Creating the Environment
For each and every one of us to play an active role
We are working seriously on the promotion of DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion).
At the core of this are "respect for human rights" and "improvement of corporate competitiveness.“
In order for each and every employee to thrive in their work, make use of their individuality, and demonstrate their abilities to the fullest, we will not overlook situations where individuals are not respected, regardless of the reason.
We will take a firm stance on this issue as it is a human rights issue that cannot be compromised under any circumstance.
By increasing the number of employees with diverse perspectives, experiences, and values, and by having every individual respect each other and thrive in their work, we can create sustainable corporate value
through the creation of innovation, improve the quality of decision-making, and realize our purpose.
DEI is one of the pillars of our management strategy and is an important initiative for the survival of our company.
Efforts to promote DEI
Frontline-led initiatives within the company
DEI Champs (Promotion Leaders) are appointed at each workplace and depending on the characteristics of the workplace, we promote autonomous DEI activities. At the same time, we are also promoting company-wide DEI measures, such as DEI Month which has been held since 2023. Also, we concentrate on DEI-related events such as seminars and hands-on sessions. (FY24: 81 projects, 198 events)
In addition, DEI officers visit all business sites and have real and frank conversation with employees. We have been running the DEI Caravan since 2017 to exchange ideas. This is an important initiative to connect the content of the hearings in the caravan to the next measures.
Collaborating with external companies to realize a better society together
We do not close ourselves off within the company but actively involve external organizations in planning various initiatives. The "Gemba Roundtable" is a way for employees and executives to work together to create a comfortable working future from the perspective of the frontline. We have distributed program materials so that other companies can implement them, and they are now using them. The Rainbow Business Network, which aims to realize a diverse society, was launched as a community where Ally companies connect, interact, and learn from each other with the aim of collaborating with like-minded companies to change the world. Panasonic Connect agrees with the purpose and provides full support as the secretariat. In the past, more than 70 companies participated in the study sessions.
Efforts to eliminate the minority gap
Fostering a mindset that recognizes every individual without gender bias
One of the initiatives to promote the diversification of decision-making levels is the promotion of the appointment of women. We have achieved a critical mass of 30% or more of the ratio of female directors, and we aim to increase the ratio of female managers to 30% by 2035. We support women's career development by conducting "cross-mentoring" and "cross-industry training" for various levels in collaboration with other companies in different industries.
Encouraging male employees to take childcare leave
In 2019, we endorsed Work-Life Balance Co., Ltd.'s "100% Declaration of Male Childcare Leave." Through activities such as the creation and distribution of a guidebook for male employees and roundtable discussions among male employees who have taken childcare leave, from October 2022, 30 days of childcare leave at birth or childcare leave will be paid regardless of gender.
Creating a comfortable workplace where everyone can shine
In order to communicate from top management, the idea of creating a workplace where each and every employee can work with enthusiasm, all Connect executive officers have acquired the Level 3 Universal Manners Certification. Furthermore, we participated in a minority experience program (hearing impairment, visual impairment, wheelchair users) aimed at understanding disabilities and connecting them to action, which provided an opportunity for executives to gain a lot of insight.
Examples of actions realized from voices from the field
Change in the name and system of menstrual leave
It is difficult to tell your boss about your leave with the direct word "menstruation". Therefore, in response to voices that it is difficult to take menstrual leave even if there is a "menstrual leave" system, the name of menstrual leave has been changed to "Dandelion leave (commonly known as T-leave)" from April 2023. In addition, we have reviewed some of the systems so that we can flexibly respond to the menstrual concerns that differ from individual to individual, such as making it possible to take full- and half-leave.
Implementation of hands-on sessions and provision of sanitary products
Employees, including executives, participate in the menstrual pain experience session to deepen their understanding of menstrual pain. As an action after this experience, sanitary products were placed in the women's washrooms from the end of October 2024.
Subsidy for egg cryopreservation
In October 2023, we introduced a subsidy system for egg freezing. This system is designed to enable female employees to choose a wider range of opportunities by designing an autonomous life plan to achieve their own success and job satisfaction, with egg freezing as one option. Specifically, we will subsidize up to 400,000yen for egg retrieval and freezing costs for employees that do egg freezing. In addition, we hold seminars for employees to deepen their understanding of egg freezing to improve their health literacy
Supporting autonomous career and life plan design
Personnel system reform to support changes in the business environment and diversification of individual career awareness
In addition to the remote work and smart work (discretionary work) systems that we already have in place, we have further introduced systems to support various work styles so that every individual can design a career plan and life plan more flexibly.
Systems to support diverse work styles
With the aim of improving employee engagement, motivation, and performance, we provide new ways of working and taking time off based on diverse needs. In addition to encouraging employees to take annual paid leave, we have introduced systems that allow employees to take long-term vacations at a timing of their choice, rather than setting them uniformly, such as all-season leave and challenge holidays. In addition, we are actively promoting the use of leave by developing a new system that links the remuneration of executives with the rate of leave taken (99% of employees took leave for the FY2023 Connectors Challenge Holiday).
In addition, not only do we allow employees to work N days a week (3 or 4 days a week) and side jobs, but also work anywhere. Evolving from the conventional permit system, we have realized a highly flexible work style that allows employees to choose where they work. We support all employees to use the system as one of the options and to autonomously design their career and life plans.
Employee health management and occupational safety and health
Realization of a safe and secure work environment where each and every employee can continue to work in good physical and mental health
The physical and mental health of our employees is the foundation for independent and autonomous career development and performance improvement. By practicing health and productivity management, we will contribute to the improvement of work engagement and organizational performance throughout the organization. We have been certified as a White 500 company by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) for four consecutive years as an Outstanding Health and Productivity Management Organization (Large Enterprise Category).
"Yellow Green Action" aiming for a workplace free of passive smoking and tertiary smoking
In order to prevent unwanted secondhand and third-hand smoke in the workplace, we will gradually reduce the rate of secondhand smoke with the ultimate goal of achieving zero. Smoking cessation during working hours has been made a rule, with a trial starting in November 2023 and officially commencing in April 2024. In establishing these rules, we are holding seminars and making environmental improvements that facilitate communication among all employees, regardless of whether they are smokers or non-smokers.
Occupational Health and Safety in the Workplace
Continuous efforts to improve the safety and health standards of workplaces go beyond simply preventing industrial accidents; they also promote the creation of comfortable workplaces where all workers can be healthy and safe. All of our manufacturing sites have acquired the Occupational Safety and Health Management System (ISO45001) certification, and we aim to reduce the incidence of behavioral accidents by 30% compared to the previous year in fiscal 2024.
Reduce internal bureaucratic work that does not lead to customer value and improve work productivity with AI assistants
Drastically reduce internal bureaucratic work processes and allocate resources to valuable activities
We take stock of ways of working that have been going on for a long time, and we thoroughly reduce such internal work processes that are not necessary when viewed from the customer's point of view. We are reviewing from scratch what does not lead to business results, such as the abolition of weekly reports, the reduction of stamping operations by about 80%, the introduction of electronic contracts, and the simplification of approval workflows, and allocate resources to activities that lead to customer value.
Introducing the AI assistant ConnectAI
We started providing ConnectAI, an AI assistant for employees, to all domestic employees from February 17, 2023, with the aim of improving business productivity, AI utilization skills, and reducing AI utilization risks. At the time of launch, it was a general-purpose AI that answered a wide range of questions based on public information with the aim of "getting used to AI", but from April 2024, the purpose has been expanded to "use for work", and it will be able to answer questions specific to the company. We have evolved into an in-house specialized AI that can also answer questions. By expanding collaboration with in-house data, for example, AI can support questions regarding quality control based on internal regulations and past cases. By using it for a variety of tasks, including non-routine tasks, it reduces the workload of employees and maximizes output.