• 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020

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, working styles, our human resource system, and other aspects, and have therefore introduced flexible workstyles in many departments. These include an elective-based human resource system that allows employees to choose a workstyle that matches their aptitudes and life plans as well as deemed working hour and flextime systems. These systems are part of our effort to ensure that a wide range of human resources can demonstrate their full abilities.

Human Resource Development Policy

Kissei has set “the development of autonomous human resources” as its main vision for human resources, and has put in place the following three policies, through which we will develop autonomous and professional human resources with a high level of expertise, creativity, and excellence, who can accurately and promptly respond to changes in the business environment.
• The Company will provide an educational and learning environment that aims to simultaneously realize the growth of employees and the development of the Company. • The Company will promote highly effective guidance and development by managers and systematic development of the next generation of employees. • The Company will encourage self-development of employees and support self-motivated skill and career development.

Internal Environment Development Policy

Kissei has identified the “creation of a fulfilling workplace environment” as a material issue as part of its effort to create an environment that nurtures autonomous human resources. We believe that a fulfilling workplace environment is one where every employee feels that their work gives them a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, mission, and growth. To make sure this is the case, we emphasize employee engagement and measure it regularly. Based on our analysis, we consider and implement new human resource-related measures and are working on the following initiatives:
• Operation of our dual-track human resource system • Operation of our education system • Promotion of diversity and inclusion and gender equality • Promotion of health management

Employee Engagement Level

Kissei conducts the Human Resources Awareness Survey in order to understand the level of employee engagement.
The survey comprises questions in five categories—engagement, job satisfaction, goal management system, treatment of employees and career, and human resource system and work situation—as well as a question regarding overall satisfaction. We measure the degree of satisfaction for each question and degree of importance, meaning how important the subject of the question is to life at the Company.
We then conduct a portfolio analysis based on the degree of satisfaction and importance and identify “priority items to maintain,” “items to maintain,” “priority items to improve,” and “items to improve.”
Results of the surveys conducted before (2019) and during (2022) the period of “PEGASUS,” the current five-year medium-term management plan, are shown in the table below.

Item Questions regarding Engagement and Job Satisfaction Fiscal 2019 Fiscal 2022
Engagement I want to make Kissei a better company 3.61 3.56
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 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
Note: Satisfaction rating scale—4 (strongly agree), 3 (somewhat agree), 2 (somewhat disagree), 1 (strongly disagree)

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, 2023–March 31, 2025

2. Goals and initiatives

Goal 1: Increase the proportion of women among hires

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

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

< Diversity and Inclusion >

Item Fiscal 2022 results Fiscal 2023 targets
Percentage of female employees taking childcare leave 100% 100%
Percentage of male employees taking childcare leave 80% Maintain 80% or higher
Ratio of average length of employment for female employees to average length of employment for male employees 82.7% Maintain 80% or higher
Percentage of employees with disabilities 2.45% 2.5% or higher

Occupational Health and Safety

In addition to complying with the Industrial Safety and Health Act and other related laws and regulations as well as in-Company work regulations, Kissei implements health and safety measures guided by the Environment, Health, and Safety Committee, an in-house organization, to ensure a safe, secure, and reliable workplace environment for its employees.

Health and safety initiatives are implemented at head offices, plants, and laboratories, led by the subcommittees for health and safety at each location. These initiatives include efforts to maintain a safe workplace environment through safety training for new employees, regular workplace patrols, and recording metrics of the work environment in addition to basic first-aid training and efforts to impart safety information, such as posting internal newsletters and in-Company posters.

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. Recognized under the Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations Recognition Program (Large Enterprise Category)

Continuing the trend from fiscal 2023, in March 2024, Kissei was certified as a 2024 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.

Main Issues and Targets Related to Health Management

1. Prevention of lifestyle-related diseases and other conditions in healthy people

Target: Percentage of employees whose specific health guidance level improved in the medical examination for the following fiscal year

Most recent percentage*1 Target
44.0% 50%
*1 Fiscal 2022

2. Promotion of work–life balance and securing of personal time

Target: 100% utilization of commemorative leave (three days per year) among employees

Most recent percentage*2 Target
98.4% 100%
*2 Fiscal 2022

< Major Health Management Initiatives >

• Formulation of the Kissei Pharmaceutical Health Declaration

• Medical testing exceeding legal requirements and subsidization of cancer screening and other testing costs in cooperation with the Kissei Group Health Insurance Society

• Promotion of specific health guidance and other health programs focused on preventing lifestyle-related diseases in collaboration with the Kissei Group Health Insurance Society

• Development of a mental health consultation system through outsourcing and other means, in addition to industrial physicians

• Implementation of no-overtime days and days to promote leaving work on time

• Creation of an environment that makes it easier to take annual paid leave and commemorative leave

• Provision of healthy menus in employee cafeterias

• Stress checks for all business establishments, including those with fewer than 50 employees

• 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

< Percentage of employees who took stress checks >

Fiscal 2020 Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2022
97.2% 97.4% 93.9%

< Percentage of annual paid leave and commemorative leave used >*3

Fiscal 2020 Fiscal 2021 Fiscal 2022
Annual paid leave 55.4% 61.0% 65.9%
Commemorative leave 97.7% 98.4% 98.4%
*3 Percentage of days used out of total days granted

< Health Management Promotion System >

The director in charge of the Human Resources Department and the General Administration Department has been appointed as the general manager in charge of health promotion, and the Subcommittee for Health and Productivity Management has been established to further promote the drafting and implementation of measures, as well as the verification of their effects.