Basic Concept
The Nisshinbo Group's Human Resource Policy is "Business is People," and the Group values relationships with its employees and respects the individuality and strengths of each person in the management of its organization.
Promotion System
The Nisshinbo Group values relationships with its employees, and in order to build good relationships, under a system in which the Director and the Chief of the Corporate Strategy Center of Nisshinbo Holdings, Inc. is in charge, the Human Resources Group of the Human Resources & Administration Service Department and the Diversity Development Department of the Corporate Strategy Center have set targets and Key performance indicators (KPIs) and are engaged in activities.
Specific Initiatives of The Nisshinbo Group
Under the "Fifth Sustainability Promotion Plan," the Nisshinbo Group is focusing on "Engagement" and "Practice the Group's Corporate Philosophy" as key action items. The Group is promoting activities while implementing the PDCA cycle with the goals of ① Continue to conduct global survey and ② Promote the practice of the Group's Corporate Philosophy, VALUE, and Business Conduct Guidelines (Affirmation rate in global survey, 80% or more).
Practice the Group's Corporate Philosophy
In the "Fifth 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 corporate philosophy education video that was deployed to all Group companies in FY2023 shows how the Group Corporate Philosophy, VALUE, and Business Conduct Guidelines lead to business policies, management plans, and annual slogans, which in turn lead to management plans for each company, as well as goals for each workplace and individual. The content of the document includes the importance of each individual sincerely fulfilling individual roles.
In order to encourage changes in behavior and to support Challenge and Change as stated in the Group Corporate Philosophy, the Group will create continue to an environment that facilitates spontaneous challenges by providing information necessary for each step of Raise interest, Prepare, Implement, and Continue implementation and by introducing specific examples of implementation within the Group.
Global Survey
The Nisshinbo Group has conducted an annual survey of its employees since 2018. In FY2023, the number of target companies was expanded to all domestic group companies (34) and 42 overseas for a total of 76 companies. With 17,632 participants, the response rate was 94%, an extremely high response rate for a global survey.
The results were generally healthy, with 7 out of 15 categories reaching the level of no major problems, 4 categories requiring further monitoring, and 4 categories requiring attention. The cycle of analyzing the result data, clarifying and implementing priority measures, and then conducting a fixed-point observation of changes in scores in the following year's survey is repeated. To cultivate an organizational culture in which each individual is a diverse human resource and pursues innovation while respecting each other's different ways of thinking and ideas, the Group holds group-wide "Survey Managers' Meetings" to share the status of initiatives at each company and implements other ongoing activities to improve the organizational culture.
The survey will continue to be conducted in the future by expanding the number of companies covered by the survey.
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
To deepen understanding of the Nisshinbo Group, the president of Nisshinbo Holdings Inc. has been visiting group companies and holding meetings for direct dialogue with employees since 2021.
Meetings have been held at 40 locations, including overseas offices, and approximately 1,800 employees have participated so far, with the number of participants at each meeting limited to about 15 so that more time can be spent on questions and exchanges of opinions so that each employee can have more in-depth communication with the president. At the meeting, the president informs the participants of the current status of its group as a whole and what is expected of each department. Employees working on the front lines ask a wide range of questions about their own divisions and the future of the Group, including sustainability, D&I, and DX initiatives, and through dialogue a lively exchange of opinions takes place.
Specific Activities of the Group Companies
Conducted a Dialogue between All Employees and the President over a Two-Year Period
The president of Japan Radio Co., Ltd. conducted a total of 272 dialogues with 2,171 employees from May 2022 to December 2023 for all employees.
The president visited and spoke directly with employees at the head office and the Nagano plant, as well as at branch offices and destination offices. The purpose of the dialogue was to create an opportunity to reform the corporate culture, and the president started by talking to all employees in order to create a cheerful and rewarding organizational culture in which employees can say anything to each other. During the dialogue, management executives took into consideration psychological safety and created a space where it was easy to talk. The theme of the dialogue was the goals and action plans of employees in the company's ongoing reforms, and through the dialogue, management encouraged employees to think about the connection between the reforms and their daily work and the nature of the problems that they face in their daily work.
Japan Radio believes that it is very important for the president to have an opportunity to hear directly from the employees and to convey his/her thoughts to them.
Established Tokki Kawaraban to Provide Company Information to Employees.
In June 2023, JRC Tokki Co., Ltd. opened a website titled Tokki Kawaraban on the company intranet to provide information on what the management is thinking on a daily basis, what they are feeling at the time, and what they want to tell or inform employees.
All directors and executive officers, including the president, post information on the company intranet, focusing on information related to their duties. Employees are also encouraged to ask management, "I want to hear something like this!" and "I want to hear something like that!" JRC Tokki also solicits requests from employees for information about the company's management.
JRC Tokki expects that this new attempt to launch the Tokki Kawaraban will have the effect of building a good relationship between employees and management and improving engagement, both of which are intangible.
In FY2023, the company published the magazine 11 times since its launch in June, at a pace of about twice a month.
Promote Information Sharing, including Company Performance
At Nisshinbo Mechatronics Inc., the president holds a briefing session on company performance and other matters at the end of the fiscal year and before the end of the half-year for the purpose of sharing current company information.
At the end of the fiscal year, the president explains the projected results for the current fiscal year, plans for the next fiscal year, the company's slogan, and the status of safety and health activities. At the semiannual meeting, the president reports on the progress of the current fiscal year's plan and shares company topics, initiatives of each division, and information on group companies. The president speaks directly to employees in his own words to convey his thoughts and to unify the direction in which the company is headed. The content of these briefings is also distributed via an e-learning video to the company's overseas offices to promote information sharing.
In addition to the president's explanations, employees from each workplace will also be invited to speak at the briefings to share their own initiatives.
Conduct Initial Town Hall Meeting after Opening Ceremony
Nisshinbo Comprehensive Precision Machining (Gurgaon) Pvt. Ltd. held a town hall meeting with more than a dozen employees following the opening ceremony in June 2023.
The meeting provided an opportunity to deepen understanding of the business and its policies, as well as to promote communication among employees and strengthen teamwork. Nisshinbo Comprehensive Precision Machining will continue to hold town hall meetings on a regular basis to maintain close communication with its employees.
Information Dissemination through the Use of General Closing Ceremonies
At Kyushu Nanbu Plastics Co., Ltd. regards the monthly company-wide closing ceremony as an important occasion. This end-of-day meeting is an important opportunity to share the results and challenges of its daily work and to enhance the strength of the entire organization.
The president, the Safety Secretariat, and the Quality Control Department present information, and a review of the previous month and future policies are given. The purpose of the meeting is to deepen understanding of the company's direction and goals, and at the same time, to consider the role and contribution of each and every employee.
In addition, as part of activities to improve the organizational climate, the persons in charge of each department will personally disseminate information on examples of improvements to the workplace environment and equipment maintenance. By learning about the hardships and efforts of other departments, individual departments are not isolated, and a sense of solidarity and empathy is created. This fosters a culture of cooperation that unites the entire organization.
Organizational Culture Reform Project
Nisshinbo Chemical Inc. is promoting activities to identify issues at the company and workplace and to make them better with the aim of creating a workplace where each and every employee can thrive and be active.
Working group members, who participate in the program by application from each department, consult regularly on each theme and actively take on the role of uncovering workplace issues, proposing ideas for measures, and flagging off activities. In addition, the group holds debriefing sessions with the participation of management and continues activities aimed at reforming the organizational climate of the company as a whole.
<Details of the Organizational Culture Reform Project>
- ① Development of management's message, dissemination of internal information, and exchange of opinions with management
- ② Creation of an environment necessary for the promotion of digitalization and information sharing
- ③ Implementation of practical training in other departments and enhancement of the education system
- ④ Raise awareness through videos of other companies' case studies
- ⑤ Identification of issues through employee awareness surveys
- ⑥ Addressing of issues specific to each office, division, and workplace
Relations with Employees, including Family Members
Nisshinbo Do Brasil Industria Textil LTDA. holds an annual Festa (BBQ) for all employees and their families on May 1.
This annual festa is held by company executives to express their gratitude to employees and their families for their daily work, cooperation, and understanding. At the Festa, the company also prepares playground equipment for children to play energetically. The company also provides entertainment with prizes, such as TVs, drawn by lottery. In addition, a New Year's party (dinner party) is held every January for company executives and their families. Nisshinbo Do Brasil Industria Textil explains the company's situation, talks about our New Year's resolutions, and deepens the bonds over a meal.
At the factory, young executives and the factory manager hold an interview once every six months. They talk about the company policies and their individual situations in an informal manner, exchanging opinions and providing feedback, thereby valuing the relationship with employees.
