Building the Future
Maximizing Each Individual’s Potential
Fostering Career Ownership
Amid diversifying values regarding career and work styles, the relationship between the company and individuals is becoming one of mutual selection. Panasonic Connect has introduced a job-based human resource management system based on the belief that employees who take on challenges and grow autonomously will sustainably enhance corporate value. We support all employees in taking ownership of their careers and pursuing autonomous career development.
Inidividual Mindset
Understanding that organizational and company growth cannot be achieved without individual growth.
Autonomously honing one’s skills, proactively challenging for desired positions, and continuously delivering results.
Becoming a professional who constantly challenges oneself.
Life Shift Program
Looking ahead to the 100-year life era, we have launched an open-application Life Shift Program to support work engagement and the achievement of employees’ career goals. Moving away from traditional career training held at milestone ages, we now offer a diverse range of programs based on the idea that one’s entire life is a career, not limited to just one’s work life.
“CAREER STATION”
As one of our initiatives to support autonomous career development, we have established a space where employees can receive career counseling from nationally certified career consultants within the company. Many employees utilize this opportunity, as they can consult with confidence knowing the counselors are internal colleagues.
Cross-Border Program
This is an open-application program that provides opportunities for employees to utilize their experience and strengths in external ("away") environments such as other companies or local communities. From the perspectives of business creation and regional revitalization, this program enhances career ownership by enabling participants to learn beyond their usual boundaries and gain new perspectives and insights through interaction with people outside the company.
Fostering a Learning Culture
To support employees’ autonomous career development, we operate our corporate university, CONNECTers’ Academy. It provides systematic training based on three pillars: Core Values, Business Literacy, and Professional Skills. We offer a diverse range of programs, including global talent development programs linked to our business strategy and DX training.
From FY2024, we introduced a Learning Management System (LMS) to also promote the visualization of learning. The average annual learning hours per employee increased to 27.7 hours (an increase of 6.0 hours from the previous year), showing that a learning culture is steadily taking root.
Reskilling at Special Subsidiary Company "Panasonic Connect Kibi"
At our special subsidiary company, Panasonic Connect Kibi, operations were once heavily concentrated in manufacturing. However, following a change in the business environment — the closure of the Okayama Factory in 2021 — the company was required to develop new business areas.
Therefore, they promoted reskilling in the IT field, enabling employees to acquire new IT and business skills. In addition to manufacturing, the company began undertaking IT-related operational tasks from within the Panasonic Group. Today, IT-related business accounts for just under 40% of Kibi’s total revenue, making a significant contribution to its management.
Furthermore, the developed IT skills are also applied to manufacturing, with the introduction of systems using image recognition for work assistance and defect detection. This helps compensate for individual mistakes, creating a work process that is easy and free from anxiety, while providing close support for employees with disabilities.
Building on Each Individual’s Autonomous Growth to Achieve Team and Company Success
Accelerating the Execution of Talent Strategy at the Frontline by Delegating Authority to Organizational Leaders
To effectively operate our job-based human resource management system, introduced in 2023, frontline-led decision-making that can promptly respond to changing business needs is essential. Therefore, we have moved away from our conventional centralized HR structure and delegated authority for matters such as compensation decisions and talent placement to the leaders of each organization. This enables the rapid execution of talent strategies at the frontline level.
Manager 2.0: A Management Style that Maximizes Organizational Impact
We believe that linking CONNECTers’ Success to the success of Panasonic Connect is the definition of team success, and that organizational leaders are responsible for making this happen. In response to feedback such as “I don’t want to become a manager,” we identified key challenges in organizational management through employee surveys and interviews. We have defined our expectation for organizational leaders as: To clarify strategy, draw out the diverse knowledge and abilities of team members, and connect individual strengths to maximize the organization’s impact.
We have made the strategies of all departments open and clearly defined the expected behaviors of organizational leaders with a set of “Do’s and Don’ts.” Additionally, we are working to enhance organizational management capabilities through leadership development programs.
Evolving Our Organizational Strength through Strategic Talent Shifts & Global Collaboration
Talent Development and Strategic Shifts to Shape the Future of Supply Chain Management (SCM)
To drive the medium- to long-term growth of our SCM domain, we are promoting a strategic shift of internal talent. In addition to rotations from existing businesses, we are accelerating the development of solutions-capable talent through reskilling, overseas training, and dispatch to internal/external projects. This development is systematized around three pillars: Blue Yonder product knowledge, industry knowledge, and SE skills, structured to link training with practical project experience.
Our recruitment combines new graduates, mid-career hires, and internal transfers, while also strengthening collaboration with recruitment agencies and enhancing external communication. We are also implementing internal marketing initiatives to increase internal understanding and encourage participation, thereby strengthening our talent foundation.
A New Development Approach to Evolve Global Collaboration
Previously, long-term overseas assignments were the primary opportunity for collaboration and mutual understanding with global members. However, as collaboration now accelerates from the upstream of the value chain, such as in joint solution development, a more flexible approach to mutual understanding is required.
“Work in XX”, a program initiated by our business divisions, is a system for direct collaboration with local members through short-term overseas assignments. This experience in diverse environments broadens perspectives and helps develop talent equipped with both a global mindset and local practical skills.
Developing Future Leaders to Succeed Globally
Developing global-standard leadership talent is essential for true corporate innovation and sustainable growth. As a core initiative, we launched the cross-group Connect Global Leadership Program in 2024. In its inaugural year, 14 potential future leaders from three companies — Panasonic Connect, Blue Yonder, and Panasonic Avionics — participated. Based on three pillars, Creating Sustainable Value, Collaborating with Diverse Stakeholders and Having a Clear Vision & Ambition, participants learn adaptive leadership to respond to global environmental changes and complex challenges. They interact beyond national and organizational boundaries, incorporating diverse perspectives while honing their own leadership skills.
Furthermore, for employees in the early stages of their careers who aim to expand their global perspective, business mindset, and practical skills, we have established an MBA Dispatch Program. Since its launch in 2022, seven employees have utilized this program. We will continue to focus on developing talent who can chart their own paths to career success.
Acquiring Diverse Talent to Build a Strong & Resilient Organization
Broadly Recruiting Talent to Drive Our Business Beyond Conventional Perspectives
In our mid-career and new graduate recruitment, we are actively hiring talent from various backgrounds, including women and individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, we are expanding opportunities to connect with talent skilled in global communication — with whom we have had limited contact in the past — through initiatives such as internships for students from overseas universities, on-campus events for international students, and participation in international career forums. We are committed to hiring talent with diverse values, regardless of nationality or cultural background.
The Power of Individual Connections to Attract New Talent
The ratio of referral hires, where employees introduce their acquaintances and friends, is increasing year by year, creating a virtuous cycle where employees themselves bring in colleagues who can empathize with our company’s values. We are also seeing cases where alumni, who once worked for our company, rejoin us.
Being a company that employees can proudly recommend to those close to them, and one that they want to return to even after leaving, demonstrates the sustainability of our culture. Moreover, actively welcoming talent who have gained diverse experiences and who empathize with our purpose serves as a driving force to further invigorate our organization.