Relationships with Our Employees
Kissei’s Approach to Human Capital
Kissei Pharmaceutical’s basic approach to human capital is based on the idea that when employees with different modes of thinking and value systems mutually accept and inspire each other, they can add dynamism and creativity to a company.
We strive to improve the Company’s working environment in terms of hiring practices and working styles, and have introduced an elective-based human resource system that allows employees to choose a workstyle that matches their aptitudes and life plans. These systems are part of our effort to ensure that a wide range of human resources can demonstrate their full abilities.
Kissei’s Ideal Employees and Human Resource Development Policy
As stated in Kissei Pharmaceutical's Management Philosophy, the Company exists to contribute to and serve society through its high-quality, innovative pharmaceuticals and its employees. As the development of new drugs becomes increasingly sophisticated, development-related risks increase accordingly. Therefore, it is crucial that we acquire and cultivate autonomous and professional human resources with a high level of expertise, creativity, and excellence, capable of accurately and quickly responding to changes in the environment. These human resources will make it possible to develop original pharmaceutical products and bring them to market over the medium to long term. Working from this premise, we are actively recruiting new graduate and mid-career professionals. For research positions in particular, we are looking for the kind of people who can leverage a flexible approach and the latest technology to conduct basic research, non-clinical research, and everything in between. The ultimate goals are to create innovative small-molecule drugs and develop in-licensed products across different modalities. Our main vision for human resource development is “the development of autonomous human resources.” Guided by this vision, we are working to cultivate creative talent who can execute our management strategies.
Human Resource Development
We are working to develop autonomous human resource development that is rooted in on-the-job training but also incorporates off-the-job training. With regard to off-the-job training, we are expanding rank-based training to strengthen management while implementing measures to cultivate DX-literate human resources—people who can create the innovation necessary to develop original pharmaceutical products. We also offer support to employees in their self-initiated efforts to acquire licenses and qualifications. To do this, we are encouraging employees to pursue active learning and reskilling by expanding e-learning, which creates a learning environment unbound by time and place, and by encouraging continued study of business and IT, English conversation, and more.
Results of Main Education and Training Programs for Fiscal 2024
| Program | Goal and Activities | Target | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education for new division directors | Participants will learn the general expectations of a person serving as a division director and how to perform this role in practice, facilitating an early transition from organizational management to business management. | Managers newly promoted to division director between June 2023 and May 2024 | 6 |
| Education for mid-level managers | Participants will build upon their current managerial experience with the goal of developing policies and managing organizations from a higher and broader perspective. | Managers with three to four years of line management experience as of June 2024 | 19 |
| Education for new managers | Participants will increase their knowledge required for managerial positions, advanced management knowledge, and specialized knowledge appropriate to the role, and receive support to help them fulfill their expected roles. | Employees promoted to managerial positions in October 2024 | 28 |
| Basic education for management | Participants will acquire knowledge of management principles and human resource development, while also gaining motivation and positioning themselves in a central role as candidates for higher managerial positions. | Employees promoted to C level* in October 2024 * One level below management |
27 |
| Mentor training | Senior employees act as mentors during new employees’ on-the-job training with the goal of helping new employees become productive quickly, while also improving the mentors’ own leadership skills and helping them grow as leaders. | Employees appointed to serve as mentors to new employees | 50 |
| Development of digital human resources | Discover and develop digitally literate talent by providing classroom and experiential video content and conducting in-house seminars. | Employees with general knowledge of data analysis and ICT utilization who can incorporate digital technology into their work while receiving assistance | Group 1: 400 Group 2: 160 Group 3: 190 |
| Correspondence education | Promote self-development among employees, raise awareness of the need for active and continuous learning, and promote reskilling. | Number of employees who took correspondence education and participation rate | 681 / 46.1% |
Results of Skills Development Support Systems for Fiscal 2024
| Program | Goal and Activities | Target | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interview-based skills and career development | Interview-based skills and career development Supervisors conduct interviews with each employee at career milestones (promotion) to assess their abilities and career path, encouraging them to develop their skills on their own initiative. The program encourages employees to be conscious of the changes in their expected roles and strongly promotes changes in mindsets and behavior. |
Employees promoted in Fiscal 2024 | 119 |
| Support for obtaining licenses and qualifications | A portion of the costs for obtaining licenses and qualifications are covered by the Company to encourage employees to acquire the credentials necessary for their work, in addition to promoting their self-awareness and skills development. | Employees who obtained licenses and qualifications in Fiscal 2024 | 97 |
Employee Engagement Level and Initiatives to Create a Fulfilling Workplace Environment
We emphasize employee engagement as a means to cultivate autonomous human resources and promote creation of a fulfilling workplace environment. Accordingly, we regularly measure our employee engagement level and satisfaction with the Company’s various human resource systems using our Human Resources Awareness Survey. The resulting information gives us insight into how employees feel about the Company and their work, how they view the Company’s various human resource systems, and what they consider important. The information also lets us verify and promote human resource-related measures effectively.
The survey comprises items in five categories—engagement, job satisfaction, management by objectives, treatment of employees and career, and human resource system and work situation—as well as asking employees to rate their overall satisfaction. We measure the satisfaction for each item and the importance, meaning how important the subject of the item is to life at the Company.
In the fiscal 2022 survey, the average score across engagement and job satisfaction categories was 3.28 out of 4, and the overall percentage of positive responses (“I strongly agree” or “I somewhat agree”) was 89.2%.
We aim to raise this score to 3.30 in surveys conducted over Fiscal 2025–Fiscal 2029, the period of medium-term management plan Beyond 80, through effective operation of our human resource and education systems.
the Human Resources Awareness Survey
| Category | Items regarding Engagement and Job Satisfaction | Fiscal 2019 Results |
Fiscal 2022 Results |
Fiscal 2025 Targets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engagement | I want to make Kissei a better company | 3.61 | 3.56 | Average score of 3.30 or higher |
| I am proud to be a Kissei employee | 3.26 | 3.27 | ||
| I want to grow together with Kissei | 3.40 | 3.38 | ||
| I agree with Kissei’s Management Vision | 3.53 | 3.58 | ||
| Job Satisfaction | I make and carry out proposals to my superiors that I think are necessary, even if outside my target duties |
3.22 | 3.23 | |
| I find my work rewarding | 3.18 | 3.22 | ||
| My work is important to achieving the Company’s goals | 3.40 | 3.42 | ||
| My work allows me to make full use of my abilities | 3.15 | 3.17 | ||
| I feel a sense of accomplishment from my work | 3.10 | 3.13 | ||
| I feel like I achieve personal growth through my work | 3.09 | 3.12 | ||
| My work allows me to provide products and services that satisfy customers | 2.97 | 3.00 | ||
| Average score | 3.26 | 3.28 | 3.30 | |
Besides measuring the level of engagement, the Human Resources Awareness Survey provides the basis for a portfolio analysis of our human resource measures that focuses on two indicators: satisfaction and importance. Using these indicators, we identify “priority items to maintain,” “items to maintain,” “priority items to improve,” and “items to improve.” Key issues identified from the surveys conducted from Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2024, the period of our previous medium-term management plan, PEGASUS, as well as the measures being taken to address those issues, are shown in the table below.
Measures to Create a Fulfilling Workplace Environment Based on the Human Resources Awareness Survey
| Item | Category | Issues and Risks | Measures/Response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking system and promotions | Priority item to maintain–item to maintain | A priority item to maintain for younger employees, but satisfaction and importance tend to decrease as they get older and reach higher ranks ⇒ A rigid qualification grading system may delay development of the next generation of human resources |
①Treatment in line with one’s role We utilize a role-based qualification system that focuses on a person’s “role”, defined as one’s actions and assigned duties. Employees receive certain benefits based on the results of a conduct-based evaluation, which assesses the suitability of a person’s demonstrated actions, and a job-based evaluation, which assesses the scope of assigned duties and the performance record of the person carrying out those duties. ②Greater opportunities for specialists to flourish In an increasingly complex and sophisticated business environment, we are able to provide benefits properly suited to our highly specialized workers, for whom we have particularly high expectations. For managerial positions, in addition to line managers who are primarily responsible for managing organizations and people, we have established the role of professional manager, for which the primary focus is tackling management issues by utilizing their highly specialized skills. This creates multiple career paths as a result. This system enables us to reward employees who desire to contribute to the Company and support career development along a wide range of career paths. ③Encouraging people to take on challenges Under our qualification-based promotion system, we have abolished the standard number of years of work with the Company that was previously required to determine whether someone could be promoted to a higher grade. Instead, we have incorporated an application step into the system, facilitating the early promotion of highly motivated human resources. |
| Management | Priority item to maintain– priority item to improve | Although there are differences depending on age and rank, there is a moderately positive correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.4 or higher) between job fulfillment and goal setting interviews as part of a management by objectives (MBO) approach ⇒This correlation suggests that quality of management affects employee fulfillment |
Expansion of rank-based training with the aim of strengthening management functions and supporting management-level employees ①Education for new division directors This program has been newly established to teach the general expectations of a person serving as a division director and how to perform this role in practice, facilitating an early transition from organizational management to business management. ②Education for mid-level managers (line managers with 3–4 years of experience) This program has been newly established to build upon managerial experience gained post-promotion with the goal of teaching participants about developing policies and managing organizations from a higher and broader perspective. |
| Employability | Item to improve | Satisfaction and importance are low regardless of age or rank ⇒This situation can cause stagnation of autonomous ability development and delay the acquisition of new abilities and skills |
①We are expanding e-learning content for distance learning and to create a learning environment unbound by time and place. ②We are reviewing the range of qualifications covered by the license and qualification acquisition support system, including expanding the scope of IT-related qualifications. ③We offer both lecture-style and experiential video content as well as in-house seminars aimed at finding and developing DX-literate personnel. |
| Support for work-life balance | Priority item to improve | Satisfaction is low and importance is high, regardless of age or job level | ①We will extend the scope of shortened working hours for childcare reasons until the end of the third grade of elementary school. ②We will provide more information to employees and their superiors to encourage male employees to take childcare leave. ③Increasing awareness of Company support systems for nursing care. |
Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Gender Equality
We are working to support the development of the next generation by maintaining our Platinum Kurumin certification, working to estab lish the groundwork for female employees to play an active role in accordance with the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, working to operate a system of con tinued employment up to the age of 65, and working to provide an environment in which people with disabilities can work while dem onstrating their individual capabilities. Furthermore, we strive to apply a compensation system that adheres to the principle of Equal Pay for Equal Work, determining compensation and other benefits based on the fundamental roles of employees in their work, regardless of whether they are in regular or non-regular employment, and we do not establish any unreasonable disparities in treatment.
DEI Indicators: Fiscal 2024 Results and Fiscal 2025 Targets
| Item | Fiscal 2024 Targets |
Fiscal 2024 Results |
Fiscal 2025 Targets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of female employees taking childcare leave | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Percentage of women who remain employed one year after giving birth | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Percentage of male employees taking childcare leave | 80% or higher | 100% | 100% |
| Ratio of average length of employment for female employees to average length of employment for male employees | Maintain 80% or higher | 79.3% | 80% or higher |
| Ratio of women in new graduate recruitment | 30% or higher | 34.0% | 35% or higher |
| Percentage of employees with disabilities | 2.50% | 2.76% | 2.7% or higher |
Other Key Indicators: Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2024 Results
| Item | Fiscal 2023 Results | Fiscal 2024 Results |
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees working shortened hours for childcare purposes | 25 | 25 |
| Number of employees working shortened hours for nursing care purposes | 3 | 2 |
Cultivating the Next Generation
Kissei is a company that enables employees to balance work and home life, including childcare, and by creating an environment that is easy for all employees to work in, employees are able to demonstrate their full potential. Kissei is making every effort to establish this type of work environment.
To this end, Kissei formulated and implemented its General Employers Action Plan based on the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children,* with the first phase of the plan completed in 2008, the second phase completed in 2011, and the third phase completed in 2015. The efforts of each phase were evaluated and recognized in 2008, 2011, and 2015 with certification as a standards-compliant general business owner (Kurumin). Furthermore, at the end of the fourth phase in 2017, Kissei was granted special certification (Platinum Kurumin).
Promotion of Work-Life Balance
To promote the usage of annual paid leave, Kissei has established a systematic paid leave usage system, which covers an annual Companywide leave period of two days and three days of leave for commemorative occasions, such as wedding anniversaries and birthdays. To reduce overtime work, head offices and laboratories have set every Wednesday and salary payment day as No-Overtime Days, while sales branches and offices promote days without out-of-office travel and salary payment days as days to go home on time. These initiatives to reduce overtime work and improve efficiency are part of our constant effort to promote a work–life balance.
Promoting the Success of Women
Kissei formulated its General Employers Action Plan based on the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace. We are working to further develop our infrastructure so that women are able to fully express their individuality and ability in their professional careers and see success in the workplace.
< General Employers Action Plan >
1. Period
April 1, 2025–March 31, 2027
2. Goals and initiatives
Goal 1: Increase the proportion of women hired to 30% or more.
・We will increase the number of women applicants by proactively publicizing that Kissei offers workplaces where women can thrive.
・We will consider new measures to enhance flexible working arrangements during childcare periods and proactively publicize these measures to applicants.
Goal 2: Raise the average satisfaction level for all 36 items of the Human Resources Awareness Survey among female employees to 3.0 (somewhat agree) or higher
・We will conduct the "2025 Human Resources Awareness Survey," analyze the results, and consider human resources policies that will lead to the creation of a rewarding work environment.
・In the new promotion system introduced in April 2023, we will verify whether voluntary career development, unconstrained by age, years of service, or gender, is being promoted, and further advance the establishment of an environment where employees can aim for promotions from an early stage.
Goal 3: Maintain a ratio for average length of employment for female employees to average length of employment for male employees of 80% or higher
・We will provide support for balancing work and family life by proactively providing information to employees and managers about childcare and family care leave systems.
・We will encourage male employees who have children and their managers to take childcare leave, aiming to achieve a childcare leave take-up rate of over 50% among male employees and to extend the average duration of leave taken.
・We will promote heightened awareness among employees and in the workplace, with the aim of achieving 100% use of leave for commemorative occasions.
Employment of Older Workers
At Kissei Pharmaceutical, we have implemented a re-employment system that allows employees who wish to continue working after reaching the retirement age to do so until the age of 65. This system is designed to rehire employees based on their motivation and abilities, enabling them to utilize their experience, skills, and knowledge even after retirement. As of April 2025, we have 116 employees aged 60 and over who are actively contributing across various departments within the company.
On the other hand, as individuals age, they may experience physical decline and varying degrees of capability, necessitating safety considerations in workplaces with older employees. We are promoting the creation of an age-friendly work environment where re-employed retirees can work with enthusiasm and demonstrate their capabilities. This includes tailoring the workplace to individual health and physical conditions and introducing flexible work arrangements such as shorter workdays and reduced hours.
Employment of Persons with Disabilities
Kissei Pharmaceutical is actively promoting the employment of persons with disabilities, and as of March 31, 2025, the employment rate for persons with disabilities stands at 2.76%, meeting the legally mandated employment rate. For the employment of individuals with disabilities, we conduct interviews to confirm the accommodations required and then assign roles and duties based on each person's abilities and aptitudes. Furthermore, after hiring, we foster a supportive work environment by ensuring close collaboration between the department to which the individual belongs and the Human Resources Department, promoting a workplace where persons with disabilities can work comfortably.
Promoting Health Management
1. Kissei Pharmaceutical Health Declaration
To realize the goals stated in our Management Philosophy and Code of Conduct, Kissei established the Kissei Pharmaceutical Health Declaration in April 2017, based on the belief that each and every employee must be healthy in both mind and body.
Kissei Pharmaceutical Health Declaration
Established on April 1, 2017
- We will contribute to the health and medical care of people around the world by providing ethical drugs and other high-quality, innovative pharmaceutical products. (From the Kissei Code of Conduct.)
To that end, each and every employee must be healthy in both mind and body.
Kissei strives to maintain and enhance the health of employees and their families while instilling a sense of purpose and drive. At the same time, we aim to create a healthy and vibrant workplace environment where each and every employee is able to reach their full potential. - - The Company and the Group Health Insurance Society recognize the health problems of employees as important management issues and will therefore provide opportunities for employees to maintain and improve the health of their minds and bodies and create a workplace that is both healthy and easy to work in. We will actively engage in harmony (work-life balance) between Company life and the personal lives of our employees.
- - Employees recognize the importance of self-care in terms of managing their own health and will create healthy bodies and minds by actively maintaining and promoting their own health.
2. Health Management Promotion System
The Director in charge of the Human Resources Department and the General Administration Department is appointed as the general manager in charge of health and productivity management promotion. We have also established a Subcommittee for Health and Productivity Management to promote the planning, implementation, effectiveness, and verification of measures for health management.
3．Initiatives for Health Management
< Health Management Strategy Map >
< Main Indicators and Achievements Related to the Status of Health Investment Measures >
1. Improve percentage of specific health guidance level
Target: Percentage of employees whose specific health guidance level improved in the medical examination for the following fiscal year
| Most recent percentage＊ | Target |
|---|---|
| 41.7% | 50% |
2. Reduce percentage of high-stress individuals and people in need of attention / Percentage of employees who took stress checks
| Fiscal 2021 | Fiscal 2022 | Fiscal 2023 | Fiscal 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97.4% | 93.9% | 97.2% | 96.8% |
3．Improve health literacy
With the aim of improving self-care and fostering a healthy workplace culture by encouraging employees to think about and deepen their understanding of their own mental and physical health, we have been distributing health education videos to all employees since September 2023 as part of our efforts to improve employee health awareness.
4. Promotion of work–life balance and securing of personal time
Analysis of employee satisfaction surveys revealed that "creating an environment where it is easy to take paid leave" is an important factor in improving engagement. Accordingly, we continuously work to improve the workplace environment, for example, by creating leave for commemorative occasion schedules for all employees in each workplace.
| Fiscal 2021 | Fiscal 2022 | Fiscal 2023 | Fiscal 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of employees who used paid annual leave | 61.0% | 65.9% | 74.4% | 72.7% |
| Percentage of employees who used commemorative leave* | 98.4% | 98.4% | 99.3% | 99.4% |
5. Final health-related indicator: Reducing presenteeism in the workplace
Presenteeism (a state in which employees are present at work but are unable to perform at their full potential due to poor physical or mental condition, resulting in reduced productivity) is measured using the Single-Item Presenteeism Question (SPQ) developed by the University of Tokyo.
Question: On a scale from 1% to 100%, where 100% is your best job performance if unimpeded by sickness or injury, how would you rate your overall job performance on the days you worked during the past four weeks (28 days)?
Calculation Method: Presenteeism = 100% － response value
| Fiscal 2023 | Fiscal 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Presenteeism | 13.2% | 12.8% |
< Other Key Health Management Initiatives >
・Provision of medical exams in addition to those required by law for health checkups in cooperation with the Kissei Group Health Insurance Society
・Subsidization of costs for cancer screening and influenza vaccinations
・Implementation of calisthenics in the workplace to establish exercise habits, holding of sporting events for improving health and physical fitness at each workplace, and subsidization of expenses for these events
・Subsidization of costs for lodging facilities used for mental and physical recovery
・Establishment of a mental health consultation system through outsourcing and other means, in addition to having an industrial physician
・Implementation of No-Overtime Days (every Wednesday, on monthly salary payment days, and on biannual bonus payment days).
4. Recognized under the Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program (Large Enterprise Category)
Continuing the trend from fiscal 2024, in March 2025, Kissei was certified as a 2025 Organization with Outstanding Health & Productivity Management (Large Enterprise category).
Certification is granted based on the results of the annual Survey on Health and Productivity Management conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Nippon Kenko Kaigi (Japan Health Council) reviews applicant companies’ initiatives related to employee health from four perspectives: management philosophy and policy, organizational structure, systems and implementation of measures, and evaluation and improvement. The Nippon Kenko Kaigi then recognizes companies that are found to practice particularly excellent health management.
Occupational Health and Safety
To ensure a safe, secure, and reliable workplace environment for employees, Kissei complies with the Industrial Safety and Health Act and other related laws and regulations, as well as with internal work regulations, and is engaged in occupational health and safety measures led by our Environment, Safety, and Disaster Prevention Committee. At the head office, plants, and laboratories, the safety and health subcommittees at each business location take the lead in safety and disaster prevention education for new employees, regular workplace patrols, maintaining workplace environments through working environment measurements, basic lifesaving training, and promoting safety awareness through internal newsletters and posters.
