By implementing a human resource strategy that faces each employee on an individual basis, we aim to realize the Total Healthcare Strategy.
Executive Officer in Charge of Human Resource Management, Administration, and Risk Management
SUGI Holdings Co., Ltd.
Shigeki Mori
Having identified “employees are the most important assets,” “working to improve the job satisfaction of each employee,” and “aiming to achieve the management philosophy, growth strategy, and budget by drawing out the strengths of each employee” as important perspectives of human resource management, the SUGI Pharmacy Group aims to become a company that is needed for the long term by integrating them into its management strategy. And the Group promotes human capital management under the six pillars of “personnel system,” “human resource development,” “recruitment and retention,” “compliance and corporate culture reform,” “diversity,” and “health and safety.” We work to achieve sustainable growth by realizing the Total Healthcare Strategy, which is our group vision, and through “kind behavior,” “contribution to local communities,” and “happiness and smiles of employees,” which are the tenets of the Group’s management philosophy.
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Improving job satisfaction through personnel system reform
At SUGI Pharmacy, our core business, we have been upgrading our personnel system with regard to evaluation, remuneration, and welfare benefits, based on the idea that employees are our most important assets. As a result, we have achieved steady progress: the turnover rate has been reduced by half since 2018; the engagement score, which measures job satisfaction, has exceeded that of other companies for managers; and the company-wide average has increased every year. This year, we will further advance the SUGI Pharmacy job-based personnel system, which evaluates the daily work of managers and general office workers alike and reflects the evaluation in remuneration. We will fundamentally revise the system for managers to clarify each individual’s role in job descriptions and evaluate their duties and accomplishments more accurately than before. We will also adjust the level of remuneration to align with the size of our business, taking into account the external environment. For general office workers, we will increase the allowances of store managers, who play a central role in our growth strategy. We will also introduce a new allowance for pharmacy and home-visit prescription dispensing center managers. These changes aim to ensure that, in addition to individuals’ capabilities, employees who bear large responsibilities and deliver high results are evaluated and awarded accordingly. We will expand this SUGI Pharmacy job-based personnel system to other group companies and revise it into a personnel system that allows each employee to experience job satisfaction and growth. -
Human resource development that cares for the needs of each employee
We will develop human resources by providing training to acquire knowledge and skills, as well as job rotation to gain experiential skills. We will change our training program to a more personalized approach. Each employee’s current position will be assessed, and they will be provided training in the skills they lack. We will also strengthen the link between off-the-job training (OFF-JT) and on-the-job training (OJT), fundamentally revise the training feedback system, and update training programs to be more practical by integrating the training know-how of each group company. In job rotation, we will actively exchange personnel among group companies to develop human resources that can grow dramatically in a short period of time. We will also promote in-house job postings and a free agent (FA) program, which are aimed at increasing employees’ willingness to take on new challenges and improving their motivation. We will make group-wide efforts to develop self-directed employees. -
Securing human resources through recruitment and retention
In terms of securing human resources, we will strengthen the recruitment of new graduates and mid-career hires and prevent employee turnover. In hiring new graduates, we will strengthen our recruitment of student partners with the aim of hiring individuals who can become immediate assets and contribute to local communities more than before. We will also accelerate job-based hiring, including providing higher initial salaries to individuals with strong basic capabilities and skills, as well as directly hiring individuals into head office divisions. Regarding mid-career hiring, in anticipation of future expansions in business areas and size, we will strengthen our recruitment mainly of specialists in healthcare, overseas businesses, and digital transformation (DX), as well as individuals to lead next-generation corporate divisions, including corporate planning, finance, legal affairs, and human resources. As for the prevention of employee turnover, we have made significant progress, with the turnover rate cut in half as a result of company-wide retention activities. -
Developing an open corporate culture
Since its launch, the number of calls to the Workplace Concerns Consultation Hotline has continued to increase, helping employees feel more psychologically secure. In FY 2025, the relevant departments, including personnel and sales, will continue to work together to sincerely respond to feedback sent to the call service. In order to improve our working environment, we have been conducting tours of all stores by all officers since FY 2021 as part of corporate culture reform. This year, we have expanded these initiatives to the entire Group and are working to develop an open corporate culture in which management diligently listens to the opinions of employees and the voice of each employee reaches management. -
Promotion of diversity management
As of the end of FY 2024, the percentage of female managers in the Group was 13.9%. Although women make up about half of our workforce, the lack of promotion of competent female employees has been an issue. Against this background, we will increase the percentage of female store and area managers responsible for work sites to 20%, as well as the percentage of female officers and managers, including department and section heads, to 15%, by the end of FY 2025. To this end, we will improve our workplace environment to enable those with time constraints to play more active roles, as well as add women’s empowerment to our evaluation targets to raise managers’ awareness. In addition, we will assign senior management candidates an officer mentor who is not their direct supervisor. This mentor will provide a wide range of support, both in work and in career development. -
Promotion of healthy and safe management
In addition to raising awareness of our health management policy within the Company and strengthening coordination with occupational health physicians, we have promoted work style reform and taken measures such as reviewing our compensation system and enhancing our benefit programs. As a result, we have consecutively been certified as an Outstanding Organization of KENKO Investment for Health. Going forward, we will promote health management at the Group level with the aim of obtaining a “White 500” enterprise certification.