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Human Resource Development

Since our founding in 1976, we have worked to realize a society in which everyone, regardless of age, gender, nationality, or disability, can freely use their talents to fulfill their dreams and take pride in their work. Within the company, we promote the creation of a workplace environment where employees can work with peace of mind, including proposing diverse work styles that maximize each employee's abilities and providing support for career building, thereby leading to the sustainable development and value enhancement of the Group.

Human resources development policy and the internal environmental improvement policy, indicators, and targets

Our group's job is to "harness the potential of the individual." That is, to "Life Produce" and to support the creation of a comfortable lifestyle for people everywhere. To fulfill this role, under our human resources development policy of "Creating your own future by yourself," we have put in place various personnel systems and measures that encourage the exercise of talent and ability, and we support employees' autonomous career-building so that each employee can have high aspirations and a sense of purpose, while continuing to boldly take on challenges.

Our human resources strategy consists of three pillars: "Diversity & Inclusion" (creating a system in which everyone can play an active role), "Sustainability" (autonomous career development), and "Well-Being" (a truly fulfilling way of living and working). By encouraging the growth of our employees, we promote the development of human resources that can contribute to the realization of a sustainable society, not to mention the growth of the Group.

In addition, based on a corporate philosophy that has remained unchanged since the company's founding, the Pasona Way, which represents the core of the Pasona Group, serves as a guideline for action, carrying on the spirit of the Company's founding and providing an unwavering axis for decision-making at all times. Every year, the two-month period beginning on February 16—the anniversary of Pasona Group's founding—is designated as "Pasona Way Week" as a month of reinforcement, during which all executives and employees share the corporate philosophy by reflecting on the Group's business history and the role that it plays, along with holding discussions and setting individual action goals under the theme of the corporate philosophy.

Diversity & Inclusion / Creating a system in which everyone can play an active role

Pasona Group believes that creating an environment in which all employees, regardless of age, gender, nationality, or disability, can make full use of their talents and abilities on the Pasona Group stage and can create a fulfilling life plan will lead to mid- to long-term corporate growth.

Promotion of women's activities

The Group, which was founded with the desire to "support housewives in finding new employment," has been practicing human resource development and placement of the right person in the right job without gender bias, with the aim of realizing a society with no gender disparities, with all employees joining the Company as career-track employees since its establishment. In order to enable employees to work through milestones in their lives such as childbirth, child-rearing, and nursing care, Pasona has established flexible work systems since the 1990s, including "telecommuting," "short-time work," and "flextime," and has set up on-site childcare facilities at Minami-Aoyama office, currently, and Pasona Family Office on Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture. Pasona has also established an on-site daycare center at the Group's headquarters and a Pasona Family Office on Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, where employees can work in the same space as their children. In the area of human resource development and career development support for women, the "Wonder Woman Training," a next-generation female leadership development program launched in 2014, has produced positive results, with 2 of its graduates promoted to Group company presidents, 22 to executive officers, 11 to deputy directors, and 42 to higher positions of responsibility.
As a result of these activities, we have produced many female managers and female executives, with women accounting for 54.4% of all employees, 47.8% of all managers, and 28.0% of directors and executive officers.
Utilizing the know-how cultivated by the Group, from 2021 we will begin offering the "Women's Advanced Program," a program to train female executive candidates who can contribute not only to their own companies but also to society, by learning the front-line business and presence skills required of corporate executives. The program has trained 97 female executive candidates from 50 companies so far.

Support for Families Raising Children

We provide a variety of support services to help employees balance work and child rearing. The Minami Aoyama Office offers the Pasona Family Nursery, an on-site childcare center, as well as Miracle Kids, a holiday school program for children during summer vacation and other long vacations. On Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture, Pasona has partnered with International School to open Awaji Island International School in 2022, an educational program that focuses on English communication to draw out children's diverse talents. We also offer "Awaji Kids Garden," a program that nurtures children's sensibilities in a natural setting, as well as a variety of programs to suit children's interests, such as ballet, karate, piano, and violin.
In 2020, we are also launching a project on Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, to provide total support for work, housing, and education for "single-parent families" who face difficulties in both employment and living conditions. Along with a secure work environment on Awaji Island, we provide an environment where you can receive a well-rounded education while growing and raising your children in nature. 80 people from 34 households live on Awaji Island.

Diverse nationalities play an active role

The Group has approximately 1,000 foreign employees from 47 countries in Japan and abroad, and the percentage of foreign nationals among the employees of domestic consolidated subsidiaries is 2.7% (10.6% when including overseas consolidated subsidiaries), while the percentage of foreign nationals in management positions, the core of our business operations, is 0.6% (7.6% when including overseas consolidated subsidiaries). By having personnel of various nationalities with diverse values interact with each other, and by assigning and appointing the right people to the right positions, we can respond to changes in our business and to develop new ideas.
The Awaji Youth Federation, a human resources development program launched in 2017 that aims to create new industries and realize regional development, has accepted 109 talented young people and social entrepreneurs from 46 countries and regions around the world to date. After completing the program, they continue to work on creating new innovations to solve local issues on Awaji Island.
In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024, we concluded MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with about 10 governments, the United Nations, universities, and other educational organizations in various countries to provide employment support, human resource development, and research support.

Entertainment Talent for Cultural and Creative Businesses

In 2006, the Group launched "Music Mate" to support musicians in balancing their musical and artistic activities with their work. In 2020, the Group launched the "Music Island" project on Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, where musicians from across Japan come together to foster regional revitalization through music. In 2022, we held "Awaji World Ballet," a full-scale ballet performance featuring Ukrainian ballet dancers and other world-renowned dancers and instructors, with both domestic and international entertainment talent actively engaged in cultural and creative businesses at the Group's facilities and through musical activities on the island, enriching the hearts and lives of the people.

Support for athletes to balance competition and work

The program supports the long-term career development of each athlete by providing work opportunities at locations nationwide to help active and retired athletes, coaches, and others achieve a hybrid career that balances athletic activities and work, as well as a second career. Currently, 24 athletes are active in the program.

Promotion of middle and senior human resources

Since the 1980s, the Group has promoted the creation of new employment infrastructures and skill development support for seniors with abundant experience and abilities. Currently, our Group has a 100% re-employment rate from the retirement age of 60, and approximately 10% of the Group's workforce (over 1,000 employees) is over the age of 60, of which approximately 500 are over the age of 65, making a large number of senior personnel active in the Group.
We believe that creating an environment in which senior employees can remain active and vigorous for a long time will lead to further growth of the company, and we provide comprehensive support for their career development, including a "Career Discovery Program" for employees in their 40s and 50s to reaffirm their own values and potential and to design their future career and way of life. We also provide support for comprehensive and continuous career development. Furthermore, in order to further enrich professional lives, which are becoming longer with the advent of a period in Japan where people commonly live to 100 years old, we have also established a benefit program that provides employees with cost subsidies and leaves of absence when they need recurrent education as they take stock of their careers.
Externally, Pasona will leverage its accumulated expertise to offer "Safe Placement Total Service" (introduced by approximately 840 companies), which provides support for autonomous career development for all generations, including middle and senior citizens, from 2021, and the "Pasona Recurrent" reskilling program, which provides learning opportunities suited to individual career and life plans, from 2022 (number of courses: 2,000, number of participants: 3,000).

Employment of disabled persons

We have also created an environment where people with disabilities that are willing to work but find it difficult to do so can work vigorously and a place of "symbiosis" where they can participate in society with able-bodied people, based on the concept of ""Disability is Individuality, and Talent Knows No Handicap!" In addition to office work, we have created an "art village," where artist employees work in order to expand the field of employment through "art," and we have also established a professional agriculture business that produces safe and assured vegetables (using no agricultural chemicals) and organics. "Yume Farm" grows safe and assured vegetables, rice, and herbs using organic and nonagricultural methods, and the "Bakery" produces and sells additive-free bread and baked goods under the guidance of top-class craftsmen. The 598 members of Pasona Heartful, a special subsidiary, and other group companies are expanding their fields of activity by making the most of their individual abilities. In addition, we also focus on consulting and CSR activity support for companies that are proactive in employing people with disabilities, utilizing our accumulated know-how in various aspects of employment of people with disabilities.

Hybrid Career Program "to support" multilayered career building

In order to develop human resources who can contribute to society by acquiring the human ability to respond flexibly to changes in the social environment, we have started the "Hybrid Career Program" beginning with the hiring of new graduates who will join us in April 2022.
We have created an environment where new employees can spend one day a week in a different job than the one to which they are assigned, such as "Sales x Agriculture," "Human Resources x New Business Startup," or "Corporate Planning x Entrepreneur," and 527 employees to date have practiced a hybrid career. It led to opportunities to gain new perspectives and internal and external networks that cannot be gained in the work at the assigned site, and about 80% of all respondents answered that they were able to use their experience in hybrid work in their work, and about 90% of all respondents were "very satisfied or satisfied" with the program.
In addition to the one-year training (digital course and English course) provided not only to new employees but also to approximately 180 employees in their fourth and fifth years with the company, we have created an environment that allows them to build a multifaceted career, including dual roles within the group and within the company.

Supporting Employees' Career Challenges

Since 1989, we have had an "open position system" that allows employees to raise their hands and take on the challenge of open positions within the company. In the fiscal year ended May 2024, 71 employees took on new career challenges through this program. In addition, since 1993, we have been supporting employees' autonomous career development through "My Career Bank," a program that allows employees to report their own career plans directly to the Human Resources Department each year.

Basic approach to human rights policy

The Pasona Group Code of Conduct stipulates respect for human rights. With regard to human rights, we respect the International Bill of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and other international norms related to human rights in the conduct of our business activities. In addition to complying with the laws and regulations of each country where we do business, we will pursue ways to maximize respect for internationally recognized human rights to the greatest extent possible.

Respect for human rights

Sustainable / autonomous career development

The Group is committed to supporting career development not only for employees' autonomous growth but also for expert staff (dispatched staff) and those that wish to work, in order to shift from a society that has been dependent on corporations to one in which everyone can make full use of their talents and abilities and become self-reliant individuals. We also believe that the source of our group's growth is to continue to create new businesses that "solve society's problems" with employment as the theme, and we are working to develop strong individuals who can flexibly respond to changes in the social environment and foster human resources capable of solving social issues with new ideas.

  • Training cost per employee/person *1:2 … \504 million/6,681 persons
  • Average training hours per employee *1:2 … 57.4 hours
  • Number of participants in annual, position-, and function-specific training *2 … 3,348 in total

*1:Including personnel, utilities, transportation, and other expenses related to the implementation of the training
*2:Calculated for: The Company and its 28 domestic consolidated subsidiaries

Corporate university "Pasona 'Kokorozashi' University"

We have systematized and implemented a training and education program for all Pasona Group employees via the "Pasona 'Kokorozashi' University," an in-house university. We offer a variety of education and training programs to support the autonomous career development of each employee, including the acquisition of abilities and expertise required for each grade, position, and function, selective training to maximize the talents and potential of each individual, diverse training to acquire digital skills, and the development of management personnel that will lead the next generation of the Group.

Developing DX human resources to create new added value

In order to develop new solution businesses utilizing digital technology and realize our key strategy of "evolving to X-Tech BPO and expanding business in the specialized BPO field," we are focusing on developing human resources who will drive digital transformation (DX). In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024, the Company began offering programs for customers based on its internal training track record, in addition to internal human resource development through rank-based DX training, etc., and trained approximately 1,500 DX personnel both internally and externally. We will continue to strengthen our management base and create additional value for our services by hiring and training 3,000 people internally and 10,000 people externally by the end of May 2026 through the reskilling of all employees and the introduction of DX specialized positions. Additionally, Pasona Inc. is strengthening its business foundation by launching "Code; Without Barriers in Japan" with Microsoft to train 10,000 temporary staff as digital human resources.

Providing a wide variety of "career" and "life" counseling services

Our nationally certified career consultants work with each individual to help them build a clear career vision, and we support a total of 207,000 people in creating their careers each year. Pasona also offers the Pasona Career College, which offers 8,800 specialized courses to help students improve their skills and acquire qu alifications, and 71,500 people have taken these courses.
Work-Life Facilitators, who are nationally certified career consultants, provide a wide range of consultation services, including work, health, childcare, nursing care, and money planning, to help working people build autonomous careers and design life plans.

  • Career Consulting Technician Level 1 … 16
  • Nationally Qualified Career Consultants … 553
  • Second-class career consulting technician … 404
  • Other career consulting related qualifications such as industrial counselor … 542
  • Work-Life Facilitator Training Course … 292 participants / 210 certified participants

Developing next generation leaders

To develop human resources and identify talent, we have various personnel training and selection systems, including the "Junior Board System," which was started in 1993 to develop the next generation of senior managers. We have a total of eight selection systems for identifying next-generation leaders, including the "Deputy Officer System" for developing candidates for executive officers at Group companies, the "Wonder Woman Training Program" for developing female executive candidates, the "CBO Board System" for promoting Group-wide business and ensuring cross-functional alignment, and the "Instructor System" for training new employees.

  • Expert Board … 15
  • Vice Board … 16
  • Wonder Woman … 15
  • Junior Board … 16
  • CBO Board … 16
  • CoE Board … 14
  • Instructors … 25
  • Social Contribution Committee … 44

Developing human resources for regional revitalization

We are developing unique regional revitalization businesses by "attracting human resources" in cooperation with local governments, companies, and residents in Tohoku, Kyotango, Okayama, Awaji Island, Kotohira, and other areas throughout Japan.
In 2023, Pasona Group signed a comprehensive partnership agreement with Shimonoseki City in Yamaguchi Prefecture, appointing employees who have promoted regional revitalization business on Awaji Island for over 10 years as "regional revitalization entrepreneurs." By leveraging the Group's know-how in regional revitalization business, these employees are revitalizing the region through immigration and settlement initiatives using vacant houses and land, as well as attracting companies via teleworking and workcations.
In July 2024, we renovated a closed "former Toshima Elementary School" in Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture, and opened "Toshima Scuola," which employs and trains people to work in the food sector, one of the well-being industries.

The Awaji Chef's Scuola program is a training program for "regional revitalization chefs" who will create new value from local resources and food culture and promote the attractiveness of the region while working as employees of the Group. After the completion of the program, we will support students in finding employment and starting their own businesses so that they can be active in various regions as the next generation of regional revitalization chefs by utilizing our nationwide network.

In-house venture program "Challenge Day"

In order to carry on the spirit of the company's founding, which since its establishment has been committed to solving social issues through its business activities based on the corporate philosophy of "solving society's problems," the company has designated February 16, the anniversary of its founding, as "Challenge Day" since 1995, and solicits new business and business improvement proposals from all employees. We are promoting the creation of an autonomous organization for innovation creation, while providing opportunities for all employees to return to the spirit of our founding and realize the "dreams" and "aspirations" of each and every employee. In the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024, we received approximately 1,700 applications from new employees to employees of overseas subsidiaries.

Fostering a corporate culture of solving social issues "Pasona Shadow Cabinet

The "Social Issues Discussion Group" was established in 2007 as an internal organization for the purpose of having executives and employees of our group, regardless of their year of employment, discuss "social issues" and propose specific measures to society. The Group deepens discussions on various social issues that change with the times, and employees participating in the discussions vote on bills (new business proposals, social proposals, etc.). In the fiscal year ending May 2024, the Awaji Island fan community "e-Awaji Islander" was born.

Well-Being: A truly rich way of life and work

With the mission to "harness the potential of the individual," the Group provides a variety of support services to help workers thrive. We believe that the employees who provide our services, in addition to their physical and mental health, should enjoy their work, lead fulfilling lives, and feel that they are contributing to society, thereby enhancing their sense of well-being (Well-Being) and leading to better services. We are actively working to improve the health of our employees and create a better working environment.

Health management promotion systems

Under the top management's policy on health management, industrial physicians, the Health Promotion Office, and the Human Resources Department promote health management that enables employees to be active and vigorous based on periodic health checkup data and lifestyle surveys in the Group. In addition, together with public health nurses, nutritionists, sports trainers, and other specialists, we have developed unique programs to support employees' physical and mental health. The health committee members are located at each site and area throughout Japan.

Health management initiative policy

The Group's policy on health promotion is set forth in the Pasona Group Health Declaration. The Group is promoting various measures in line with its five health management policies: "promotion of healthy behaviors," "fostering a common understanding of gender differences," "health support for those who are high risk" "mental health measures," and "promotion of a social work-life balance."
In addition, we have formulated a "strategy map" for health management to organize and understand the linkage between specific initiatives and expected effects and management issues to be resolved.
For more information, please refer to our website.

Conducting lifestyle surveys

In addition to regular health checkups and stress checks, we conduct a unique "lifestyle survey" of all employees to score their lifestyle habits in the categories of exercise, diet, sleep, and preferences (drinking, snacking, smoking). By providing feedback on individual results and the position of one's own health within the entire company, we help employees review their lifestyle habits and improve the health literacy of every employee. In 2023, 7,650 employees from 29 Group companies responded to the lifestyle survey.

Promoting healthy behaviors to improve lifestyle

Training gym where you can work out in a suit for a short period of time. (at PASONA SQUARE, Minato-ku, Tokyo).

The results of the lifestyle survey showed that approximately 60% of employees indicated that they needed to improve their lifestyles, with many employees facing challenges with exercise and diet. The survey results showed that the worse the lifestyle, the worse the job performance, indicating a correlation between "lifestyle" and "job performance." to improve their lifestyle, we made it mandatory for them to participate in training sessions to learn how to take action to improve their own health issues. We also implemented measures such as distributing health information via LINE through our independently developed "Online Health Promotion Office" and accepting consultations via chat, web, and telephone.
As a result, in 2023, we improved our scores in all categories except sleep in our original score, which measures overall lifestyle improvements in exercise, diet, sleep, alcohol consumption, snacking, and smoking. (Target companies: Pasona Group Inc. and Pasona Inc.) As a result of supporting the improvement of work performance through daily lifestyle improvements, there was an improvement trend in indicators such as presenteeism (a situation in which employees are at work but are unable to perform at full capacity due to health problems) and absenteeism (absenteeism due to injury or illness).

Promote mutual understanding of gender differences in health

According to an in-house survey on women's health, nearly 80% of the female employees who were going to work in well health had health issues specific to women, and only about half of them were using the full-cost assistance for breast and uterine cancer screening. To improve the health literacy of female employees and to create an environment in which they feel free to ask for advice, we have held women's health lectures by obstetricians and gynecologists for all employees, including both women and men (3,212 participants in total), and promoted understanding through videos (viewed over 20,000 times in total), and we are fostering a common understanding of the importance of women's health in the workplace.

Pasona Group's efforts have been highly evaluated by external organizations, and Pasona Group Inc. and Pasona Inc. have been recognized as companies that practice particularly excellent health management, receiving the "White 500 for Excellent Health Management 2024 (Large-Scale Corporations)," Pasona Nihon Somubu Co., Ltd. as " Bright 500, Excellent Health Management Corporation 2024 (Small and Medium Sized Corporation Category)," and Pasona HS Inc. and Pasona JOB HUB Inc. as "Excellent Health Management 2024 (Large-Scale Corporations)," respectively.

Partial relocation of head office and headquarter functions to achieve a truly affluent way of living and working

In order to solve various social issues caused by the concentration of business in Tokyo and to realize a truly affluent lifestyle and work style for workers, we announced the relocation of our head office, and some headquarter functions to Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture in 2020, operations for approximately 1,300 employees are being relocated to Awaji Island.
Many employees working on Awaji Island have commented that their lives are richer than before the move, including "I am glad to be able to raise my children in a rich natural environment" and "I am healthier than before the move due to the proximity of work and residence. In addition, many residents and other people from within and outside the region have become active members of our group, contributing to the creation of employment in the region, with the number of employees on the island reaching approximately 2,000.

We will continue to attract diverse human resources and promote local development projects for a sustainable society by working to create an attractive environment for employees and workers alike, with the aim of creating a "Well-being Island Awaji Island" that realizes a truly affluent way of living and working.

"Wellness Farm" to support the development of mental and physical health

The "Wellness Farm," which opened in 2022 within the Awaji Nature Lab & Resort, a sustainable garden on Awaji Island, Hyogo Prefecture, provides employees with a place to "think about food" and to develop "mental and physical health."
Employees can experience "farming" that takes into consideration their physical health and the environment by cultivating soil and vegetables using the power of nature at the "Wellness Farm" and can also taste the freshly picked vegetables they have grown themselves at the restaurant attached to the farm.
By creating opportunities to experience new lifestyles and an environment where people and nature coexist in harmony, we are helping to improve the well-being of our employees.

Social contribution activities in which employees nationwide participate

To clarify the Group's corporate stance, we established the "Social Contribution Office" in 2005. As a leadership role in the Group's social contribution activities, approximately 40 "Social Contribution Committee members" have been appointed from Group companies in Japan and overseas. A total of 17,400 employees participated in activities in various locations during the fiscal year ended May 31, 2024.