Home > CSR > Environmental and Social Report 2011 > Social Report:Together with Our Employees
Based on its recognition that employees are human assets, the Company is working to enhance its employee systems and communication channels.
To achieve its corporate philosophy and to create an open and inclusive corporate culture that values diversity advocated in the Action Guidelines, Sumitomo Forestry works to develop employees with a strong sense of pride and motivation as a basic policy for human resources development, based on the keywords 'autonomous' and 'support.' The Company will develop its human resources in Group companies both within and outside of Japan, through standardized training across Group companies as well as accepting employees from Group companies into the Company.
In fiscal 2010, the Company formulated a five year human resource development plan for the period fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2015.
The five year plan policies and initiatives (fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2015)
Initiatives for Further Enhancing Human Resources Development Programs
The Career Support Desk opened to provide employees with assistance specific to their needs in managing their careers. Specialized career advisers provide expert career advice for individual employees.
In accordance with its human resource development basic policy, Sumitomo Forestry offers its employees a variety of training opportunities to encourage them to independently pursue their career ambitions and to provide opportunities to learn business skills that match their life plans. In addition to training tailored to specific job categories and levels, to support employees' own efforts to improve their skills and create their career path, it offers a full range of programs. This includes training for differing needs and e-learning, "Menu-based" selective training at external institutions and support for acquiring certifications, management strategy, MBA at overseas business schools, and other programs for future business leaders. In fiscal 2010, the Company spent 88,000 yen per employee on training.
| Training Programs | Description | FY10 results (Number of people) |
|---|---|---|
| Periodic training for different levels and job categories | Provided training for new mangers and general managers, in addition to a series of training for new graduates upon entry to the Company, follow-up training, and training at the Sumitomo Forestry School of Professional Building Techniques. | 1,228 |
| Training for differing needs | Provided training for those who have changed job categories, staff development management, career training for all employees aged 30 and 40, training to promote the achievements of people with disabilities and females in the workplace, evaluator training to increase their understanding of the personnel system, and language training by invited lecturers. Also, e-learning training to improve skills in housing sales, design, and production. | 4,692 |
| Selective training | Provided training for management strategy, female manager training, and MBA programs to acquire highly specialized knowledge concerning management and problem solving methodology | 25 |
| "Menu-based" training | Subsidy available for training programs at external institutions to acquire certifications and enhance business skills. | 133 |
Training at Dalian ITS
Communicating with employees and improving their skills are vital for business development. Dalian Sumirin Information Technology Service Co., Ltd. (Dalian ITS) in China has been enhancing its career support system, including Japanese and English language training and manager training. It has established a commendation system for outstanding employees and sends some to training courses in Japan, providing them with an opportunity to directly experience the history of Sumitomo Forestry and its business activities in Japan. In addition, at the weekly morning briefing, the President gives his message to employees in both Japanese and Chinese. This is not only a way of improving their language skills, but also a communication tool to raise their awareness of Company policies and their sense of being part of the Group. These initiatives are helping to increase employee motivation and contributing to improved human resource development and longer periods of service.
Sumitomo Forestry strives to foster a climate conducive to the active creation of intellectual property. The Company is addressing environmental problems by creating new technologies and pursuing patents in the fields of quality timbers, plantation, the effective use of waste, and long-lasting houses.
The Company is using various measures to promote the utilization of its environmentally related intellectual property in the Group's environmental management. These include establishing the Environmentally Related Intellectual Property Map and introducing its patents open to the public in its Intellectual Property News publication and on its intranet, with each patent being categorized and presented according to its different environmental benefit.
Sumitomo Forestry Landscaping Co., Ltd. acquired a patent in 2008 for method of purifying cement rinse water and a bag used for purification. This technology can reduce environmental impact by quickly detoxifying waste water generated on work sites and it is also being used on the construction sites of new homes as one solution to water resources issues (patent no. 4166510; registration date, August 8, 2008).
Sumitomo Forestry holds study meetings on an ad-hoc basis to encourage the active creation of intellectual property rights and to help prevent the infringement of other companies' intellectual property. Furthermore, education on intellectual property has been incorporated in training programs for new graduates, mid-career employees and general employees. It has also initiated patent proposal and award programs with monetary incentives awarded to employees who submit ideas for outstanding inventions. In fiscal 2010, 219 proposals were submitted from employees outside of the Company's R&D Department alone. Group companies are also active in this area, with approximately 700 proposals being submitted by employees from Group companies within Japan.
Sumitomo Forestry recognizes that to continue building houses that utilize the advantages of the traditional wooden post-and-beam construction method, it is important to pass on skills and techniques to the next generation of workers. To achieve its objective of nurturing the skills and knowledge of craftspeople (carpenters), Sumitomo Forestry founded the Sumitomo Forestry School of Professional Building Techniques in 1988 as a boarding school for intra-corporate vocational training.
In March 2011, 28 people graduated from the School, for a total of 885 graduates since its establishment. In fiscal 2011, 27 students were admitted and are currently engaged in training.
In October 2010, five graduates of the School and current employees of Sumitomo Forestry Home Engineering participated in the 48th Annual National Skills Competition in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Each employee brought home a medal, winning one gold, one silver, one bronze, and two "fighting spirit" awards. This marks the sixth consecutive year since the 43rd competition that the School's students have been awarded such honors.
The School also accepts craftspeople from Group companies and business partners onto its training courses.
