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CSR Activity Report (CSR Guideline Activity Reports) - Human Rights Promotion and Human Resources Development
Securing and Developing Human Resources to Create New Value
Employing a Diverse Workforce
Toray Group employs talented human resources with high aspirations who can play an active role in global business, inclusive of gender and whether employees were hired out of university or mid-career.
Since 1998, Toray Industries, Inc. has been expanding its efforts to recruit a diverse human resource population and has hired 113 non-Japanese as regular employees as of fiscal 2021. The Company actively recruits non-Japanese students who are studying in Japan, and Japanese students who graduate from universities abroad. Then, it seeks to build a work environment where all employees are able to fully demonstrate their individual abilities and perform to their utmost potential. In addition, Toray is actively pursuing mid-career hiring, while providing follow-up support for these hires, including additional training after joining the company.
Number of Employees Hired in Fiscal 2019- 2021 (Toray Industries, Inc.)
Result | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
New graduates | Men | 244 | 176 | 123 |
Women | 44 | 36 | 38 | |
Total | 288 | 212 | 161 | |
Mid-career hires | Men | 37 | 9 | 13 |
Women | 8 | 2 | 6 | |
Total | 45 | 11 | 19 |
Systematic and Effective Training
Toray Industries develops well-designed training programs and systematically executes diverse training programs to enhance management, sales, production technology, and specialized skills, and to better equip employees to address globalization. These programs cover all levels of employees and fields, aiming to develop future management candidates while expanding and educating the base of core staff ready to employ their strong capabilities to lead on the front lines.
Over the recent years, Toray Industries has concentrated on enhancing and expanding its development of global human resources through Overseas Training for Young Employees, the Toray Global English School, and Business English Intensive Training, as well as through joint sessions of the Toray Management School and Toray Group Senior Management Seminar. The Company also implements the Global Diversity Seminar for non-Japanese employees working at Toray Industries. In fiscal 2021, all training was resumed using an online format. However, some training that involves practical skills or focuses on discussion was conducted using an in-person group format, based on thorough measures to prevent COVID-19 infection. For this reason, training expenditures per employee at Toray Industries stood at 58,899 yen in fiscal 2021, compared to 36,092 yen in the previous fiscal year.
In addition to training, the Group is adopting diverse personnel programs to develop an organization in which human resources who are ready for new challenges can play a greater and more active part in the Company.

Company-Wide Training Course Enrollment in Fiscal 2021 (Toray Industries, Inc.)
Training category | Persons enrolled | Time dedicated to training per employee (hour)1 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Women | Total | ||
Management | 691 | 78 | 769 | 42.9 |
Technical | 561 | 84 | 645 | 27.9 |
Sales, marketing, and administration | 305 | 93 | 398 | 22.3 |
Global | 83 | 18 | 101 | 46.6 |
General | 3 | 2 | 5 | 28.5 |
Total | 1,643 | 275 | 1,918 | 33.7 |
- 1 Time dedicated to group training at the Toray Human Resources Development Center. It does not include time for correspondence learning or study abroad, etc.
Toray School of Technology and Business Administration Develops Leaders to Improve Frontline Capabilities Across the Toray Group
Toray Industries set up the Toray School of Technology and Business Administration as a place to train its young employees and group employees in Japan. The school is located in the education center of the Toray Shiga Plant, and marked its 28th session in 2021.
Classes include general subjects such as mathematics and English, along with specialized subjects including polymer chemistry and engineering basics, as well as experiment labs. By having employees participate in hands-on learning experiences, they get a deeper understanding of the theory taught in class. During the one-year period of enrollment, each student aims to develop the skills to become a frontline leader who can think and act without being micromanaged, by utilizing every opportunity for their own professional development.
Personnel System (Toray Industries, Inc.)
Management-by-objectives system2 | Each employee establishes annual objectives. At the end of the fiscal year, employees and their supervisors meet to review accomplishments and the extent to which they were able to meet their objectives. |
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Personnel appraisal system2 | Designed to facilitate a fair appraisal of employee contributions in terms of duties, responsibilities, capabilities, and performance3. |
Individual meeting system2 | Employees meet with their supervisors twice a year in a one-on-one setting. Supervisors provide consultation on employee performance and new objectives. |
Self-assessment system for managers, occupational specialists, and G Course employees | Employees are surveyed annually on topics concerning work experience and desires for interdepartmental transfer. Surveys can then be linked to individual personnel transfers and placement. |
Career assessment system for G Course employees | Employees participate in a regular review consisting of presentations of daily operations and personnel interviews in order to focus on the direction of their future growth. |
Job opening system | Employees are given an opportunity to apply for jobs inside the Company and proactively develop their career, while ensuring optimal staff assignment. |
- 2 Applies to 100% of managers, occupational specialists, and employees pursuing G Course and S Course career paths.
G Course: A career path for Toray Group executive or upper-level professional candidates
S Course: A career path for manager, supervisor, or specialist candidates - 3 Including CSR initiatives
Career development of core staff using the new personnel information system (% of staff using a career path worksheet)
- ■Reporting scope
- Toray Industries, Inc.
- ■Target in fiscal 2021
- 30%
Result in fiscal 2021
100%
Toray Industries has introduced career path worksheets as a human resource development tool designed to promote employee growth. These worksheets encourage employees to reflect on their past work experience and the level of skill required in their field, as well as facilitate career-related discussions through interviews with supervisors and subordinates.
The career path worksheets were first introduced in fiscal 2020 for employees pursuing G-Course career paths in sales and corporate administration. In fiscal 2021, their use was extended to technical G-course employees and, as of March 2022, has been expanded to all G-Course employees.
Development of Future Management Candidates for Toray Group
Toray Group implements training in order to systematically develop future management candidates. Numerous employees who have undergone the training are already active in management positions. This training was not implemented in fiscal 2020, due to measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It was resumed in fiscal 2021 however, with the addition of thorough infection prevention measures.
Strategies for Developing Future Management Candidates
Program | Participants | Purpose | Year started | Total participants through FY2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Management Training for General Managers | Division and department managers of Toray Industries, Board members/officers of group companies in and outside Japan | Develop management leaders at Toray Industries and group companies | 2013 | 159 |
Toray Management School | Section managers of Toray Industries | Develop future management candidates at Toray Industries and group companies | 1991 | 580 |
Toray Group Management School | Department managers of group companies in Japan | Develop management candidates focusing on group companies in Japan | 2006 | 306 |
Toray Group Executive Seminar | Board members/officers of group companies outside Japan | Develop core staff at group companies outside Japan | 2004 | 98 |
- Number of employees who participated in programs to develop future management candidates (cumulative total)
- 1,143
The Toray Global HR Management ("G-HRM") Fundamental Policy was established through a resolution of the Board of Directors. The goal of the policy is to manage human resources from a common perspective shared by the entire Group, thereby surmounting differences between countries, regions, cultures, customs, and individual companies.
Toray Global HR Management ("G-HRM") Fundamental PolicyRevised December 2021
True to its corporate philosophy, "Contributing to society through the creation of new value with innovative ideas, technologies and products" and its embodiment through "Innovation," and in order to continue being a highly valuable corporate group for every stakeholder, Toray Group focuses on recruiting, retaining, and developing employees with high aspirations, with the understanding that "Human Resources" are the most important asset in management.
As Toray Group continues to promote further business growth and expansion globally, we set the following four principles as the Toray G-HRM Fundamental Policy, despite all differences between countries, regions, cultures, customs, and companies in order to facilitate HR management with a common basis for all Toray Group companies around the world.
Step by step, each company is encouraged to implement and maintain a concrete HR management system in line with the following Toray G-HRM Fundamental Policy. However, at the same time, it is essential to value the merits of local HR management in each company based on the individual circumstances of country, region, culture, custom and company. Thus, it is necessary to promote the policy while integrating both approaches properly.
- Consistently recruit and retain core staff and promote long-term HR development programs
- (1) Consistently recruit core staff based on mid/long-term HR management views.
- (2) Sustain long-term HR development through emphasizing individual career development, promoting career interviews on development progress between supervisors and staff, and carrying out on-the-job training (OJT), together with training programs (Off-JT) and self-development.
- (3) Promote HR development by following up on each individual through MBO (Management by Objectives) and performance appraisal systems.
- Select and develop core staff who can win a place in the global competition
- (1) Recruit, retain and develop diverse and capable staff globally who understand and support the Toray Philosophy.
- (2) Provide selected staff with opportunities for sophisticated high-level training and global careers.
- (3) Promote staff, who have skills to assume management responsibility for Toray Group companies, to top management positions of each company, and also give them opportunities for selection to executive positions as well as core positions of Toray Industries, Inc.
- Pursue a "placing the right people to the right jobs" policy while enhancing fairness, understanding (by employees) through convincing explanations, and transparency
- (1) Make the best assignment for each employee and assigned organization by focusing on his/her ability and performance.
- (2) Place importance on fairness, understanding (by employees) through convincing explanations, and transparency when determining individual compensation, such as salary and bonus, by appropriately taking account all of the roles and responsibilities of the position, the employee's ability, as well as performance appraisal results based on the MBO (Management by Objectives).
- (3) Enhance the HR development system and the compensation system to value challenges as well as contributions to the team.
- Continue various management methods to further strengthen the company's business structure
- (1) Conduct and continue head-count management and labor cost management as an entire company in a well-balanced way appropriate for business environments.
- (2) Always sustain a flat, effective organizational structure and control the appropriate proportion of managerial staff.
- (3) Build a resilient organization through the appropriate management of diverse work styles.
Systematically Securing, Developing, and Promoting Core Staff Outside Japan at Group Companies
Toray Group regards the development of core staff at its group companies outside Japan as one of its priority management objectives. The Group makes active efforts to promote employees locally hired at these companies (national staff) to executive management positions, as well as to key posts and management positions at Toray Industries' head office. In fiscal 2021, a total of eight core staff outside Japan help manage Toray Group, with two serving as vice presidents of Toray Industries and six serving as director (riji), a position that is equivalent in scope and level of responsibility to senior management.
In terms of human resource development and promotions, Toray Group has been working on a succession plan and personnel development plan based on a medium- and long-term perspective and drawing up its Medium-Term Human Resources Plan with the goal of implementing systematic personnel assignments to ensure that core staff can tackle important business issues. The Group implements human resources strategies designed to support business strategies by verifying the availability of successor candidates for core positions and developing individualized development plans for future management candidates, including for core staff outside Japan. In addition, the Group is systematically fostering human resources by offering career development opportunities such as domestic and international job rotations.
Human resource development is systematically implemented using both on-the-job and off-the-job training. Off-the-job training consists of training implemented by each group company outside Japan. This is combined with grade-specific training programs held in Japan to ensure understanding of management principles and policies. These are linked with personalized long-term development plans. Toray Group, with direct involvement from the head office, is developing and regularly providing management training courses outside Japan specially designed for the particular circumstances and needs of group companies in each respective country.
FY2021 Training Courses Held for Core Staff Outside Japan
Japan-based courses
Training program | Managerial category | Participants |
---|---|---|
Toray Group Senior Management Seminar | Department managers | 12 |
Toray Trainee Program | Section managers | 18 |
Total participants | 30 |
Courses held outside Japan
Training program | Managerial category | Participants |
---|---|---|
Toray Group EU Senior Management Seminar | Department managers | 10 |
Toray Group EU Management Seminar | Section managers | 16 |
Toray Group Indonesia Management Seminar | Department managers / section managers | 32 |
Toray Group Malaysia Management Seminar | Department managers / section managers | 14 |
Toray Group China Senior Management Seminar | Department managers | 20 |
Total participants | 92 |
Click here for the main initiatives for CSR Guideline 8, “Human Rights Promotion and Human Resources Development” in CSR Roadmap 2022.