I believe it is essential that we secure, develop, and circulate human resources who are able to accept different regional values, customs, and cultures, as well as diversity in terms of gender, race, and so forth.
Basic Approach
Our new medium-term management plan, NS Vision 2026, started in April 2022. Up until now, our plans have focused mainly on profitability, but this plan adds to that targets related to the SDGs, which are an increasing social concern, as we reaffirm the need for our group's business activities to help resolve issues for customers and society in general. To achieve the goals of NS Vision 2026, each operating company has planned a variety of actions, and the execution of these depends solely on the strength of our human resources. Moreover, to leverage this strength, it is important to create an environment that includes respect for human rights, diversity, training systems, and treatment systems, and to build a corporate culture in which people can be confident in their mental health safety.
Furthermore, as I am continually saying, the core quality of human resources is integrity. This is an essential quality underpinning our corporate activities, including aspects such as safety, which is of the highest importance to our group. Without integrity, we cannot earn the trust of any of our stakeholders, including investors. With integrity providing a foundation, our group will work toward realizing a comfortable future for people, society, and the earth. To this end, I believe it is essential that we secure, develop, and circulate human resources who are able to accept different regional values, customs, and cultures, as well as diversity in terms of gender, race, and so forth.
Human Resource Exchanges
We are promoting the creation of a human resource exchange system as an action plan under NS Vision 2026. We recognize that human resource exchanges is an extremely effective means of encouraging innovation and increasing work productivity. Our group has already been promoting initiatives to enhance its comprehensive capabilities by sharing the points where each operating company excels, and this is starting to produce significant productivity gains. To make positive changes in long-ingrained work processes, it is important to share opinions with people who have different values and gain new insights from them. In several projects, such as the drive toward carbon neutrality, the employees of respective operating companies come together via networks to engage in lively discussions. Talented employees throughout the world use both real and virtual formats to exchange views with one another, enabling even better knowledge and results for both companies and individuals. We are therefore working to establish systems for communication to promote exchanges of opinions. Regarding IT security, we have already built an organization that assigns the best people to the right positions across operating companies. We consider the continued assignment of the optimal human resources to each division in every organization of our group to be the ultimate human resource exchange.
Work Styles
Another important priority from the perspective of securing diversity and promoting active roles for women is to enhance our systems for creating comfortable working environments. In the non-financial KPIs of the new medium-term management plan, we have included female employees as a rate of female employees and a rate of female management posts. Our group has a high percentage of female employees and managers in Europe, parts of Southeast Asia, and at Thermos, while the percentage is low in Japan and the United States. We will create an environment, system, and training programs to enable everyone to achieve their fullest potential regardless of gender.
From another perspective, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to various discussions on productivity, mainly regarding the pros and cons of work style-related matters. In particular, with regard to remote working, each company is thinking about the balance of working remotely and in the office, seeking to find the best approach through trial and error in terms of productivity, innovation, and mental health. NSHD’s HR Department will review work styles while sharing best practices with its operating companies, aiming to improve employees’ work–life balance and support each company and community in taking measures suitable for their respective situations.
Our group has excellent talented human resources all over the world. I am confident
that all employees will commit themselves deeply to the Company’s Vision and Mission and carry out their duties toward the achievement of NS Vision 2026, thereby growing as people and contributing to society and the earth, working with pride as “The Gas Professionals,” or Thermos professionals.
Yasukazu Takada
General Manager of Human Resources
Nippon Sanso Holdings Corporation