Worldwide, the Sompo Holdings Group employs 80,000 people who are of different nationalities, genders, and ages and have various backgrounds. We believe that changing the awareness of these employees is essential to realize “A Theme Park for Security, Health & Wellbeing.” Such change will reform our corporate culture, helping drive the transformation of our business portfolio. Through human resource strategies that effectively transform its corporate culture, the Group will grow with even greater momentum.
Group Human Resource Strategy
In this era of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), it is crucial to generate new ideas without getting caught up in past practices and to make rapid decisions in regard to the challenges we face.
Given such conditions, the most important human resource strategy for the Group is to ensure that its business management benefits from the expertise and experience of a diverse 80,000-strong workforce.
The human resource strategy that we have been implementing in earnest since 2015 is laterally unifying human resource management, which we used to conduct on a country or business basis. We will become a corporate group in which—regardless of nationality, gender, experience, or age—talented personnel can contribute in a range of fields on a Group-wide basis.
To benefit from the contributions of diverse personnel, we have built a human resource platform for the Group-wide management of a variety of human resource information and systems. This effort has made all of the key positions in the Group visible, established common evaluation criteria, and made human resource information accessible through a new human resource system. The Group will utilize this platform and advanced human resource technologies to find talented personnel who can perform across organizational boundaries within the Group. We will then assign them to appropriate positions straddling countries or businesses in a timely manner. In addition, we will encourage further growth through talent management that provides educational opportunities and extends the scope of capable employees’ work. In this way, we will become a corporate group that empowers talented personnel.
Diversity
We view diversity as a management strategy that is essential for our growth. With “Diversity for Growth” as our slogan, we are focusing efforts on developing systems and a corporate culture that enable diverse employees to take maximum advantage of their particular talents and which create workplaces offering employees job satisfaction.
Empowerment of Women
We need the contribution of female employees if we are to cater fully to customers’ wide-ranging needs. With this in mind, we aim for women to account for at least 30% of our managers by the end of fiscal 2020. Aiming to enhance the knowledge and skills of female employees and change their mind-sets, we are conducting the Group-wide training programs for women shown in the following table. Moreover, Group companies conduct their own educational programs.
| Management Program for Women |
A program for potential candidates for executive or general manager positions that aims to cultivate the broad outlook needed for business management |
| Leadership Academy for Women |
A program that focuses on the acquisition of management skills and knowledge and practical implementation in workplaces with a view to developing female leaders |
| Role Model Channel |
An online channel that serves as a career development tool by having role models who represent a wide variety of age groups, positions, and divisions recount their experiences |
Thanks to these programs, as of April 2019 Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance has one female executive officer and 13 female general managers, while Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Himawari Life Insurance has three female executive officers and two female general managers.
Furthermore, Group CEO Kengo Sakurada participates in and is a member of the 30% Club, a global campaign to improve female representation in corporate senior management.
In recognition of a steadily increasing number of female managers and such initiatives as the establishment of the SOMPO KIDS PARK in-house day-care center for children, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa received the Grand Prize at the 3rd Working Women Empowerment Awards, hosted by Japan Productivity Center (Working Women’s Empowerment Forum).
Also, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa has been designated as a Nadeshiko Brand for the second consecutive year. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange grant this designation to listed companies that have outstanding records in the empowerment of women and which are, therefore, attractive to investors focused on medium-to-long-term enhancement of corporate value.
Diversity of Nationality
Our policy is to conduct discussions at meetings of the Board of Directors and Global ExCo based on global perspectives and diverse opinions. Accordingly, we have appointed a non-Japanese national with a high level of expertise to the position of director. In addition, two of the Group’s executive officers are foreign nationals: John R. Charman, CEO of the Overseas Insurance and Reinsurance Business, and Nigel Frudd, chairman of Overseas M&A. Further, we are increasing personnel exchanges with overseas Group companies. In fiscal 2014, we began the Exchange Program,* through which we assign employees of overseas Group companies to divisions in
Japan. By the end of fiscal 2018, 57 such employees had benefited from the experience of working at a division in Japan while contributing to the globalization of the Group as a whole.
- In 2019, the name was changed to the “Global Assignment Program.”
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
The Sompo Holdings Group is promoting the employment of persons with disabilities with the aim of stably providing opportunities to such persons to realize their talents and gain a
sense of fulfillment through work. To further promote the steady employment of persons with disabilities throughout our organization and create an environment where they can work with vitality, in April 2018 we established SOMPO Challenged Inc., which has received certification as a special subsidiary.
Persons with disabilities working at head office
Creation of an Environment That Respects Identity
To build a corporate organization full of vitality, we have made it possible for senior employees who have grown with the Group to continue working for as long as they can and want to do so through the introduction of a system for rehiring employees after they reach retirement age. Also, we are continuing initiatives for LGBT individuals so that all employees feel motivated and are able to work with dignity as individuals. We are creating an environment in which everyone can work comfortably through the establishment at our head office of changing rooms that anyone can use and gender-free restrooms.
Health and Productivity Management*1 Initiatives
We are promoting health and productivity management based on the belief that the health of employees and their families is an important driver of our efforts to “contribute to the security, health, and wellbeing of our customers and society as a whole by providing insurance and related services of the highest quality possible.” Accordingly, all Group companies are advancing a variety of initiatives.
(1) Maintaining and promoting employee health – defensive health and productivity management
Group companies implement measures to maintain and promote the health of each employee based on their state of health.
- With respect to employees who have a high risk of developing lifestyle diseases, we use an app to conduct ongoing follow-ups with health insurance associations.
- A portal provided by health insurance associations enables each employee to manage their health checkup results, access information on the health risks they face, and receive advice on improving their health.
- As a countermeasure for mental health issues, doctors and mental health specialists interview employees periodically.
(2) Enabling employees to continue working healthily and with gusto – health and productivity management for remaining positive
We believe that creating a vibrant working environment helps maintain employees’ physical and mental health, increases productivity, and sustains corporate growth. For this reason, Group companies are emphasizing the realization of appropriate working hours, productivity enhancement, and indicators focused on presenteeism.*2
- Periodically, we measure the level of activity of employees and organizations. We analyze the results of stress and performance checks and physical data on lifestyle and the risk of developing lifestyle diseases, identify characteristics, and then use our findings when considering measures.
- We have built systems to ensure the proactive implementation of stress checks designed to prevent the decline of employees’ mental health. Also, we systematically implement “line care,” whereby managers take steps to improve workplace environments from a mental health perspective and make themselves available to talk about mental health with their subordinates.
- To heighten health awareness, we conduct two-day kurort*3 programs for all employees.
A meeting space where employees can exercise while at the office to stay healthy and refresh themselves
In 2019, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange jointly selected Sompo Holdings as a “Health & Productivity Stock,” a designation that recognizes companies with outstanding health and productivity management. At the same time, eight Group companies were certified as “Outstanding Enterprises Engaging in Efforts for Health and Productivity Management” in the large enterprise category (White 500) of a system jointly conducted by METI and Nippon Kenko Kaigi. In partnership with health insurance associations, the Company will popularize health and productivity management among Group and client companies by distributing information internally and externally on the ongoing benefits of its initiatives while verifying and revising them.
- Registered trademark of the incorporated nonprofit organization Workshop for the Management of Health on Company and Employee
- Working despite mental or physical health issues, which can result in losses due to lower productivity
- Health programs held at resorts focused on the natural environment or hot springs
Work-Style Innovation
On a Group-wide basis, we are promoting work-style innovation so that employees use their time more productively and make effective use of the time this frees up to fully realize their respective talents.
Aiming for more flexible work styles, we are promoting the use of a shift work system and telecommuting by removing restrictions on times and places and by issuing messages from the senior management team and taking other measures to heighten awareness of work-style innovation via a portal and in-house network broadcasts. In business management and planning divisions, we are innovating work styles to reflect the characteristics of operations and introducing a discretionary work system. Further, we are establishing a range of different systems so that each employee can choose which work style fits best with their other commitments, such as child rearing or nursing a parent.
By introducing IT, we are continuously initiating new work styles tailored to the particular requirements of each division’s frontline operations. For example, we are virtualizing desktops, using advanced videoconferencing, and incorporating tablet computers, smartphones, and laptops into operations based on the compatibility of each device with certain types of work. In addition, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa is introducing robotic process automation.
Also, as part of our work–life balance drive, we offer various types of leave to encourage employees to use all of their annual paid vacations. Specifically, employees can avail of special consecutive leave, designated leave, legally required leave, and refreshment leave as well as paid leave to participate in
voluntary activities.
Through the aforementioned initiatives, we aim to increase each employee’s engagement with their work and thereby realize value creation at an advanced level.
Development of Globally Competent Leaders
To develop human resources capable of leading its global business management, the Group provides training for selected employees from three different employee levels. For young employees, we provide the Overseas Short-Term Training Program, MBA programs in Japan and overseas, and the in-house SOMPO Global University, which operates in partnership with the National University of Singapore Business School. Further, we established the Global Leadership Program for mid-level employees in fiscal 2017 and the Global Executive Program for senior employees in fiscal 2018.
SOMPO Global University (for Young Employees)
SOMPO Global University’s class of 2019
Our in-house university enables employees to acquire management knowledge and experience working collaboratively with a range of individuals. The program not only includes classroom training but also emphasizes practical training. For example, the Action Learning Project tasks trainees to propose solutions to challenges given by CEOs from around the world. From its establishment in 2012 to fiscal 2019, 162 employees from 17 countries participated in the program. On a Group-wide basis, we are fostering globally competent personnel who, regardless of nationality, have broadened their outlook through discussions with various peers and acquired fundamental business management knowledge.
Global Leadership Program (for Mid-Level Employees)
A Global Leadership Program training session held in 2019
Through such activities as a lecture delivered by the Group CEO, this training program gives candidates for management positions a concrete sense of true leadership and a more expansive outlook. Themed on “Changing Behavior” and focused on practical training, fiscal 2018’s program asked trainees to set targets for their departments in light of broader outlooks and take measures accordingly. A total of 23 employees from eight countries participated in this program, which we conducted on a global basis.
Global Executive Program (for Senior-Level Employees)
Global Executive Program 2019 participants
This program provides the Group CEO and other members of the senior management team opportunities to communicate their philosophies to candidates for senior management positions. These encounters encourage trainees to mull over their aspirations and beliefs based on the differences that there may be between themselves and senior executives. The program also includes opportunities to experience Japanese culture. Our goal is to foster cosmopolitan, global leaders who are able to make diversity an advantage. To date, 24 employees from eight countries have taken part in the program.
As well as training selected personnel according to their position, we have been developing Japanese global leaders through the Sompo International Global Trainee Program since fiscal 2018. This program selects talented personnel engaged in specialized work in Japan and assigns them to specific positions in Sompo International’s highly specialized operations. Lasting three years, in principle, the program provides trainees with an opportunity to develop their expertise even further by giving them the same duties, responsibilities, and authority as local employees. The program dispatched 13 employees in fiscal 2018 and seven in the current fiscal year to divisions engaged in underwriting and other specialized areas. We plan to continue such assignments aimed at heightening employees' expertise. In this way, by letting employees experience different work environments, we will develop strong Japanese global leaders who have backgrounds in specialized areas.
