Employees are our valuable assets that we rely on to create sustainable value . We believe in respecting human rights and embracing diversity, and aim to be the customer's most trusted partner for mutual growth by building a workplace where employees can practice Ceaseless Creativity and contribute to sustainability. Raising employee engagement is one of our key targets in business management, which is why we conduct employee engagement surveys and use their outcomes toward implementing workplace improvements and innovating workstyles and HR schemes group-wide, while keeping our top executive team and HR Development Committee updated for their monitoring.
Employee engagement surveys
We conduct an employee engagement survey group-wide. From the survey results, we can gauge how well employees are aligned with SATO Values and how much they understand our various business and HR strategies. We also gain an objective and quantitative understanding of our company's situation, which helps create and execute action plans to improve workplace satisfaction. In the past, we conducted separate employee surveys in Japan and other countries due to language differences. However, since FY 2023, we have standardized the survey questions across all regions.
As many as 93 percent of our group employees answered the latest survey that was conducted in August 2024. From the survey, we found that 65 percent of our group employees (52 percent in Japan and 75 percent overseas) were actively engaged based on their positive responses to the five questions covering our top drivers of engagement. We also found that 76 percent of our group employees (67 percent in Japan and 83 percent overseas) felt positive toward SATO Values, another area we prioritize. This indicates that our global workforce is aligned with our corporate values and practices them consistently. We will engage our group companies in working together to further improve these scores.
Overseas
Japan
Overall
Actions for elevating employee engagement
We use results from employee engagement surveys to not only gauge engagement levels but also identify areas of concern, which we work on to improve continuously.
After each annual survey, we share the results with business heads around the world, strongly recommending that they conduct employee feedback programs and take actions accordingly with quarterly reviews. In a year's time, these business heads can confirm if their plans had the expected results via the survey and modify them for continuous improvement. Executives and headquarters teams can also provide additional support to improve overall engagement.
Starting FY 2025, we have added the employee engagement score as a new key performance indicator (KPI) for executive remuneration. We have also set up a new employee engagement subcommittee under the HR Development Committee, sending a clear message to employees that our executive officers are serious about leading engagement activities at the company level. Through this subcommittee, executive officers will plan and promote activities related to workstyle and HR innovations, diversity, equity and inclusion, and career development.
Following up on engagement survey results
Run cycle every year for continuous improvement
