We believe that “People make the company,” and so we actively support the development of individual abilities and take positive action without fear of failure. We promote efforts to improve safety and health conditions, and to create a working environment where the company and its employees can live in harmony while individual abilities get developed to their fullest extent.
We also respect everyone’s human rights in all business activities and aim to establish a company with no discrimination either inside or outside the company due to race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, colour, religion and belief/philosophy.
We regard talent development as an important management issue, and link ONO’s growth strategy with its development strategy. In other words, the ultimate objectives of our talent development efforts are to nurture talent who can proactively work on their own growth strategy, and to provide society with ONO’s unique value through organizational development. In order to do this, we have incorporated four consistent elements into our talent development strategy (namely, our mission statement, medium- to long-term growth strategy, organizational capability requirements for implementing our growth strategy, and diverse talent) and are providing opportunities for growth so that each and every employee can always take on challenges and work autonomously. We carry out strategic talent development in a manner that will allow us to make the leap to becoming a specialty pharmaceutical company on a global scale. In addition, the value that we want to provide to the global society is innovative new drugs (i.e., innovation). One of our major talent development goals is to produce many innovative talent who create innovative new drugs. We are implementing a variety of development programs with the expectation that our employees from all divisions will innovate. In addition, we are also working to develop organizations that can practice a new form of cohesion that connects outstanding individuals to other individuals, comes up with new ideas, and demonstrates strengths as a team, which are necessary to drive innovation.
To advance our growth strategy, the most important thing is to develop talent who can implement actions based on our Mission Statement, which forms the basis of our growth strategy. To that end, we are implementing activities to deepen employees’ understanding of our Mission Statement and working to create an environment in which each employee can demonstrate their unique attributes while growing as professionals.
We also promote the introduction of Skill Map Design (listing of skills required for the job) to visualize the current gap with the skills and actions required for growth strategies. Managers and their subordinates prepare skill maps for each department with the aim of clarifying individual activities toward the implementation of growth strategies.
Furthermore, in order to consider talent allocation that is in line with our growth strategies, we have established a Talent Development Conference, which is owned by the president and has secretariats from Corporate Planning and Human Resources. This is a place where all Executive Directors and General Managers jointly consider the allocation of employees selected as next executive talent candidates and employees selected as globally competent talent candidates. Based on their own career vision, their previous experiences and performance evaluations, and Profiles’ job matching system, employees are assigned to positions based on the agreement of all Executive Directors. Doing so allows for strategic job rotations across headquarters, the selection of personnel to be seconded to venture companies, and strategic placement into global roles.
We aim to develop human resources who become source for us to grow to be an R&D-based global pharmaceutical company (Global Specialty Pharma) as well as act in an ethical manner with a strong sense of responsibility as a member of a pharmaceutical enterprise involved in pharmaceutical products, which are closely related to the lives of people.
Having over 300 years of history since our foundation, we desire human resources who will be the fountainhead for us to continue to make bold efforts for the future.
In individual development, the starting point is that each person clearly draws his or her career vision. The core of our career vision is what we want to achieve and realize in our lives. We believe that linking these to the Mission Statement will lead to meaningful work at our company. In order to clearly delineate our career vision, we introduced a self-career dock system. Toward individual development, we provide opportunities for growth through work and training.
We plan and administer various talent development training programs with an emphasis on three important elements for talent development, namely “experience in the workplace (experience learning),“ “guidance from supervisors (social learning)” and “self-development and training program (self-learning).” These three elements enhance learning for each employee by clarifying their own career vision. To this end, we are aiming to introduce a system that is run by qualified employees as career consultants, which is a national qualification, to support each and every employee in clarifying and translating their thoughts about what they want to achieve in life and Ono Pharmaceutical, as well as what they wish to be in order to achieve them. This system is called a self-career dock system. In addition, from FY2020 we have been implementing training and e-learning on the self-carrier dock system.
In addition, we are preparing to implement a system in FY2023 in which we can check skill maps not only in our departments but also in other departments. We are aiming to achieve a state where social learning and self-learning are promoted by using them as an opportunity to independently think about the content of work and measures for career development in departments where we want to take on challenges in the future.
We value "teamwork." This attitude is based on our values such as “ONO aims to be a world-changing team.” When setting annual work goals, our employees set not only personal goals, but also the goals of their team. Communicating closely with other members of the team on a regular basis and working while showing individuality will lead to the creation of innovations that individuals cannot create on their own.
For talent development, it is extremely important to allow employees to have one-on-one communication with their immediate supervisors, with whom they liaise and work closely with in their daily work. During one-on-one communication, employees can not only consult about issues they are facing in their work, but also discuss in depth about their job satisfaction, strengths and future career aspirations. Such opportunities help employees stay highly motivated toward their work, leading to the achievement of higher targets.
In order for employees to continue taking on challenges for the career vision that they have for their future, it is essential that each individual member thinks, learns, and grows. We offer a variety of opportunities for self-development learning and elective and voluntary training which will be a source of their next challenge.
We organize a wide range of training programs to provide employees with growth opportunities. To develop talent who can act based on our Mission Statement, we provide employees with collective training in each phase of their career growth, such as company-wide joint training for new employees along with all divisions, departmental introductory training, and annual training for young employees. For management staff, we provide training focusing on management skills required for their respective roles and managerial positions, and for the growth of the organization. These training programs are planned in association with educational institutions. In addition, we have implemented selected programs for next executive talent candidates, globally competent talent and innovative talent. Furthermore, to develop individuals with our desired attributes, i.e., “those who are self-disciplined, independent and make confident choices,” we work to expand voluntary training programs in which employees can choose to participate. Also, to encourage the self-development of employees, we have introduced a subsidy program for self-enrichment.
ONO's career image
Summary of common education and training programs for all divisions in FY2021
In line with our Mission Statement as a common guidance that all employees can share for realizing our corporate philosophy (Dedicated to the Fight against Disease and Pain), we aim to ensure that each individual employee acts with a certain understanding of how patients and their families feel about and confront the illness and treatment. These activities are aimed at having employees gain a deeper understanding of the true needs of patients, and identifying the significance of the company’s existence and the challenges each employee faces. This contributes to creating a sense of oneness as an organization and promotes involvement from employees, and it is considered as one of the most important measures at our company.
This workshop aims to ensure that all employees embrace our Mission Statement and act accordingly. In the workshop, the CEO talks about the background to the establishment of our Mission Statement and the history of ONO’s bold endeavors which lie behind it, or managers talk to their subordinates about the challenges they have experienced. Such talks evoke empathy and inspire employees to voluntarily put the Mission Statement into practice.
In addition, for employees working at overseas subsidiaries and mid-career employees, the CEO talks about how the Mission Statement was formulated and the history of our company's challenges behind it. After that, there participants have time to share their impressions and what actions they would like to take in the future.
To deliver pharmaceutical products, it is important to understand the pain patients endure and the true needs of medical professionals. Therefore, we conduct on-site training at medical institutions to provide our staff with an opportunity to listen firsthand to the opinions of patients and medical professionals. This training gives our staff an opportunity to directly see and feel how medical professionals interact with patients every day, enabling our staff to understand the true needs at the medical frontlines. （This training was not conducted in FY2020 and FY2021 due to the influence of COVID-19.）
Having the opportunity to directly contact patients is extremely important for employees of pharmaceutical companies delivering medicines to patients. At lecture meetings, patients talk about how they coped with their initial diagnosis, what symptoms they are experiencing, what impact those symptoms have on their daily lives, their perceptions of efficacy and side effects, and how they live with their illness on a daily basis. By hearing the voices of patients directly, our employees better understand and develop empathy for patients’ feelings and perform their daily work with a patient-oriented mindset.
Since FY2019, we have conducted experience-based training using VR devices to allow our staff to better understand patients’ perspective. For example, dementia patients experience anxiety by seeing hallucinations, causing them to be unable to carry out their normal activities. However, even small changes in care practices—for instance, whether a medical worker stands in front of the patient or beside the patient—can make a big difference. In some cases, by just changing the position of the medical worker, the hallucinations disappear and the patient can move around smoothly. In this way, understanding is not only based on knowledge, but also based on the experience of recognizing things that healthy people would not notice using VR, leading to having a patient's perspective. In addition, from FY2021, we introduced patient experience understanding training to foster an awareness of being closer to patients by understanding the goals and values that patients have, leading to the realization of providing value such as the creation of new drugs.
For the purpose of fostering next executive talent candidates, we have implemented this program for selected employees in four levels, from general employees to senior managers.
The common theme of this program is "learning the perspectives and ideas of management," but the curriculum is set up according to level, so the training period differs between 1-2 years. In the training for general employees, leadership development is conducted at an early stage before they become managers, and job rotation is conducted after this training. For senior managers, we provide training aimed at fostering their awareness of being a potential top manager, and they also take part in discussion-based opinion exchange meetings with executives from other companies that transcend industries.
Next executive talent candidates are considered as valuable human resources shared across divisions, and we established a meeting structure in which the heads of each division are able to discuss from the same perspective to allocate the candidates to jobs that they need to experience as a next executive talent candidate.
Innovation is crucial for a pharmaceutical company to deliver novel drugs to patients. As an environment for continuous innovations, we launched the Ono Innovation Platform （OIP） as a place to generate innovation in a multifaceted and intensive manner in addition to conventional development measures.
At OIP, we develop innovative talent through programs such as the Innovation Café, a training program to learn the mindset and skills needed for taking on challenges; Voyage to Venture (V2V), which sends employees to venture companies on secondment to acquire an overwhelming sense of ownership through cross-border experiences; and HOPE, a business contest in which employees challenge new businesses based on their own awareness of issues. All employees are eligible to participate in OIP, and we are working to create an organizational culture that fosters innovative talent in all departments.
Innovation Café offers programs that allow employees to “know,” “touch” and “experience.” We hold a variety of seminars and workshops so that employees can learn about the field and acquire practical skills, in addition to basic knowledge. In FY2021, we held a total of 10 programs with themes such as problem-solving methods based on the latest trends in business and healthcare and customer thinking, and a total of 1,315 people participated. With regards to open innovation, which is the focus of our company, we held seminars featuring outside experts to provide fruitful learning opportunities. Going forward, we will continue to provide opportunities for employees to not only acquire knowledge and skills, but also to confront what they wish to achieve (WILL).
In V2V, we have established a system based on the idea that it is important to acquire resilience by overcoming experiences of humane circumstances in order to develop people who can create innovation. Employees are seconded to venture companies for one year and up to five positions per year in the form of recommendations and public offerings at the Human Resources Development Conference. By selecting venture companies in business areas different from the healthcare industry, which is the business area of our company, we hope to strengthen our employees’ resilience and ignite innovation by having them return to the workplace from temporary assignment.
At HOPE, we not only review ideas but also provide various support to help boost our growth and take on challenges. Our hope is that through HOPE, participants will have an opportunity to realize self-actualization and gain the ability to spearhead change. In FY2021, 83 people entered the program in 123 themes, with 5 themes currently in the screening process.
In FY2022, we will participate in LoanDEAL’s Outsight (a business creation venture proposal program), an “online cross-border ” program where we propose solutions to the management issues of venture companies and earnestly discuss them. We expect participants to acquire the mindset and skills to take on unknown challenges by facing real challenges from different industries many times. We began enrolling employees in April 2022 with the aim of honing their problem-solving skills by putting them into practice and cultivating a spirit of challenge and courage through the Outsight external study.
In order to utilize recent new technologies such as AI, we have actively been working on fostering talent with digital transformation (DX) and IT skills. The Human Resources Department and IT Department work together to provide learning opportunities about DX/IT from basic knowledge to applied skills according to each employee’s individual level.
This program targets employees who are nominated by their department head as potential future global business leaders. This training aims to develop individuals who will influence the entire company while demonstrating strong leadership within the team and cooperating effectively with others, in any workplace, whether it be in Japan or overseas. Trainees acquire the ability to adapt to the specific environment they find themselves in and gain leadership skills, logical thinking, and global business skills. The training lasts for about one year.
This is a training program to acquire English speaking skills essential for global business. With the purpose of strengthening employees’ capability of performing English-related work, we have three programs: a one-week camp-style English conversation training program in Japan, a three-month study abroad language training program, and weekly lectures by dispatched English instructors (two-year course).
The orientation for newly hired employees is a two-week course provided for all newly hired employees to get together, learn basic business manners and rules, along with roles, responsibilities, and cooperation in a team, and learn about the Mission Statements (corporate philosophy, our vision, and our values), information security, the personnel system, mental healthcare, the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, regulations on insider trading, and CSR activities to acquire consciousness as members of society. We also incorporate global training and diversity training in order to broaden the vision of employees, after which they undergo education specialized for the divisions they are separately assigned to. In addition, after 10 months of being employees, follow-up training for newly hired employees is provided for them to take time to review events in the first year as members of society and to refresh their minds for the second year.
In the training for the newly hired employees of the sales department, which takes half a year after they enter the company, they acquire knowledge of medicine, pharmacology, the medical system and knowledge on diseases that have to do with our products, all of which are necessary for MRs (persons in charge of medical information), and take practical output-focused training. In addition to becoming MRs, who are required by the medical field, we provide opportunities for them to accompany senior MRs in on-site training, learn about the duties of MRs and the rules used in the medical field, and hear directly from doctors and wholesalers. As for the MR accreditation test, with the aim of having all our examinees pass, we support them with a carefully operated backup system not only during the training period but also after assignment to a specific post, which allows us to maintain a top-class pass rate in the industry.
The third-year employee training is designed to help third-year employees realize the necessity of changing their mentality―more specifically, moving one step forward from being independent to being autonomous― and to promote their voluntary actions and proposals as well as more active involvement in training junior colleagues. This training focuses on improving communication skills and other abilities necessary to perform their assigned job functions.
The goal of the five-year employee training is to further raise motivation for work by having employees view their work in a multifaceted manner and review it from creative perspectives. The training includes experiential learning cycles for them to grow themselves while achieving outcomes, and contents that help the participants digest tacit knowledge to establish their cherished opinions, leading to effective practices and outward development.
In the training for those who are promoted to higher grades, they will understand the roles required of leaders, and foster the awareness and attitude of proactively engaging in team management. In addition, the training helps participants acquire the skills to identify problems and understand what is necessary to become an influencer.
In the training for employees promoted to core employees, as a candidate for the next candidates for managers, they will acquire management skills that will enhance their understanding of the personnel evaluation system, the ability to build trust with those around them, and the ability to take action.
In the training for new managers who are appointed from among core employees, participants review the personnel evaluation system, deepen their understanding of labor management, and learn the roles that managers are expected to play, as well as team building, and team management. These training sessions for those promoted are held with members who go beyond the framework of their level or department, which has led to enhanced awareness of cross-functional collaboration. Furthermore, in the FY2020 training for promoted employees, we held a training briefing session after the training for trainee supervisors, with the objective of increasing the effect of the training by connecting them to OJT after the training sessions. From FY2021, in addition to briefings after the training sessions, we are also holding briefings before training for trainees' supervisors to motivate them to receive training, thereby increasing the return on investment in training.
In manager training, we implement programs that incorporate understanding and practicing the Mission Statement and talent development. For the purpose of intensifying interactions between departments, we provide management skill training, which is conducted by bringing together managers from all departments. In addition, we provide training for evaluators to make effective use of the activity goal interview system and to implement fair and equitable evaluations. In addition, we provide training in compliance and mental health line care to create a pleasant working environment.
For employees who are self-motivated and have a strong awareness of growth, we provide opportunities for self-development learning and provide partial financial support. Through correspondence education, we have over 500 courses such as leadership and management, accounting, finance, and English conversation, and we arrange an environment on a steady basis for those proactive learners with a wide range of fields. In addition, we promote self-development learning by aiding online foreign language conversation classes and qualification tests.
We provide voluntary training for employees who desire to proactively learn and can make their own choices regarding which training they need. This includes training to develop managers’ perspectives in the early stages of their careers, using tools such as management simulation games that allow participants to learn accounting and finance, we also provide training for leadership and team building that prepares employees to lead others.
We are always pursuing innovation to continuously create innovative pharmaceuticals. As a source of ideas leading to the creation of innovation, broad diversity regardless of specialized fields, gender, and nationality is increasingly required in the future. In this seminar, we not only understand the significance of diversity, but also improve interviewing skills to make better use of it, and acquire management capabilities. For this purpose, the training is conducted for all of our management positions.
We provide training opportunities for employees to review their individual careers and think positively about their future careers. In order to develop future career plans and translate them into results by discovering qualities, strengths, challenges, and values that employees did not recognize themselves, we provide training in a group work format while learning various career theories.
We offer coaching training to managers. Managers receive one-on-one coaching training from a professional trainer in addition to group training through online classes. In parallel with the training they receive, managers also practice coaching their team members. These activities lead to improved communication in the workplace.
| Training Name | Participants |
|---|---|
| Workshop for promoting a deeper understanding off our Mission Statement | 164 |
| Patient association lecture meetings and patient experience | 1,051 |
| Training program for selected employees (training programs for next executive talent candidates，special training program for globally component talent) | 64 |
| Training programs for innovative talent | 541 |
| Training programs for digital talent | 174 |
| English speaking skill training program | 108 |
| Orientation for newly hired employees Follow-up training for newly hired employees |
82 |
| Third-year employee training Fifth-year employee training |
146 |
| Training for individual contributors promoted to the highest level Training for new core employees Training for new managers Manager training |
290 |
| Self-development learning (Correspondence courses / Online foreign language conversation /support for qualification tests) |
642 |
| Elective and ｖoluntary training | 1,184 |
| Career planning training (including e-learning) | 8,068 |
In addition to these training programs, training sessions to acquire specialized skills required by each division have been provided separately. In FY2020, each employee received an average of 53.8 hours of annual training.
As employees of pharmaceutical companies, we also provide basic e-learning training programs on matters such as drug scandal education, which is essential for employees of pharmaceutical companies, collecting safety information, handling personal information, and the prevention of bribery.
We offer an internship program for undergraduate and graduate students looking to gain work experience. In addition to providing an introduction to the pharmaceutical industry, our internship program provides students with various opportunities such as introducing activities in each job category and interacting with employees, to allow them to gain firsthand experience working at a pharmaceutical company. We hope that by participating in the internship program, students will understand the mission that pharmaceutical companies should fulfill and feel the significance and value of working at a pharmaceutical company. We also hope that the internship experience will help interns shape their future career plan.
In all of our business activities in and outside Japan, we understand and respect the human rights of each individual in terms of the diversity of values, personalities, and characteristics, and we act accordingly.
Upholding these principles, we prohibit discrimination and bullying of any type, both internally and externally, on the basis of race, nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, color, religion, or belief/philosophy, and we have established and administer a personnel system based on this principle. We also prohibit any form of harassment, and we conduct training to ensure compliance.
Furthermore, as a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), we support their ten principles of human rights. In addition, we also support and respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We pursue human rights initiatives in compliance with these international standards. For details, see ONO Pharmaceutical Human Rights Global Policy.
In accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we have established and are continuously implementing a human rights “due diligence system,” to prevent and mitigate any adverse human rights impacts a violation may have on society.
We utilize a third-party EcoVadis's CSR Assessment System (EcoVadis) to objectively and continually monitor the CSR management status of key suppliers in our supply chain. The use of EcoVadis enables us to obtain highly reliable information regarding suppliers’ CSR management at least once a year, and thereby propose appropriate corrective actions to our suppliers. In the FY2021 evaluation, none of our suppliers were classified as having a high risk in terms of CSR.
Also, we will implement comprehensive human rights due diligence from FY2022.
We believe that it is important to deepen our understanding of the diversity of the attributes, values, and behavioral characteristics of the members of our organization and to recognize their personalities in order to respond quickly and flexibly to changes in the environment and to improve our corporate value. Thus, we promote various related initiatives. In order to understand the significance of diversity and to utilize it for management of various human resources, we promote internal understanding by incorporating the content for the promotion of diversity & inclusion (diversity, inclusion, and social integrity) into both, the training by year of employment and rank-based training. In addition to our own activities, we also participate in study sessions and seminars that transcend the boundaries of companies, and strive to collect information on know-how and initiatives for improving diversity.
We have focused on creating a system in which women can work actively. As a result of proactive recruitment of women and measures to prevent turnover associated with life events, the number of female employees has steadily increased, and the employment rate of female employees as of March 2022 had increased by 4.7% compared to March 2013. Furthermore, we are creating an environment in which women can work more actively, in ways such as including contents aimed at promoting diversity inclusion in managerial training, training by year of employment, and rank-based training.
We have established an action plan based on the Act on Promotion of Female Participation and Career Advancement in the Workplace. In accordance with the action plan formulated to be implemented from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023, we are improving the employment environment to increase the number of female potential managers and to support the balance of working and family life.
In addition, we hold seminars called “Support Balancing Work and Child-raising after Returning from Childcare Leave” twice a year to support employees who are balancing their work and child-raising. By providing information about the seminars and opportunities to consider participation with childcare and balancing of work and child-raising, not only for women but for all employees, we are creating a friendlier working environment.
| FY2018 | FY2019 | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 87 | 71 | 73 | 82 | 68 |
| Male | 44 | 47 | 44 | 49 | 42 |
| Female | 43 | 24 | 29 | 33 | 26 |
Retention rate of female*3
| Goals | Action plan | Annual Results |
|---|---|---|
| Have women account for 40% of newly hired university graduates in career-track positions starting in FY2017 |
|
|
| Have the retention rate of women in career-track positions who joined ONO in the last five years be at least 90% that of men |
|
|
| Goal | Action plan | Annual Results |
|---|---|---|
| Increase the ratio of women in the section chief level to 15% or more |
|
FY2021：14.0％ |
| Increase the rate of male employees taking child-care leave to at least 75% |
|
FY2021: 79.0％ |
We actively promote the employment of people with disabilities as part of our efforts to increase diversity and create an environment in which people with disabilities can work comfortably. In April 2022, We established Ono Pharma UD Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, to provide more work opportunities for people with disabilities. We will start with a printing business, and in the future we plan to contribute to the promotion of sustainable society by providing opportunities for employment that are rewarding for people with disabilities to fully demonstrate their abilities and play active roles in a wide variety of tasks. At present, 32 employees are actively involved.
In addition, we are also focusing on career recruitment, to employ human resources with the skills, knowledge, and experience that we need as an immediate force. Especially since FY2014, when we started to actively promote mid-career employment in view of changes in the business environment, we have been actively hiring mid-career employees in a broad range of jobs, including MR, development, safety information management, digital / IT, and managing section. In FY2021, about 50 mid-career recruits joined our company and now play their respective roles by applying their experience and expertise.
Employment rate of persons with disabilities
Number of employees hired by Mid-career recruitment
We introduced UD Talk*４ for business in 2016 as a communication tool for hearing-impaired people, and use it in almost all departments to which hearing-impaired employees belong. Currently, subtitles are displayed in real time on the screen of the Web conferencing system, and we will support an environment where people with hearing impairments can work lively without any inconvenience through in-house communication even in a telework environment.
