Society :

Fostering an Organizational Climate and Culture that realizes high employee engagement

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As we accelerate the global expansion of our business, the environment in which our employees operate in is becoming more diverse than ever, which is why it is important for us to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) so that all employees can play an active role in the company while demonstrating the full extent of their abilities. Specifically, in order to achieve continuous business growth, it is important to employ, train and retain human resources and to achieve the status where "employees can work safely and actively while respecting different and diversified values." For this reason, we are promoting a wide range of initiatives, including a system that allows each employee to demonstrate their individuality, a fair, highly transparent, and attractive corporate culture, as well as a flexible work environment that can adapt to change. We established "Difference" × "Sense of Unity" as a theme for promoting DE&I. New awareness and ideas will emerge when human resources with different backgrounds and ideas work together. Our aim is to become a company that has a sense of unity and is attractive to people outside the company, and to create an organization full of human resources who desire to work actively in our company for a long time by fostering a corporate culture accepting of diversity. Click here to see the results of the engagement survey.

ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO.,LTD., ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO.,LTD., system

DE&I Initiatives (Promotion of diverse human resources)

Our efforts to promote diversity focus on three main areas: management, individual experiences and perspectives, and work styles.

Diversification of Managerial Positions

When it comes to the diversification of managerial positions, we promote diversification particularly in three main areas: young employees, mid-career recruits, and female employees. Specifically, we have made it possible for young employees to be selected for managerial positions at an early stage by eliminating the seniority system for some grades in the promotion system in FY2022. We also actively appoint mid-career recruits to manager positions. There are currently around 100 mid-career recruits who are playing an active role as managers, which is 17% of all management positions within our company. As for the active engagement of female employees in managerial positions, although the ratio of female managers increased by 1.7% since FY2022, it still remains at 5.8% (FY2023) and is one of the challenges our company is striving to address. First, in order to increase the number of candidates for female managerial positions, we have set a target ratio of 15% female managers at the section manager level for the two-year period from April 2021 in accordance with the Act on the Promotion of Women's Active Engagement in Professional Life, and we are happy to report that we have achieved this goal. Going forward, we will strive to achieve a 10% ratio of female managers by FY2026 and 20% by FY2031. In FY2023, we conducted training for all managers on unconscious bias, which is one of the factors that hinder diversity management. In particular, we conducted training for directors and general managers to control their unconscious bias and consider the development of female managers. We will continue to develop systems and environments which recruit, train, and retain talent in a fair manner regardless of age, company history, or gender as we strive to achieve our goals.

Goal Action plan Annual Results
Increase the percentage of female employees at managerial level to 10% or higher by FY2026.
  1. Develop a system and working environment that can respond to life events and diversified working styles.
  2. Develop and implement measures contributing to fostering a corporate culture related to the appointment of female employees as core human resources or at the managerial level (determining policies, training for management members, etc.).
  3. Develop and implement measures contributing to training the next female employees at the managerial level.
The percentage of female employees at managerial level
FY2023:5.8%

Diversification of Individual Experiences and Perspectives

We have established an "open recruitment system" and an "internal challenge job system" so that individual employees can acquire diversified experiences and perspectives. We also began to allow our employees to engage in "side business and concurrent business" from April 2023 in order to acquire new knowledge and experience that cannot be obtained from internal operations.
By acquiring diversified experiences and perspectives regardless of whether they are obtained from inside or outside the company, we aim for further improvement of productivity and the creation of revolutionary innovation.

[Systems that promote employee challenges]

Open recruitment system
Up until now, we have been utilizing an internal recruitment system in order to encourage employees to take on new challenges and to further revitalize the organization. Since FY2022, we have eased application requirements based on employee needs and have greatly expanded the number of job openings to foster a culture that encourages employees to take on new challenges. A total of 191 employees applied in FY2023, and a cumulative total of 96 employees (including 52 in FY2023) have been transferred to other departments through open recruitment over the past five years.
Internal challenge job system
Based on the needs of employees who wish to expand their horizons by learning about work in areas other than their own department, to grow professionally, or to deepen person-to-person exchanges across departments, we have introduced an internal challenge job system with the aim of challenging employees to work in another department for 20% of their prescribed working hours while still being in their current department, and raising employees' skills and providing career support. In FY2023, when the system was officially introduced on a company-wide scale, 108 employees applied, and 46 took on the challenge of working in other departments, thus diversifying their experiences and perspectives.
Side business and concurrent business
We implemented a system revision that allows employees to engage in side business in June 2023. By acquiring new knowledge and experience in various fields that cannot be obtained from operations in our company, we aim to achieve employee growth and career development in our company while maintaining the career of employees with diversified backgrounds. In addition, we also aim to increase productivity, to create evolutional innovation, and further growth of our company by increasing diversity as an organization and using the knowledge and experience obtained from outside the company for operations in the company.
In addition, we have enabled contract employees who have retired from our company to engage in side business since April 2023 with the purpose of achieving a more flexible working style and forming their second career after retirement. In FY2023, 44 employees used side/concurrent business.
Temporary assignment program to venture companies
To create opportunities to gain experience that is not possible in our company, we have introduced a temporary assignment program to venture companies, V2V (Voyage to Venture). For more details, please see here ("Training for Innovative Human Resources" in "Training for Human Resources").
HOPE
We are holding an internal business competition, "HOPE," for the creation of new business as a voluntary opportunity to bring the lessons and experiences of employees into practice. For more details, please see here ("Training for Innovative Human Resources" in "Training for Human Resources").

Diversification of Work Styles

In promoting the diversification of managerial positions, individual experiences, and perspectives, we believe it is important to not only diversify work styles, but to also continuously develop work environments to make it easier for our employees to work. We constantly strive to improve work-life balance by reforming work styles that contribute to recruiting and securing excellent talent. We have also been promoting DX and improving our systems by utilizing IT to further streamline our operations, and in order to create an attractive work environment, we introduced several systems that eliminates core time, such as a super-flex time system, a telecommuting system, and a work interval system. In FY2023, the average monthly overtime hours per employee was 16.2 hours, and the average paid leave utilization rate was 71.3%, meaning that monthly overtime hours for that year was at the same level as that of the previous year, and that we achieved our target paid leave utilization rate of 70%. In FY2024, we will promote the realization of more flexible work styles by introducing a flextime system for outside sales staff and increasing the number of annual paid leave days granted (uniformly 20 days) regardless of length of service. In addition, we aim to achieve more balanced work styles by reducing average monthly overtime hours by 3 hours (10 minutes per day) per employee and setting the paid leave utilization rate at 70% or higher. Through such efforts to diversify work styles, we will create an attractive work environment, which will help to enhance our company’s competitiveness in recruitment and secure excellent talent.

Childcare Support Initiatives

We believe that society as a whole should support families raising children and that creating an environment that supports childbearing and childrearing is one of the challenges that companies should address. We formulated an action plan based on the "Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children," and are working to support employees in balancing their work and childrearing.
We are currently working toward our goal of having at least 80% of our male employees take either childcare leave or reduce the amount of hours that they work. After April 2017, we introduced a new childcare support system, "Encouraging Leave for Childcare Participation," and we are also developing an environment to promote understanding of the workplace among male employees who take childcare leave that child-rearing is a life event for both men and women. In concrete terms, we provide guidance for the purpose of support from pregnancy, the start of childrearing, and reinstatement (pre-mother, pre-father guidance) and orientation at the reinstatement from childcare leave for the purpose of reducing anxiety at reinstatement and supporting smooth returns to work as well as follow-up seminars after reinstatement from childcare leave for employees and their supervisors (seminars to support work-life balance starting after reinstatement from childcare leave). Thus, we support our employees in balancing work and childcare. We also disseminate information such male employees’ experiences taking childcare leave through our internal company newsletter and web portal. In recognition of these activities to support a balance of work and childcare and create a supportive work environment, we were certified by the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare as a standard-compliant general company, and we were awarded the mark of certification as a childcare support company (Kurumin) five times between 2008, and the Platinum Kurumin certification in November 2019.

Medirabi-san ONO’s mascot promoting diversity initiatives
Features in ONO’s booklet on systems for balancing work and child-raising. Promotes initiatives to improve diversity.
Goal Action plan Annual Results
Increase either the percentage of childcare leave or the percentage of reduced working hours taken by male employees to 80% or higher by FY2026.
  1. Develop and implement measures contributing to fostering a corporate culture where male employees can easily participate in childcare (disseminating the systems and information related to childcare leave or reduced working hours for employees and management members, etc. who desire to participate in childcare, etc.)
  2. Develop and implement a system and structures relating to balancing work and childcare.
Percentage of Male Employees Taking Childcare Leave
FY2023:65.4%
Average number of days of male employees taking childcare leave
FY2023:46.2days

Percentage of Male Employees Taking Childcare Leave

graph

Retention rate of female*

graph
  • Retention rate=100-(Turnover rate of each years)
[System that promotes flexible work styles]
Flexible working hours
We have introduced a super flexible working hours system that the eliminates core time throughout company, excluding some job types, departments and ranks. By allowing employees to choose diverse work styles, we improve their work efficiency and help them better balance work obligations and family obligations, such as childcare and nursing care.
Telecommuting system
In order to achieve "fostering a sense of unity" and "various work styles" at the same time, we have introduced a telecommuting system where the upper limit of frequency of telecommuting system is "set by department," as a system where employees can show the maximum performance based on the job type. In addition, we emphasize communication between employees and, as a company-wide operation, we established opportunities for face-to-face communication between all team members two times or more per month in principle.
  • If there are other reasons, such as childrearing, nursing care, etc., the limit on frequency is eliminated.
Flexible Acquisition of Summer Holidays
With the exception of some certain positions, employees can flexibly take summer holidays on any three days between July and September.
Hourly paid leave system
Although annual paid leave may be taken in half-day units, we have made changes so that up to five days’ worth (eight hours per day) of paid leave per year can be taken in hourly units. This system is designed to enable employees to work flexibly to suit their needs.
Selective retirement system
The retirement age is 60 years old, but under certain conditions, if they wish to retire when they reach 55 years old, a special surcharge will be paid in addition to the retirement allowance to support their life planning.
Support of the transfer
Under certain conditions, if they are between the ages of 45 to less than 55 retire for independent self-employment, a special surcharge will be paid in addition to the retirement allowance for the purpose of supporting the start-up of a new life.
[Systems that exceed the standards specified by labor-related laws]
Childcare leave
The statutory period of childcare leave is, in principle, until the child reaches 1 year of age (maximum 2 years of age for certain reasons). However, our employees can take childcare leave until the last day of the month when the child reaches 3 years of age.
Shortened work hours for childcare
Although Japanese law stipulates that shortened work hours for childcare can be utilized until the child becomes three years old, we allow employees to shorten their working hours by up to two hours per day until March 31 of the year in which their child finishes the third grade of elementary school. In addition, as support for employees who desire to be reinstated from childcare leave earlier than scheduled, moving up the scheduled end date of childcare leave (moving up reinstatement) is allowed in principle.
Nursing care leave
Although Japanese law stipulates that nursing care leave can be taken up to 93 days in total per family member in need of care, we allow employees to take nursing care leave for up to a year in total.
[Legally required systems]
Shortened work hours for nursing care
An employee caring for a family member in care-requiring condition may shorten his/her working hours by up to two hours per day, aside from the period of nursing care leave.
Nursing leave system
Within the law, employees can take care leave to care for a child who has not yet entered elementary school and to care for a family member in need of assistance. Furthermore, our employees can take sick/injured childcare leave until the end of March of the third year of elementary school. Our employees can take 5 days off per year if they have one family member, or 10 days off (unpaid) on a day, or half day basis if they have two or more family members.
[Various leave and subsidy systems]

While employees may take leave when they cannot come to work due to attendance to weddings, funerals, and other ceremonies of their own or their family members, moving for job transfer, and accidents, disasters, and other events of force majeure, we also have systems in which special paid holidays can be taken under other circumstances.

Accumulated leave
Under this system, our employees can set aside expired annual paid leave under certain conditions and use the time for reasons such as personal injury/illness, family care, infertility treatment, or secondary examination of regular health checkups. Some employees take paid leave for sudden diseases of children.
Childcare participation encouragement leave
We allow employees to take up to two days of leave for child-raising until the child reaches the age of 1. This system can be used in a wide range of situations such as regular health checkups and immunization.
Maternity protection leave
A female employee who is pregnant or within one year after childbirth can take leave up to the number of days specified according to the pregnancy period to receive health guidance or a health examination. Besides reasons such as health guidance and a health examination, this leave may be taken up to five days during the pregnancy period when work is not possible due to morning sickness, threatened premature delivery, etc.
Volunteer leave, and bone-marrow donor leave
To encourage employees to participate in volunteer activities, we have introduced a volunteer leave system, under which special paid leave of up to five days a year may be granted. We have also introduced a bone marrow donor leave system to grant special paid leave (necessary period for bone marrow donation) to employees who donate bone marrow.
Subsidies for day-care centers and babysitting
A subsidy is available upon application to eligible employees with preschool children whose spouse is also working when they use day-care centers or babysitting services. Even if the spouse is not working, a subsidy will be provided when such a facility or service is used due to the spouse’s illness.
Subsidies for sick child care
A subsidy is available upon application to eligible employees with children under the age of two whose spouse is also working when it becomes necessary to use a sick child care facility or service. Even if the spouse is not working, a subsidy will be provided when such a facility or service is used due to the spouse’s illness.
Support for medical checkup
Our employees who are 35 years of age or older can take a comprehensive medical examination in lieu of an annual legal health checkup, and we bear all expenses. Furthermore, we also support comprehensive medical examination for dependent spouses who are 35 years of age or older.
[Other systems and benefits]
Support for employees with cancer
Employees who are diagnosed with cancer will work in the midst of many challenges, including regular hospital visits, side effects from various treatments, and financial problems. To support employees who wish to continue working while receiving cancer treatment, we have established various systems, including a leave of absence extension system, an income guarantee system to eliminate non-earning periods, a system that allows employees to take their accumulated leave in half-day units, and a system that allows employees to work shorter hours for cancer treatment. Furthermore, we have established a workplace support system to ensure employees with cancer receive adequate support in their workplace. To disseminate this workplace support system widely to our employees, we have created a handbook and posted it on our intranet. We are also working to improve colleagues’ understanding and provide necessary work adjustments to enable employees with cancer to continue working while receiving treatment. Thus, we are implementing multifaceted initiatives to support employees with cancer.
Use of company cars to pick up and drop off children
MRs are allowed to use company cars for the purpose of drop-off and pickup of their children from day-care centers.
Childcare Future Concierge [day-care center enrollment support system]
In order to support the smooth reinstatement of employees who have been taking childcare leave, our employees can use information provision services by external institutions, such as providing a daycare center matching service, various consultation services and other content..
Re-employment registration system
We provide an opportunity for former employees who left the company because of difficulty in balancing work and family life due to major life events, such as marriage, childbirth, childcare or family care, to return to the company when certain conditions are met.
Temporary re-employment system
Employees who have retired after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 60 may be reemployed as temporary employees up to the age of 65 when certain conditions are met.
Employee stock ownership association
When employees join the treasury stock investment association, they receive incentives from the company according to the number of reserves. We recommend it as part of employee asset management.
Using the Welfare Website (Fukuri Kosei Club)
Employees will be able to utilize a benefit package that includes international and local travel, hotel accommodations, leisure facility tickets, car services, interior accessories, shopping for items such as sundry goods, movie theater tickets, fitness, and restaurants at special prices and plans.
Use of contract recreation center
Contract recreational facilities such as Tokyu Harvest Club (37 facilities nationwide) and ANA Crowne Plaza Resort Appi Kogen, etc. can be available.
Residential Support
A variety of residential supports for employees can be available including leased company dormitories for single employees and company housing for transferred employees.
Congratulation or condolence payment system
Payment supports for employees’ life events can be available, such as marriage congratulatory money, childbirth congratulatory money, and children's entrance congratulatory money. In case of illness and injury, illness and injury allowances, condolence money and/or disaster condolence money etc. will be paid.
Group long-term disability (GLTD) system
If an employee is absent from work for a long period of time due to an illness or injury, and the period of payment of illness and injury allowance and additional illness and injury allowance provided by the health insurance society has expired, the employee will have no income. For such a case, we have introduced a system in which the company pays the premium and the insurance company compensates for a certain amount of income up to the age of 60.
Cafeteria Plan
We have introduced a Selective Benefits Program that allows employees to choose from a menu established by the company to receive assistance according to their personal lifestyles.
ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO.,LTD., ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO.,LTD., system

Other Initiatives related to DE&I

Effort made for promoting active participations of persons with disabilities

We have been proactively promoting the employment of challenged persons and creating a work environment where challenged persons can work easily. In April 2022, we established a 100% subsidiary, Ono Pharma UD Co., Ltd., in order to provide more working opportunities for challenged persons. In October 2022, it was certified as a specified subsidiary and engaged in printing business at the beginning. In the future, we will expand it as a place where challenged employees can fully show their abilities and work actively in a greater variety of businesses. As mentioned above, we would like to contribute to a sustainable society by providing worksites where employees can engage in meaningful work. Currently, more than 30 employees are working actively.

Employment rate of persons with disabilities

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LGBTQ+ Initiatives

We are engaging in creating worksites where our employees respect diversity, such as sexual orientation and gender identification (SOGI), where individuals who are LGBTQ+ can ensure their psychological safety and work, as part of promotion of DE&I. Additionally, we regularly implement e-learning courses for all employees, seminars with external speakers, and training specifically designed for managers in order to promote employees’ understanding of SOGI and enable them to respond appropriately based on accurate knowledge.
In addition, in order to visually convey to all parties concerned that there are Allies (people who understand and support LGBTQ+) within the company, we have created original Ally stickers, which we distribute to employees who wish to receive them.
In recognition of these activities, we were awarded the "Silver" designation in the "PRIDE Index 2023," organized by the General Incorporated Association Work with Pride. This index evaluates the initiatives of companies and organizations regarding LGBTQ+ inclusion.
We will continue to steadily implement each of our initiatives to create a comfortable working environment for our LGBTQ+ individuals.
For more information on PRIDE indicators, please see here.

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Introduction of the Global HR System

In October 2023, we rolled out the Global HR System with the aim of enabling our diverse workforce to play an active role globally with a common set of values. Specifically, we aim to standardize HR policies and business processes such as talent management by globally unifying the concepts and processes of each system, namely grade, evaluation, and compensation, which comprise the framework of the system.

Overview of the Global HR System

Grade System

The duties and responsibilities of each employee are clarified, and grades are determined according to common global standards. This will foster a sense of satisfaction regarding the required roles, achievements, and compensation, and will encourage employee career autonomy by clarifying the requirements for each position.

Evaluation System

We have established common global competencies (a clear statement of the way we expect our employees to think and act), and concurrently standardized evaluation items, scales, and processes. This will promote the activities and development of talent across countries and locations, and encourage employees to demonstrate their competencies. In addition, we have included "fairness and integrity" in competencies and included compliance in all employees' personnel evaluations in an effort to improve employees’ awareness of compliance by directly linking it to their compensation. Individual goals are set at the beginning of each fiscal year, cascading down from higher-level goals. In addition to quarterly interviews held during the fiscal year, these goals are updated as necessary by communicating according to changes in each employee’s circumstances. At the end of the fiscal year, a summary interview and evaluation feedback interview are held to discuss the individual strengths and weaknesses of each employee, and to discuss future career development.

Compensation System

We will create common global guidelines, reward employees who produce results and demonstrate competency, and help motivate employees by utilizing a market-competitive compensation system.

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Efforts made regarding wages

We comply with the Minimum Wage Law and pay our employees more than the minimum wage. We protect the lives of our employees and promote the creation of workplaces where employees can work with peace of mind.

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Relationship with the Labor Unions

We have two labor unions: the ONO Pharmaceutical Labor Union, which is a nationwide organization, and the ONO Pharmaceutical Chemical & General Workers’ Union at the Joto Pharmaceutical Product Development Center. As of March 31, 2024 the ONO Pharmaceutical Labor Union had 1,820 members and the ONO Pharmaceutical Chemical & General Workers’ Union had 12 members. Both unions have good relationships with the company.

ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO.,LTD., ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO.,LTD., system