony for long-serving employees who have contributed to the company over the years, which was met with warm applause from the attendees.
The company hopes that events like this will help improve communication among employees and make their company even more dynamic.
Building a Workplace Based on Trust and Growth Through Meetings with the President
At Nisshinbo Urban Development Co., Ltd., the president conducts one-on-one meetings with every single employee at the beginning of the year.
During these meetings, while placing great importance on dialogue, Nisshinbo Urban Development uses the opportunity to confirm the connection between its slogans, the company’s direction, and daily operations, and to reflect on individual challenges and future growth. These sessions have been well-received by employees as a valuable opportunity to speak directly with the president and a sense of psychological safety where employees feel comfortable reporting, communicating, and consulting has gradually been fostered. Furthermore, as these are the first interviews conducted by the new president, they also serve as a good opportunity for both parties to get to know each other better.
As a result, workplace issues and concerns are now shared at an early stage, leading to calm and measured responses. Furthermore, a culture of mutual learning is taking root with employees spontaneously organizing study sessions to share best practices and lessons learned from customer interactions, as well as sharing the knowledge useful for property management. Nisshinbo Urban Development will continue to foster a workplace environment that values open communication.