Human Resource Management
Policy and Basic Approach
At Sojitz Group, we consider our people to be our greatest asset, and the value we create is derived from strengthening the skills of our employees. Our ideal person is someone who has a deep understanding of the Sojitz Group Statement, and who acts in accordance with the Sojitz Guiding Principles in order to create two types of value—value for Sojitz and value for society.
Sojitz Group Statement
Sojitz Group creates value and prosperity by connecting the world with a spirit of integrity.
Sojitz Guiding Principles
Sojitz Group aims to create value for our stakeholders by aligning our strong, capable individuals under the following 5 principles:
- Trust: Build enduring trust.
- Innovation: Innovate with foresight.
- Speed: Strive for speed.
- Challenge: Take calculated risks.
- Perseverance: Persevere until successful.
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Medium-term Management Plan 2026: Human Resource Strategy
Sojitz Group’s Human Resources Strategy
Sojitz’s vision for 2030 is to become a general trading company that constantly cultivates new businesses and human capital. To realize this vision, we focused on enhancing our organizational capabilities while prioritizing individual growth to create a team of diverse, self-directed individuals under Medium-term Management Plan 2023. In the new Medium-term Management Plan 2026, we aim to realize a Sojitz Growth Story to raise our value creation and value enhancement capabilities as outlined in the human resource strategy. To prepare for the Next Stage (net profit of 200.0 billion yen and ROE of 15% or more) as announced in the outline of Medium-term Management Plan 2026, it is essential to advance into competitive business areas and to ensure high profitability. We will build on existing businesses and conduct new investments to further expand the Group and leverage the company’s networks for co-creation to strengthen synergy across Sojitz Group. We will create new business and improve productivity by 1) fostering a unique Sojitz culture, 2) implementing “Digital in All,” and 3) conducting effective data-driven dialogue. These three pillars will support our efforts to reinforce both our foundations for growth and human capital as we pursue sustainable value creation. In accordance with Sojitz Group’s slogan of “New way, New value,” we will strengthen Sojitz’s unique corporate culture of taking on challenges and flexible thinking as a young company, encouraging meaningful interpersonal engagement among employees, and fostering a culture that leads to value creation.
We are implementing policies in line with the following concepts selected as key themes for Medium-term Management Plan 2026.
Basic HR Strategy 1: Build diverse teams of employees who take on new challenges and achieve growth
In accordance with the theme of transforming diversity into competitiveness, Sojitz leverages diversity to respond to the volatile market environment and to build on the organization’s capabilities that underpin the swift generation of value. Sojitz aims to become a general trading company that constantly cultivates new businesses and human capital, and we continue to proactively hire diverse talent regardless of gender and nationality, including mid-career hires with high levels of expertise. We also work on various initiatives to enable employees to fully demonstrate their individual strengths and skills by providing education to management-level personnel.
Basic HR Strategy 2: Strengthen section managers’ ability to maximize the full potential of each individual
To link the development of diverse, self-directed individuals to the growth of each of our organizations and the company as a whole with the enhancement of corporate value, we consider it imperative to strengthen the section managers who act as intermediaries between senior management and non-managerial employees in the process of executing strategies and enhancing engagement.
Basic HR Strategy 3: Anticipate the changing business environment and allocate human resources flexibly
Sojitz will flexibly and systematically cultivate, allocate, and appoint its human resources to continue addressing significant changes in the business environment, such as technological advancements, heightened geopolitical risks, and diversifying customer needs. This flexible allocation system will allow us to raise value creation and value enhancing capabilities required to achieve our vision for 2030.
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Approach to Human Resource Development
Sojitz aims to support the development of individuals who can create value by responding to market needs and addressing social issues.
Sojitz emphasizes the importance of transforming diversity into a competitive advantage as a core value throughout the company. We encourage employees to take on new challenges from an early stage in their careers and we strive to develop diverse teams of independent individuals. Our aim is to create a positive feedback loop in which individual growth leads to organizational growth, and this in turn brings new energy to the company and ultimately drives growth for Sojitz at large. Specifically, we focus on developing employees with the following attributes:
- People who see change as an opportunity for realizing value creation
- People capable of responding swiftly to a rapidly changing business environment
- People who take on challenges without fear of failure and persevere to overcome difficulties and see through their work through to completion
Goals and Targets
Human Resource KPIs
Basic Approach to Human Resource KPIs
In June 2021, Sojitz established the following human capital key performance indicators (KPIs) to quantitatively measure the effects and degree of dissemination of its human resource measures as part of the company’s human capital management. Dynamic KPIs allow us to revise specific measures as necessary, and we have put a monitoring system in place. The status and progress of KPIs and human resource measures are reported to the Management Committee and the Board of Directors every six months in order to facilitate discussions among management. Progress on human resource KPIs is used as an evaluation index for the performance-linked remuneration of directors and executive officers, which promotes execution of the company’s corporate strategy.
Under Medium-term Management Plan 2023, we focused on enhancing our organizational capabilities while prioritizing individual growth. Under Medium-term Management Plan 2026, we set the target of increasing women in manager positions to 50% in the 2030s. In addition to continuing such initiatives, we also aim to raise our value creation and value enhancing capabilities with a focus on output to realize the Sojitz Growth Story. Specifically, we will foster Sojitz’s unique culture (measured through the challenge-taking index, openness index) and promote opportunities for diverse human resources (measured through the ratio of female career-track employees with domestic or overseas working experience, ratio of chief officer positions filled by locally hired employees, and number of digital expert employees) to raise our value creation and value enhancing capabilities. Additionally, some KPIs incorporate the response rates of regular engagement surveys (*1) to track employee input at regular intervals and translate this feedback into concrete measures.
Medium-term Management Plan 2026: Human Resource KPIs
| Human Capital KPI | |
|---|---|
| Challenge-taking index Openness index |
・KPIs for MTP 2026 were developed as an extension of target Human Capital KPIs set out under MTP 2023. ・The satisfactory threshold was raised to the “positive affirmation ratio” (*1) from the “affirmation ratio” (*1) set out under MTP 2023. ・Aims to accelerate challenges taken by employees and foster an open corporate culture |
| Ratio of female career-track employees with secondment experience in Japan or overseas (including trainee programs) | ・As Sojitz operates globally in diverse business areas, on-site experience is important to nurture candidates for middle management. ・The number of employees with secondment experience in Japan or overseas including trainee programs increased during the MTP 2023. We added the “ratio of employees with experience of working overseas or on secondment” as a new KPI to increase the ratio of female managers gaining high-level experience such as undertaking missions, decision-making, and other responsibilities commensurate with managerial positions. ・The KPI for the ratio of employees with external experience, including trainees, set in Medium-term Management Plan 2023 has been raised from 50% to over 60%. |
| Ratio of chief officer positions filled by locally hired employees | ・To achieve our business strategy, it is essential to adopt a market-in approach and business expansion leveraging the strength of Sojitz Group. We will continue monitoring the ratio of chief officer positions filled by locally hired employees who are well-versed in each local market. ・Raise the KPI target from 50% to 60% or above |
| Digital expert employees (DX-Experts) |
・The previous KPI was the “ratio of digital fundamentals trainings completion” and all career-track employees acquired basic knowledge to apply digital technologies to business. ・The KPI under MTP 2026 has been raised to the completion of “Practical Application Basics/Expert Training” for implementing digital technologies in actual business processes. |
- Engagement Survey (Employee awareness survey) started in 2017 to gain understanding of employee engagement at Sojitz and to achieve effective HR strategies. With the advice of external specialists, we created and introduced our own specialized questions for the survey, which has six response options. The ratio of respondents who chose Option 1: “Strongly agree” or Option 2: “Agree” is defined as the “positive affirmation ratio,” while the ratio of respondents who chose Option 1, Option 2, or Option 3: “Somewhat agree” is defined as the “affirmation ratio.” We analyze the results by organization and attribute (by age/job ranking) to introduce improvement activities by division/unit. (As of 2023, the positive affirmation ratio for the challenge-taking index was 67% and the openness index was 52%.)
Systems
Organization
| Executive Responsible | Kasai Toshiaki, Managing Executive Officer (COO, Human Resources Department) |
|---|---|
| Secretariat | Human Resources Department |
Features of the Human Resource System
Sojitz Group Basic Policy for Human Resource Management Basic Principles
- Sojitz aims to sustainably create value in line with the Sojitz Group Corporate Statement and the company’s vision for 2030. In order to achieve these goals, it is essential that diverse teams of employees achieve continuous growth and maintain high engagement, and that management draws out the unique strengths of each employee and translates those strengths into sustainable value creation for the company.
- To achieve our vision for 2030, shifting our approach toward human resources will be more important than anything to achieve further growth. For this reason, a new human resource system was launched in April 2024. The new system increases remuneration levels and revises areas of the prior system related to job grades and evaluations with the goal of making Sojitz the best place for people seeking to follow their ambitions and pursue growth. With this new system, we look to accelerate Sojitz’s distinct approach toward human capital management in order to grow the company and improve corporate value. This will be accomplished by enhancing the human capital that will be imperative to crafting the Sojitz Growth Story to tie the growth of individual employees to the growth and energization of organizations. Moreover, the Company will be monitoring the degree of improvement in the level of acceptance of employee evaluations in the year ending March 31, 2025, with the aim of further stimulating the growth of individuals.
Recruitment
Seeking people who can deliver future prosperity to all our stakeholders
At Sojitz, we believe that our people serve as the source of our value creation. Although employees have diverse values, perspectives, and experiences, all share the common goal of challenging themselves and pursuing growth. By providing employees with opportunities to take on new challenges and grow, the company can attract talent who have an active interest in making contributions at Sojitz and establish a mutually beneficial dynamic. In order to achieve this goal, it is essential that we have diverse teams of individuals who are capable of responding swiftly to the changing business environment and who find the will to overcome difficulties to see their work through to completion without fear of failure.
In FY2021, we announced a new recruitment slogan: Make a Difference. Behind this slogan is our belief that there are many opportunities to take on new challenges at Sojitz, and the slogan also embodies our desire for employees to seize opportunities to experience personal growth through their work while creating prosperity through business.
Throughout the year, Sojitz’s recruitment efforts focus on new graduates, mid-career candidates that include individuals with disabilities, and global recruitment from overseas universities to strategically hire talent with rich creativity, potential, and varied experiences—as well as the ability to develop their own business capabilities.FY2024 Hiring Plan (new graduates and mid-career hires)
・Approximately 180-200 employees
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Human Resource Development Programs
Sojitz conducts optimal human resource development through active dialogues, considering both the company's perspective (ensuring that organizations have the capabilities required to execute strategies) and the employee's perspective (leveraging individual capabilities and realizing career aspirations), and Sojitz offers a wide range of training programs to support employee growth. The core training programs are 1) the Foundational Courses and 2) Professional Trainings. For the Foundational Courses, employees attend lectures and sit in-house exams (Business Trading; Legal, Security Trade Controls, Compliance; Accounting) as well as three tests administered by outside institutions (TOEIC IP Tests (LR/SW), IT Passport exam, and Nissho Bookkeeping Certificate Level 3). This program allows employees to elevate their professional skills and gain the basic knowledge required of trading company employees.
Our Professional Training menu focuses on developing employees’ skills and mindset. In skills training, employees acquire the necessary knowledge and polish the skills they will need as professionals working in various fields. In mindset training, we aim to strengthen interpersonal skills and goal achievement through overnight training retreats while focusing on promoting understanding of the company, roles, commitment, and follow through.
Sojitz has also created a training program with five skill levels for the development of DX experts. The entry level (level 1) covers foundational knowledge required of all employees, and the basic level (level 2) emphasizes the importance of both the proactive (DX) and preventative (IT security) aspects of technology use in business. Sojitz established and achieved the goal of all career-track employees completing level 2 training during Medium-term Management Plan 2023. New levels were added to the training program in FY2022, including practical courses on problem solving through data analysis and the use of digital technologies to both create business and add new value to existing businesses. Sojitz aims to continue raising the digital literacy of employees through these initiatives.
Sojitz e-Campus is an e-learning portal that Sojitz has introduced for the purpose of accelerating employee development and promoting diversity at the company. Employees have unlimited access to all learning materials on Sojitz e-Campus. The e-Campus portal supports corporate governance and allows employees to gain basic business skills, and Sojitz departments regularly publish up-to-date content on topics including law, tax, finance, and corporate strategy. Learning materials are designed based on real business situations and support employees in developing the business literacy required of trading company employees.
Goal Setting and Evaluations
At Sojitz, we believe that employee evaluations should be fundamentally fair, equitable, reasonable, and incorporate employee dialogues. In order to support the success and growth of each individual, we have implemented a job grade system that systematically details the expected role of each employee and their corresponding salary, and also enables employees to be promoted early in their career based on employee evaluation results. Our results-oriented evaluation system evaluates the extent to which employees fulfill their commitments as well as the actions they take to create medium- to long-term, sustainable results.
Sojitz uses an employee evaluation platform, and the expectations for each job grade and each employee’s individual commitments are set within this system at the beginning of each year. The employee and their evaluator engage in open dialogue throughout the fiscal year to ensure that the final evaluation outcome is understood and agreed upon by both parties and facilitates further growth for the employee in the coming year.
The yearly evaluation process involves four key stages: 1) The initial goal-setting stage in which employees set their individual goals after being briefed on their organization’s targets and strategies; 2) the mid-term review, when employees review their progress on individual goals and make revisions as needed; 3) the year-end review, when employees assess their overall achievement of their goals; and 4) the evaluation feedback meeting. Evaluations are conducted by superiors at multiple levels, and the Human Resources Dept. oversees these discussions.
If an employee has concerns about the results of their evaluation, the HR Dept. steps in to mediate and review the results from an objective standpoint. The HR Dept. makes a final determination regarding the evaluation, then shares this finalized result with the employee and explains the rationale behind the decision.
Furthermore, evaluators (section managers, general managers) are required to set talent development targets for the development of their teams. Sojitz offers e-learnings for evaluators and regularly organizes educational opportunities, including discussions led by the president and senior management, to emphasize the importance and value of goal setting. These initiatives are designed to foster understanding of the evaluation process and ensure that evaluations are being successfully utilized to constantly improve the quality of Sojitz’s human resource management. In addition, Sojitz encourages employees to establish concrete and specific goals for their growth through "challenge-taking objectives"—personal targets set at the beginning of each fiscal year that go beyond the scope of organizational objectives. Sojitz aims to realize its slogan of New Way, New Value by fostering a challenge-taking mindset in all employees.
Data-driven Human Resource Management
Fostering an Open and Supportive Company Culture
At Sojitz, we consider our employees to be our greatest assets. In order to create a work environment which maximizes employees’ potential, we use a number of internal surveys to gather opinions from our employees and develop policies to address actual working conditions. Through these internal surveys, Sojitz is able to create an open company culture and foster an environment in which each employee feels a personal investment in company initiatives. We will continue to implement solutions and make improvements based on employee feedback.
We also actively create opportunities for dialogue between management and employees. We aim to maintain an open company culture through meaningful interpersonal communication between employees and incorporate employees’ opinions as well as share management’s vision.
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Engagement Survey
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Sojitz has conducted an employee survey since FY2017 in an effort to understand and continually raise employee engagement. The questions cover employee motivation and how the workplace environment affects the degree to which employees can excel. We conduct separate analyses of the survey by organization and by affiliation (such as age and job grade) and the results of these analyses are shared throughout the company and used to create action plans within individual organizations.
In March 2021, we formulated our engagement survey with questions unique to our organization under the guidance of an outside expert. Our aim was to gain a more accurate understanding of the current status of the company and use the results to implement more effective human resource initiatives. In FY2023, employee engagement remained high with a 96% response rate. We will continue to regularly conduct this engagement survey as a means of understanding feedback from our employees.
Organizational Improvement Project
Sojitz shares the results of the engagement survey throughout the company and analyzes survey responses in terms of organization and affiliations. Individual organizations then utilize this data to make improvements within their organization. Each organization appoints a project owner (head of organization) and project leader. Through an employee-driven approach, project leaders guide company-wide improvement efforts by spearheading survey data analysis and other improvement initiatives within their respective teams. Sharing this data at the company level allows for analysis in terms of a wide range of characteristics including employees’ age, gender, and job grade, and enables Sojitz to reinforce the PDCA cycle (plan, do, check, act) for organizational improvement within each organization.
Themes for past five years of the project have included "Continuous Improvement Mindset"; "Implementation of Data Analysis"; "Establishment of an Improvement Cycle"; and "Raising Productivity." In FY2023, the theme was to focus on issues specific to each organization. Having ascended to the next stage, organizations will now focus on the concept of accelerating growth to realize goals under Medium-term Management Plan 2026. Each year, organizations are selected to present on their progress to the president and members of management, and awards are given to departments that demonstrate particularly outstanding efforts. This feature allows the details of the initiatives and insights gained through the project to be shared and implemented throughout the company. Through organizational improvement initiatives, we aim to create an open and comfortable working environment and foster a culture rooted in the unique Sojitz identity.
360-Degree Survey
Since FY2018, Sojitz has conducted 360-degree surveys to provide general managers and section managers with multi-faceted feedback from senior managers, coworkers, and subordinates each year. This initiative allows managers to evaluate their everyday actions, encourages improvement, and provides motivation. In FY2019, we expanded the scope of the survey to include COOs among the line managers who receive feedback. In addition, survey questions were updated in FY2020 to align with Sojitz’s official requirements for line managers in an effort to raise awareness among employees of the traits and behaviors expected of all line managers.
Transforming Diversity into Competitiveness
Promoting New Challenges for Innovation and Growth
Sojitz is developing a workplace environment that transforms diversity into competitiveness and incorporates new ideas and opinions in an effective and multifaceted way to create value. Not bound by past conventions such as lifetime employment and seniority based on years of service, our corporate culture is built on the concept of helping employees pursue their desired careers while ensuring high levels of motivation with a workplace environment that attracts diverse and ambitious human resources and encourages them to pursue mutual growth. In addition, we offer a platform for creating new business opportunities and promoting open innovation, which is not limited to our existing business domains, through networking among current members of Sojitz as well as former members who continue business or social contribution activities even after leaving the organization. The Sojitz Group has also established a job-based employment company that helps employees further their diverse career goals and life plans. Employees working at this company use their skills and experience inside and outside of the Group to create value.
Initiatives
Basic HR Strategy 1: Build diverse teams of employees who take on new challenges and achieve growth
In accordance with the theme of transforming diversity into competitiveness, Sojitz leverages diversity to respond to a volatile market environment and to build on the organization’s capabilities that underpin the swift generation of value. Sojitz aims to become a general trading company that constantly cultivates new businesses and human capital, and we continue to proactively hire diverse talent regardless of gender and nationality, including mid-career hires with high levels of expertise. We also work on various initiatives to enable employees to fully demonstrate their individual strengths and skills by providing education to management-level personnel.
Initiatives for Leveraging Diversity
- Promoting Women in the Workplace
Sojitz aims to increase the percentage of female employees to 50% during the 2030s and will continue to build an environment in which women can naturally excel over the mid- to long-term by supporting the active development of its employees at each stage of their careers. Sojitz also appointed its first female executive officer through internal promotion in April 2021. There are currently two female executive officers and 57 female section managers as of March 31, 2024. - Balancing Work and Caregiving; Employees Nearing Retirement Age; Opportunities for Employees with Disabilities; Fostering Understanding of LGBTQ Employees
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Group-wide Initiatives
In order to maximize the capabilities of our human resources throughout Sojitz Group, we pursue initiatives geared towards the development of employees at Group companies and the building of inter-Group company networks.
Sojitz provides a variety of training opportunities to Group company employees. These opportunities develop both the skills and mindset that employees require to understand the operating environment surrounding Sojitz Group and their role as individuals. Executives and managers of Sojitz Group companies receive cross-Group training assigned by position. These trainings improve management skills and strategic thinking required at each level. All employees receive the same core training related to business skills and the company’s governance policies, as well as risk management training. We also implement additional programs including orientation trainings for new employees from across Sojitz Group and a program wherein we accept trainees from Group companies at Tokyo HQ.
Orientation Training for New Group Employees
| FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Training for Board of Directors and Corporate Auditors | 36 companies 46 participants |
41 companies 47 participants |
53 companies 80 participants |
36 companies 51 participants |
| Training for Managers | 13 companies 47 participants |
11 companies 61 participants |
11 companies 43 participants |
10 companies 30 participants |
| Training for New Hires | 12 companies 56 participants |
12 companies 59 participants |
8 companies 53 participants |
7 companies 49 participants |
Recruitment for Group companies
In order to recruit talented new graduates for Group companies and increase Group-wide engagement of new graduate hires, we are working to strengthen Sojitz Group's recruitment branding and create standardized onboarding processes through collaboration on new graduate recruitment activities, such as joint operation of recruitment websites and hosting joint information sessions with Group companies, among other activities.
Joint information sessions in FY2023：Held 4 times, 8 participating companies, 666 students applied in total
Development of Future Leaders
Sojitz Corporation conducts a wide variety of businesses through more than 400 Group companies around the world. For our company, continually and strategically developing human resources who can manage our operating companies is an important task.
We are working to develop employees who can oversee the businesses that will constitute Sojitz’s earnings foundation in the future. That means having employees, with their diverse backgrounds, undergo a number of training modules based on Sojitz’s business philosophies and the Sojitz Guiding Principles, as well as giving them opportunities for on-the-job training.
In order to ensure sustainable business management, Sojitz’s business and corporate departments collaborate to develop successors who can take over management of businesses. We take a company-wide approach to the development of future leaders by fostering a candidate pool capable of meeting the needs of each role and transferring employees between our business divisions as necessary in order to provide future leaders with opportunities to gain new skills and experiences tailored to each individual’s development needs.
In addition, it is becoming increasingly important for each Sojitz business division to support local development, create employment opportunities, and contribute to human resource development in the regions where Sojitz is active around the world. Our unique human resource development program offers growth opportunities to employees at every career stage, and we actively promote and allocate employees throughout our businesses and operating regions in order to accelerate the professional development of future leaders.
We are increasing opportunities for employees to go on secondment to key operating companies and gain experience with the management of Group companies from a corporate perspective. We are also working to provide these employees with opportunities to serve as independent directors or audit and supervisory board members at operating companies both in Japan and overseas. Through these efforts, we aim to create a cycle whereby these employees are able to leverage the expertise they acquire outside the company in future management roles upon returning to Sojitz headquarters. Drawing from its diverse pool of employees, Sojitz selects promising candidates who will form the next generation of Group company leadership. We ensure that all managers are constantly working to improve their management style through initiatives including the annual 360-Degree Survey and leadership trainings offered to select managerial staff.
Development of DX Experts
Sojitz aims to develop human resources capable of utilizing digital technologies in collaboration with partners both inside and outside the company to transform business models and work processes. We have therefore begun developing an in-house training curriculum based on the digital fields and skill levels we have designated for employee education. We have already successfully raised the base level of all employees’ digital literacy through the Entry and Basic levels of the training curriculum and achieved the goal set out in Medium-term Management Plan 2023 of having 300 employees complete the Experienced level (321 employees completed the training, with 60 among those also completing the Expert training). Through the activities of these DX experts, Sojitz has begun to steadily implement digital technologies to solve business issues, such as optimization of commodity pricing in its mineral trading business, data analysis of sales strategies in its marine products business, and acquisition of a patent for digital twin technology used for fish counting in its tuna farming business. Furthermore, managers who have reached the Expert level are selected to lead the digital specialist teams within their respective business divisions and corporate departments, and Sojitz is taking steps to establish a robust framework to support the realization of the “Digital in All” motto through these efforts.
During Medium-term Management Plan 2026, we aim to continually update and enhance company-wide digital literacy while also improving the Experienced level training curriculum and further increasing the number of employees completing the training. Within the Experienced level, we have introduced a new Business Architecture training program (roughly 20 hours) designed to give employees the skills to conceptualize methods for integrating data and technology into business models. We are aiming to achieve a 50% completion rate (roughly 1,000 employees) of the Experienced training among all career track employees, and for 10% of that group (roughly 200 employees) to complete the Expert training. Sojitz’s objective is to ensure that Experienced level employees are positioned in organizations throughout the company and leverage these individuals to drive digital transformation at the company level.
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Trainee Program
Sojitz develops a diverse range of businesses through more than 400 Group companies. As such, ensuring the effective cultivation of human resources for leading these companies is a matter of extreme importance. Various training systems are in place to cultivate management level employees, including an overseas trainee program, a system for dispatching employees to MBA programs, and self-guided programs for language acquisition. Our unique trainee program allows employees to gain experience at organizations with missions that differ from that of their own. For example, an individual from a corporate department may gain experience working in the business department of an operating company, or a an employee that works in trading the Chemicals Division might be placed in a position involved in post-merger integration at an operating company supervised by the Aerospace, Transportation & Infrastructure Division. The program thus provides employees an opportunity to grow by broadening their perspective through new experiences and expanding their knowledge base and inter-personal connections. In FY2023, we sent employees to a total of 24 countries through the overseas trainee program, and 40% of program participants were women. By providing employees opportunities to gain experience outside of Japan in the early stages of their career, Sojitz aims to spur growth and foster talent capable of succeeding on the global stage.
Hassojitz Project
In 2019, we launched the Hassojitz Project as an initiative for new business creation with the objective of generating discussion about what further growth might mean for Sojitz and encouraging visionary and strategic thinking at the company. The Wireless Charging Project, winner of the President’s Prize in the project’s first year, began conducting road testing in March 2023.
Sojitz is pursuing new business creation through other Hassojitz proposals including the FY2020 competition’s e-sports and fast-growing tree projects, both of which have resulted in the establishment of new companies. Since FY2021, Sojitz has incorporated the Hassojitz Project into its training program for prospective employees to promote understanding of Sojitz business and foster the creativity needed to develop business that goes beyond conventional boundaries. In addition, Sojitz dispatches Hassojitz Project participants to external incubation programs and invites outside experts for lectures with the aim of refining business ideas and accelerating innovation through co-creation. Through the Hassojitz Project, Sojitz fosters an entrepreneurial spirit in employees and develops individuals capable of proactively and independently creating new business.
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Project teams were formed through an open call, and each team was paired with a specially appointed management-level employee as they worked to refine their ideas. For Hassojitz Project 2019, the teams were tasked with first outlining major social and world megatrends expected for 30 years in the future. Participants then proceeded to formulate concrete business proposals and business models under a chosen theme or business area. Finally, the teams presented their ideas to President Fujimoto and division COOs in a contest format. The most promising and feasible ideas from the contest are now in the process of being turned into businesses. For example, a team who chose wireless battery charging as their theme have now taken the first steps towards turning their idea into a business with the Energy Solution & Healthcare Division as their sponsor.
For the first year of the project, participation was limited to first year to 10th year employees. However, for Hassojitz Project 2020, we expanded eligibility to include all employees.
“Participation is open to all challenge takers. But do you have the commitment to see your project through until the very end?” This was the question posed to employees for the FY2020 project. The 88 ideas submitted were narrowed down into eight select themes, and a total of 65 employees were divided into eight teams to cover each theme.
Sojitz Alumni Chairman Yoshiaki Fujimori (entered Nissho Iwai in 1975, left in 1986, current Chairman of the Board of Directors at Oracle Corporation Japan, former CEO of Lixil Group), Sojitz Alumni Vice Chairman Masayuki “Mark” Kojo (entered Nissho Iwai in 1993, left in 2001, current President and CEO of Chip One Stop, Inc.), and Akie Iriyama (Professor, Waseda University Graduate School of Business and Finance) were invited to join the judging panel and provide commentary at the final presentation sessions in late May 2021.
Entrepreneurship was the theme for the FY2020 project, and the most outstanding teams are now in the process of turning their ideas into new businesses through sponsorship from Sojitz business divisions.
As part of the FY2020 project, a femtech team is currently working to commercialize their project idea. Utilizing technology to address women’s health issues relating to menstruation, pre-conception care, pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and other gynecological conditions, the femtech team is creating a tech business that supports women’s health and empowers women to choose their own career paths and unique lifestyles.
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Sojitz began accepting submissions for Hassojitz Project 2021—the third year of the project—in September 2021. The project’s theme was co-creation and its primary aims were to promote digital transformation (DX) and create value with partner companies. Numerous new business ideas were received through the company-wide open call and six teams were ultimately chosen to develop their projects. As part of this year’s project, two employees were dispatched to a business incubation program held by Phoenixi Co., Ltd. with the aim of using cross-industry exchange as a tool for refining business ideas and accelerating innovation through co-creation.
Final presentation sessions for Hassojitz Project 2022 were held over two days on March 17th (Day 1) and March 28th (Day 2).
On Day 2, President Fujimoto and Executive Vice President Seiichi Tanaka were joined on the judging panel by Waseda University Business School professor Akie Iriyama, Sojitz Alumni Chairman Yoshiaki Fujimori, and Sojitz Alumni Vice Chairman Masayuki "Mark" Kojo.
Sojitz also incorporated the Hassojitz Project into its training program for prospective employees set to join the company in FY2022, and two standout teams from the program presented their projects at the final presentation sessions.
Now in its fourth year, the Hassojitz Project has developed into an opportunity to not only encourage employees to adopt a challenge-seeking mindset, but also to share Sojitz’s unique qualities both within and outside the company. The theme for Hassojitz Project 2022 was “Passion + Determination.” Employees submitted ideas for businesses Sojitz should pursue in the future, and 44 participants were divided into 6 teams following the idea evaluation process. These teams worked to develop their idea over the next 8 months in pursuit of new business creation.
A new initiative was introduced in FY2022 to further enhance the quality of the Hassojitz Project. During the idea development stage, Sojitz invited outside experts for seminars and discussion sessions with employees. These events aimed to foster employee enthusiasm for the project while also raising the overall caliber of proposals by equipping participants with knowledge on marketing, data analysis, and other key skills needed to bring a project from business idea to commercialization. At the final presentation sessions held on March 13th and 15th, 2023, the judges commented that all the teams gave excellent presentations, and that the participants’ hard work was evident in their proposals.
For the second year, Sojitz also incorporated the Hassojitz Project into its training program for prospective employees set to join the company in FY2023. Standout teams from the program were selected to present their projects at the Hassojitz Project 2022 final presentation sessions.
For Hassojitz Project 2023, the fifth year of the program, employees were asked to submit proposals for promising new business fields and business models for Sojitz s to pursue under the theme of “Innovate with Passion.” After a strict judging process, a total of 78 proposals were narrowed down to just 10. Teams were then formed for each proposal, and the participants began developing their ideas and working together towards commercialization.
Beginning in FY2023, Sojitz required all new graduate employees to submit an idea to the Hassojitz Project. As a result, 8 of the 10 chosen proposals were submitted by new employees. New employees also accounted for 28 of the total 45 participants, bringing their fresh ideas and unique perspectives to the program.
The final presentation sessions for Hassojitz Project 2023 were held over two days on March 13th and 18th. Two standout teams from the prospective employee Hassojitz program presented at the sessions, as well as the seven teams that remained following the judging process at the mid-term mark. Members of the judging panel commented that this year’s presentations were the strongest they had seen in the five years of the project.
Cultivating a Culture of Meaningful Interpersonal Engagement
At Sojitz Group, the value we create is derived from our human resources, and we believe that multilateral communication between employees plays a key role in the growth and development of individual organizations and the company at large. Active communication improves the quality of decision-making through the sharing of diverse opinions and information, fosters innovation through open-minded and creative thinking, and drives engagement and employees’ motivation to contribute to company goals and targets.
We believe that our vision for human capital management can be realized when diverse teams of independent individuals reflect on what unique qualities define the Sojitz identity from their perspective and embody those characteristics in their daily work.
In April 2023, we launched the Sojitz Identity Project, an interactive project involving the entire company. The project included interviews with individuals both inside and outside the company to understand current attitudes and perspectives, workshops with a group of core members selected from each organization, and discussions with members of management. This process allowed us to define in concrete terms the unique Sojitz identity and our vision for the future at both the individual and company levels. In order to achieve our vision for 2030, we strive to ensure that employees take ownership of and articulate the vision in their own words. In this way, we aim to align employees’ daily efforts with management goals as we unite as an organization to link the strength of our human resources to the strength of the company.
Sojitz Alumni (established April 2021)
In recent years, the external environment has changed drastically as a result of labor shortages, shifts in career-related values, and the adoption of new working styles in which individuals hold side businesses and jobs. In light of these circumstances, Sojitz aims to ensure that its employees are able to work with a high degree of motivation and experience professional growth by offering employees the option to pursue diverse working styles.
In addition, Sojitz seeks to create greater opportunities for business and open innovation through these new initiatives, which include the formation of an inclusive Sojitz Group network that will create new business opportunities that expand beyond the company’s current business areas.
Sojitz has established Sojitz Alumni as a business networking platform to foster connections among Sojitz’s former employees and between current and former members of the company. As a network first proposed by former Sojitz employees, Sojitz Alumni has been approved and authorized as an official Sojitz organization, and Sojitz supports operation of this platform.
Members of Sojitz Alumni are selected to participate in seminars and lectures, provide advice on projects, support business creation, introduce and secure funding sources, participate as judges in Sojitz presentations, engage in regular and individual meetings with Sojitz employees, and provide consultations through an exchange of opinions.
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Support for Entrepreneurs and Independent Business (implemented from April 2021)
Sojitz supports employees who intend to start their own businesses by providing Sojitz’s resources—including funding, information, and networks—to promote these business ventures. The company also plans to have members of Sojitz Alumni, who are working outside the company, offer advice and funding to these start-ups. Each year, Sojitz holds an in-house business contest, the Hassojitz Project, through which ideas developed can now be commercialized and established as independent businesses through this funding initiative.
As a general trading company that continues to create business and develop capable people, Sojitz will support the desired career paths of all employees, including individuals who seek to become entrepreneurs and establish their own independent businesses. At the same time, Sojitz strives to hire and develop proactive challenge-takers with an entrepreneurial spirit to transform the company’s corporate culture.
Sojitz Professional Share (established March 2021)
Sojitz established Sojitz Professional Share (SPS), that offers job-based employment through a career platform available for employees over the age of 35 with over 10 years of work experience. The company aims to support employees in furthering their career goals. Through SPS's job-matching platform, employees are offered diverse and expansive career path choices including jobs for individuals over retirement age and jobs with flexible working hours and locations. SPS also supports employees establishing start-ups or side businesses. Employees that transfer to SPS are able to apply the skills and experiences they acquired at Sojitz to businesses outside the company in order provide new value under this framework.
Overview of Sojitz Professional Share
Basic HR Strategy 2: Strengthen section managers’ ability to maximize the full potential of each individual
To link the development of diverse, self-directed individuals to the growth of each of our organizations and the company as a whole with the enhancement of corporate value, we consider it imperative to strengthen section managers, who act as intermediaries between senior management and non-managerial employees in the process of executing strategies and enhancing engagement.
Enhance Group Capabilities by Strengthening Section Managers
In order to maximize the potential of our employees, who are the source of our value creation, we believe it is important to strengthen management capabilities that draw out employees' strengths and enhance organizational capabilities through dialogue. After analyzing the results of the engagement survey (99% response rate in FY2022), we found that section managers, who are the closest to on-site businesses, have a significant impact on organizational engagement. Compared to general managers, section managers have a greater influence on improving organizational engagement, so we are focusing on strengthening section managers’ capabilities.
Data has revealed that organizations with section managers possessing excellent communication tend to be organizations with high levels of collaboration, where employees demonstrate a willingness to take on new challenges, and experience a sense of growth. At Sojitz, we are improving communication skills as a top priority in order to strengthen section managers’ capabilities by implementing measures to strengthen these skills through training programs. Moving forward, we aim to further improve the quality of dialogue, enhance organizational leadership, and strengthen our business creation and management capabilities.
Development of Talent who Constantly Deliver Results (Training Program)
We will continue to develop highly skilled talent through dialogue and provide various training programs that encourage employee growth and benefit both Sojitz (by securing the organizational capability required to execute strategies) and employees (by developing an individual’s skills and career). Training opportunities, like the DX expert training program, are provided to employees of all ages and ranks.
We also provide off-the-job training designed for employees of specific age groups and career stages, including junior employees, managerial staff, and executive officers. Through these training programs, we aim to link the growth of individuals to the development of teams and the overall organization.
We also provide selective training programs that cultivate the next generation of leaders. Sojitz designed these programs to improve organizational resilience and systematically foster candidates for future managerial positions by building a robust pool of human resources.
Moreover, we aim to help individuals gain the fundamental knowledge required of a manager, as well as acquiring advanced management skills. To achieve this, we employ experts to provide coaching, provide opportunities to build networks with managerial personnel at other companies, and send employees to receive professional coaching and cross-industry training.
MBA Program
The MBA program allows employees to attend business schools where they undergo intensive training and learn a wide range of advanced skills that are difficult to acquire through on-the-job training alone. The goal of the program is to foster human resources who can adapt to globalization and the rapidly changing business environment worldwide. Junior and mid-career employees are dispatched to MBA programs in Japan and overseas where they develop the entrepreneurial spirit and leadership skills that will equip them to plan, prepare, and develop new core businesses for Sojitz.
Training Programs for Managers
Sojitz conducts group training programs and selective leadership trainings which correspond to each stage of professional growth and the rapidly changing business environments for general trading companies. These trainings aim to foster managers who can lead groups of diverse and self-driven employees.
At group trainings, managers deepen their understanding of business management issues and develop the ability to approach matters from a management perspective. The trainings provide members of leadership with the management skills necessary to successfully foster diversity within the organizations they lead and to maximize results.
Sojitz also implements the 360-degree survey framework as a method to encourage managers to continuously improve their managerial mindset and behavior. Through these surveys, managers receive valuable feedback not readily obtainable through day-to-day work, which allows managers to take notice of any existing issues and take steps to remedy them. The 360-degree survey seeks to enhance the work environment and encourage greater engagement from every member of the organization.
Since 2011, Sojitz has held action learning-based trainings for select general managers in order to strengthen their ability to manage teams and formulate organizational strategies. At these sessions, external consultants are brought in to facilitate discussions among managers regarding the business and organizational challenges present within their respective departments. Using the results of the 360-degree survey and objective insights from the external consultant, each general manager reviews their strategy and vision for their organization, thereby refining their ability to strategize, identify root issues, lead teams, and motivate stakeholders. This process aims to equip members of leadership with the tools to not only craft a strategic vision, but also make those strategies more realistic and attainable. A total of 21 managers who have participated in general manager selective leadership trainings have been promoted to the level of executive officer or higher (as of April 2024).
Sojitz also conducts an employee exchange program in which managers are seconded to companies in a variety of industries. The program aims to allow employees to cultivate the qualities of a corporate leader, acquire advanced management skills, and network with management teams from other companies.
Expanding Opportunities for Administrative-track Employees
In an effort to provide our outstanding administrative-track employees with opportunities for increased engagement and to create new career path options, we introduced a new upper tier of job grades in July 2019, as well as a new region-specific career track. In the same year, we also revised our human resource system to enable staff within higher job grades to transfer to the region-specific career track. We are promoting the further success of highly skilled administrative-track employees through these revisions and providing various educational opportunities, including career counseling and other initiatives, to encourage employees to pursue a wide range of career paths.
Additionally, in August 2019, we modified our training system with the aim of supporting administrative-track employees to up-skill and create new opportunities to excel. Employees can choose from more than 200 courses based on their individual and organizational needs, and the number of participants has been increasing every year.
Job Rotation and Internal Recruitment Systems
Fostering Growth through On-site Work Experience
In addition to off-the-job trainings (OFF-JT) in which employees step away from their daily tasks to participate in internal trainings and self-guided development programs, Sojitz also focuses on on-the-job (OJT) training initiatives, which are conducted as part of employees’ daily work in order to foster the growth of new employees through on-site work experience.
Sojitz provides new employees with on-the-job-training through its peer mentor system and senior mentor system. Peer mentors support new employees as they learn their work responsibilities, and senior mentors provide counsel and emotional support. These senior employees act as role models and help new employees develop into confident and capable team members.
Peer mentors are paired with new recruits within their organization, while senior mentors belong to different departments than their mentees. Through bimonthly meetings, senior mentors take a broader perspective in order to help expand their mentee’s horizons and support them as they create a plan for their career.
Peer mentor: Kensaku Kawazoe / Ferroalloys Sect., Metal Resources Dept., Metals, Mineral Resources & Recycling Division
Senior mentor: Tetsuya Takahashi / Planning & Administration Sect., Planning & Administration Office, Metals, Mineral Resources & Recycling Division
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Basic HR Strategy 3: Anticipate the changing business environment and allocate human resources flexibly
Sojitz will flexibly and systematically cultivate, allocate, and appoint its human resources to continue addressing significant changes in the business environment, such as technological advancements, heightened geopolitical risks, and diversifying customer needs. This flexible allocation system will allow us to raise value creation and value enhancing capabilities required to achieve our vision for 2030.
Cultivation of Human Resources by Providing Diverse Opportunities (Job Rotation System and Internal Recruitment System)
Job Rotation and Internal Recruitment Systems
Sojitz aims to promote the professional growth of employees and broaden their career paths through initiatives such as the job rotation system, which enables employees to acquire a diverse range of expertise and skills and bring new energy to their organizations by gaining experience in different positions within the company. In addition, the internal recruitment system allows employees to reach their full potential and carve out their own career path by voluntarily applying for development opportunities.
Under the job rotation system, employees must have experience in two or more roles (including secondment and overseas assignment) in order to be considered for a managerial position. This system contributes to the development of leaders who have diverse expertise and skills. In FY2020 we reduced the number of years required to receive certain promotions as part of our efforts to accelerate the speed at which our employees gain important work experience.
Under the internal recruitment system, an average of 8 employees have been transferred in the last 2 years.
Career Planning
Sojitz actively facilitates dialogue between employees and their managers in order to support each individual as they grow and create their own career path. At career planning meetings, employees discuss their career in terms of three key elements: 1) the employee’s current skills and experiences, 2) the next steps of their career path, and 3) the overall trajectory the employee should pursue to achieve their unique career goals. Through these dialogues, Sojitz aims to connect the growth of individuals to the growth of the organization by fostering deeper mutual understanding between employees and their managers as they work together to consider the next steps of the employee’s career plan.
Data-driven Strategy for Flexible and Systematic Employee Allocation and Development
Sojitz utilizes human resource data (data science) to further strengthen both individuals and organizations. We pursue a data-driven HR strategy, conducting multifaceted analysis of HR data and the results of surveys including the Engagement Survey, 360-degree survey, and other company-wide surveys. In addition, Sojitz leverages a company-wide talent management system to promote multilateral communication, optimize talent allocation, ensure fair and equitable employee feedback, and provide visualizations of employee growth. Through these initiatives, Sojitz strives to link individuals to their organizations through data and establish a solid foundation for human capital management.
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Systems and Initiatives Supporting the Activities of Diverse Human Resources
Sojitz Group believes that the growth of the company is based on the growth of its employees. We are therefore committed to developing a workplace environment that ensures all employees, with their own diverse values and career ambitions, can maintain high levels of motivation and continue to grow and follow their ambitions.
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Group-wide Initiatives to Accelerate Improvement of Corporate Value (Shareholding Association and Granting of Shares)
Sojitz aims to foster employee awareness by constantly increasing corporate value and the share price of Sojitz Group. We will further motivate employees to develop a sense of ownership and support efforts to improve corporate value by increasing the value of shareholder returns and granting shares to employees who support Sojitz. In May 2023, Sojitz granted 100 shares as a special incentive to employees that are members of the Shareholding Association. As of March 2024, around 90% of Sojitz employees are members of the Shareholding Association. To channel the flow of funds from profit expansion to the growth of our employees and businesses, we will accelerate initiatives across the Group to improve corporate value. Sojitz will offer special remuneration to employees if KPIs under MTP 2026 are achieved.
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