Sumitomo Rubber is promoting human capital management to realize our Vision of what we want to be as an organization, “Uniting our diverse strengths, growing together, driving and thriving on change,” with the aim of embodying our Purpose, “Through innovation we will create a future of joy and well-being for all” as defined by “Our Philosophy.”
We are confident that we can provide joy and well-being for our stakeholders through innovation by mobilizing the collective efforts of our diverse human resources and leveraging the strengths of each employee to create value.
The Company considers human capital an essential factor in corporate value and has established a governance system to achieve sustainable growth.
The Human Resources Committee has been established to be involved in the decision-making process, and the direction of human resource strategies are reviewed at regular meetings of the Board of Directors. In addition, the Nomination and Remuneration Committee is responsible for selecting key personnel and determining their compensation.
Each division implements multi-layered D&I promotion and leadership improvement measures to diversify decision-makers.
The Company regularly collects and analyzes employee composition data (gender, position, age) and engagement scores.
Based on this data, the Company plans specific action plans for each region and division.
For example, the Company utilizes data on the percentage (or ratio) of management positions occupied by women and organizational culture surveys to promote initiatives in each division through organizational change project training.
Our annual and sustainability reports disclose human capital indicators to ensure transparency.
We have also obtained external certifications such as the L-boshi (third level) certification and PRIDE Index “Gold” certificate, and our activities are evaluated accordingly.
The Company has created numerous world’s first and Japan’s first products through various technical innovations. In our mainstay tire business, we have launched the Digi-Tyre series onto the market, which is a tire developed using simulation technology. In 2015, by utilizing the supercomputer possessed by advanced experimental facilities, we completed and introduced Advanced 4D Nano Design technology which enables us to analyze the internal structures and molecular behavior of rubber at the molecular scale, and we are pursuing further innovation.
As these efforts demonstrate, digital technology is an indispensable element for creating innovation at our company. This technological strength and advanced capabilities serve as a source of value creation in the tire business and all other fields, including the sports business, industrial products business, and data business.
In addition to our rubber technology, which forms the foundation of all our businesses, we position the following as our sources of competitive advantage: our monozukuri technology represented by NEO-T1, which is a further evolution of our unique Taiyo tire production system; the Advanced 4D Nano Design, which enables analysis of rubber at the molecular scale; our market-responsive development capabilities; and the united organization that can mobilize all its resources.
We position global management, innovation, and DX human resources as human resources who will further strengthen these sources of competitive advantage and support continuous growth by expanding growing lines of business. We promote various measures to develop human resources who can flexibly adapt to the rapidly changing times and pioneer the future. Furthermore, as a foundation for such human resources to play an active role, we are promoting a corporate culture in which every employee with diverse attributes and values is respected and can find satisfaction in their work. Specifically, we have established the following four strategies.
In this era of VUCA, where the future is uncertain and predictions are difficult, leadership that can make quick decisions and respond flexibly to change is required. Therefore, it is crucial to develop senior management human resources capable of calmly making decisions even in uncertain situations and acting with foresight.
Sumitomo Rubber has driven innovation by providing new value to society based on rubber technology. Even today, we continue to develop new technologies, such as the “Smart Tyre Concept,” “tire manufacturing utilizing hydrogen energy,” and “vibration control technology employing high-damping rubber.” Moving forward, we will cultivate the human resources and corporate culture necessary to drive innovation in a new era.
More advanced and efficient decision-making and business execution are needed by leveraging digital technology to fundamentally transform business models and work processes. To successfully carry out this transformation, not only knowledge of digital technologies but also the ability to apply them to business, create new value, and adapt flexibly to change while demonstrating leadership in driving digital transformation (DX) within the organization will be required. We will establish a system that fosters, retains, and empowers such DX-related human resources.
As stated in our Vision, the Company believes that combining diverse strengths will improve organizational performance.
In particular, we believe that increasing the diversity of people’s attributes, such as age, gender, nationality, and employment status, will bring together employees with different perspectives and ideas, thereby promoting innovation.
Diverse teams can generate various solutions and solve problems more flexibly and comprehensively. At the same time, it is essential to improve the performance of each individual, not just diversity.
The Company recognizes the loss of knowledge and skills due to talent outflow, intensified recruitment competition caused by changes in the labor market, and the occurrence of labor issues and reputation risks as risks in human capital management, and is striving to mitigate these risks. Specifically, we implement the following risk management measures.
First, we strive to prevent employee turnover through the implementation of reskilling programs and improvements to the workplace environment. We aim to improve employee engagement and create a comfortable workplace environment through these efforts. In addition, we have reviewed our human resources system and established career support mechanisms to enable employees to shape their careers actively.
Furthermore, we have reviewed our recruitment process and introduced course-based recruitment, internship programs, and employee referral programs to secure a diverse range of talent. Through these measures, we aim to secure and develop talented human resources and improve employee motivation by base pay increases implemented in 2024.
To address skill mismatches, we utilize a talent management system to ensure early and appropriate placement of employees based on their skills and aptitudes. This provides an environment where employees can maximize their abilities, thereby improving the organization’s overall performance. In addition, we enhance talent management by improving employee skills through leadership seminars and various training programs.
To mitigate reputation risks arising from labor issues, we have established a Corporate Ethics Committee. We are working to prevent labor issues from occurring in the first place by thoroughly managing working hours. Through these efforts, we strive to maintain our stakeholders’ trust and mitigate reputation risks. The Corporate Ethics Committee actively listens to employees’ voices and aims to create a fair and transparent working environment.
| Human Resources Strategy | Key Actions | Indicators | 2023 results 実績 |
2024 results 実績 |
Target | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development of Senior Management Human Resources | Executive coaching for executives | Coaching participants | 21 persons | 28 persons | - | |
| Leadership improvement cycle | Organizational culture survey: “My immediate supervisor listens to me and thinks with me about my career and growth.” Positive response rate | 69.9% | 70.6% | 80% or more by 2030 | ||
| Organizational culture survey: “My immediate supervisor considers my growth and provides me with opportunities and high goals for growth.” Positive response rate | 74.5% | 75.6% | 80% or more by 2030 | |||
| Organizational culture survey: “In my department, Bad News First/Fast (reporting bad news quickly) is thoroughly implemented.” Positive response rate | 83.2% | 83.2% | 80% or more by 2030 | |||
| Organizational culture survey: “In my department, we have clearly identified tasks that should be discontinued, and we are actively engaged in streamlining activities.” Positive response rate | 51.1% | 51.7% | 80% or more by 2030 | |||
| Organizational culture survey: “Psychological safety is ensured in my department.” Positive response rate | 71.4% | 75.6% | 80% or more by 2030 | |||
| Development of Innovative Human Resources | Innovative human resource development program | Number of participants in the innovative human resource development program | - | 22 persons | - | |
| Introduction of specialist track | Number of fellows appointed | - | - | - | 2 to be appointed in 2025 ※*System operation to commence in January 2025 |
|
| Promote DX | DX-related human resource training | Number of participants in the DX literacy program | 2,220 persons | 3,540 persons | 3,500 by the end of 2025 | |
| Number of Open Badge Business Core Course completers | 269 persons | 480 by 2025 | ||||
| Number of Open Badge Professional Course completers | 122 persons | 70 by 2025 | ||||
| Number of Open Badge Data Engineer Course completers | 192 persons | 300 by 2025 | ||||
| RPA user development | Business efficiency improvement hours achieved through RPA implementation | 75,500 hours | 94,200 hours | 107,000 hours | ||
| Tableau utilization | Tableau active rate | 62.0% | 67.0% | 75% | ||
| Expediting Diversity Among Employees and Improving Performance | Initiatives to improve employee performance | Our Philosophy entrenchment survey: Ratio of “empathy” or “practice” | 44.7% | 49.6% | 80% or more by 2030 | |
| Number of career consulting interviews per year | 23 persons | 67 persons | By 2030 | *Career consulting began on July 1, 2023 | ||
| Career matching | 20 |
