Human Resources

HR Strategy (HITO-Based Management)

Business Philosophy (excerpt)

The Sharp Group business philosophy, created in 1973, describes our basic stance as one of pursuing contribution to society, corporate development, and employee growth and happiness. And it is based on this philosophy that we have consistently worked to support the growth of our human resources and to make the most of their potential.

By providing motivated employees with growth opportunities and by creating a work environment that allows for flexible work styles, we endeavor to create a rewarding workplace where each and every member of our diverse workforce can make full use of his or her abilities.

HITO-Based Management

The Sharp Group’s medium-term management direction puts an emphasis on HR strategy (HITO-based management) and has made it a goal to expand investment in people and increase employee engagement. The Sharp Group believes that people (“hito” in Japanese) drive a company’s sustainable growth. That is why we are further reforming our HR system to pursue management that gets the best of our people. This reform is based on the four perspectives of HITO: fostering Hybrid individuals with multiple specialties; creating an environment and corporate culture conducive to Innovation; placing the right people in the right jobs to make full use of employee Talent; and providing growth Opportunities for talented individuals.

Specifically, we will improve the performance-based compensation system to encourage young employees and build a system of employee conditions and benefits that will be appealing to future personnel. We will also enhance the system for supporting employee growth, rejuvenate the organization, and speed up decision-making. The aim is to create a youthful and vibrant corporate culture—in other words, be a company where every employee is unafraid of failure and ready to take on bold challenges.

Human Resource Development

Variety of Human Resource Development Programs

Sharp’s range of development programs is one way the company is boosting its comprehensive strength.

We have many kinds of development programs aimed at improving the quality and scope of employees’ capabilities. These train young employees, cultivate the next generation of leaders, and strengthen individual skills.

Human Resource Development Programs

Job-Level-Specific Human Resource Development

In job-level-specific training, special emphasis is placed on the development of young employees so that they can acquire the knowledge, skills, and mindset essential to each stage of their careers. Towards that end, young people receive training starting from when they are first selected to join Sharp, training upon joining the company, and training in their first few years at the company.

Candidates for promotion take manager candidate training as part of Sharp’s efforts to systematically strengthen its management capabilities.

Human Resource Development for Selected Employees

For Sharp to achieve sustainable growth, it must foster the next generation of leaders who will carry the company into the future. We therefore select outstanding employees who can build our future and improve the necessary skills of these management personnel.

In programs for senior management candidates for the near and foreseeable future, we have courses that promote their systematic growth. In addition to sharpening skills that participants need to take charge, there are courses that will give outstanding young managers what it takes to be senior managers, in areas such as leadership, ESG*, new business, and business administration.

• Environmental, social, governance

Fostering Global Human Resources

To improve employees’ foreign language abilities towards expanding Sharp’s global business, we provide foreign language study of two types: the basics, open to all employees; and intensive, for selected employees. In the basics, we meet individuals’ particular study needs with learning that can be done anytime and anywhere, in addition to counseling on language learning.

We also strive to foster globally minded individuals through things like overseas business trips and overseas job placement so that they can communicate and problem-solve with their worldwide counterparts.

Fostering a New-Business-Creation Mindset

As part of efforts to build a culture conducive to earnestly creating new business and innovating, we carry out new business proposal activities.

We have introduced training that fosters idea creation and make efforts to encourage proposals so that, at our new business proposal meetings, proposals are gathered from the all of Sharp and the best ones compete at a company-wide competition.

Teams that make it to the company-wide competition are given training in how to best present their proposals to the judges.

Company-Wide Study Sessions (Technology, Management)

We hold two varieties of study session with the aim of sharing knowledge across the company.

Technology-related study sessions are aimed at executives and managers and are intended to share information on key technology areas, providing explanations of technological trends and company-wide initiatives. Management-related study sessions are aimed at general employees and managers and include explanations of business skills intended to impart a range of different managerial skills.

Personnel, Education, and Training System for Fostering Strong Individuals

Sharp works to cultivate an environment in which employees can pursue independent learning whenever and wherever they are, in order to build up the basic business knowledge and expertise that they need as professionals.

Creating a Learning-Friendly Environment

Specialized Technical Training and Management Skills Improvement Training

Through specialized technical training, Sharp pursues a variety of initiatives aimed at helping employees improve and deepen their expertise (technical competency).
The courses we offer are a basic skills-building seminar (e-learning) in which primarily younger engineers learn the basics of technology; a device seminar, which introduces employees in product development to Sharp’s latest devices; and technical workshops, which incorporate a practical program that is directly linked to job skills in specific technical fields. There are also engineer exchange meetings. Sharp’s education and training initiatives are aimed at strengthening technical expertise company-wide, going beyond the limited framework of specific business and products to share technical know-how across internal functions and to develop younger employees by passing existing skills and techniques on to them.

In management skills improvement training, there are self-study courses for all employees to learn and acquire the basic knowledge and skills of business.

Learning for Self-Development

We also provide training programs outside the company for those who wish, including courses in business framework and other management skills, and foreign languages. It is all part of a training system that satisfies the numerous ways that employees desire to improve themselves.

Through the ongoing provision of these various education and training initiatives, we are fostering a corporate culture of employee-driven mutual learning and instruction in which we cultivate personnel capable of delivering the sorts of innovation that strengthen the company.

Personnel System Conducive to Talent Development and Motivation Boosting

Grade System

We have introduced a grade system that determines position rank and compensation according to job content, role size, and level of responsibility. The system is designed to enable speedy promotion based on roles and performance, and it is used to select and promote outstanding human resources.

Employee Evaluations and Compensation

Because we believe employees' compensation should depend on their achievements, we use a bonus/pay raise system that is tied to company performance and employee evaluation in order to reward those employees who have produced good results.

To ensure fair evaluations, employees have an interview with their managers at the beginning, middle, and end of each evaluation term, at which time both sides confirm how well the employee is doing in terms of progress towards targets, contribution to the company, and job results.

Evaluation results are given to employees every half year along with explanations of the evaluations with the aim of contributing to employees' growth.

In-House Recruitment System

Our in-house recruitment system allows current employees to apply for jobs such as the launch of a new business. Besides effectively leveraging existing human resources, the system also helps our employees advance their careers.

Personnel Declaration System

All employees submit a career development plan along with a self-assessment of their job aptitude. Sharp then stores this information—along with records of interviews with supervisors—in a personnel database. This provides an overview of how employees are progressing with respect to their career goals, and it allows Sharp to effectively develop human resources.

Step-Up Campaign (Qualification Acquisition Encouragement Plan)

To support employee self-development, Sharp offers monetary rewards to employees who have acquired qualifications, with the amount depending on the difficulty of acquiring the qualification. This plan covers about 200 qualifications, including some for field-specific techniques and skills, some directly related to daily duties, and some for language skills.

Welfare

Sharp Group companies in Japan have introduced a variety of employee benefits and welfare systems, which contribute to a stable and secure working environment for employees.

Sharp Group Employee Benefits (Japan)

Example

In-House Breakfast Meetings

SCEP, Sharp’s production base in Poland, holds an in-house breakfast meeting once a month. This initiative is not just about enjoying a meal together but also to promote intra-organizational communication. At these meetings, employees share important information, such as the company’s KPIs, activities, and projects, thus helping ensure everyone is aware of work progress, goals, and future challenges.

Employees also enjoy using these meetings to share ideas and recognize one another’s performance, thus helping improve workplace cohesion and employee motivation.

Human Resources Data

Employees

By Region, Consolidated

• Permanent employees

Sharp Corporation

• Permanent employees

Hiring and Turnover

• Permanent employees.
• Does not include persons hired as employees of Sharp Corporation and transferred to affiliated companies on the same day of employment.
• Number of employees who voluntarily left the company during fiscal 2023 to the number of employees as of March 31, 2023.

Diversity

Personnel, Consolidated Subsidiaries in Japan

• Permanent employees

Diversity

Personnel Composition at Major Overseas Subsidiaries

• Permanent employees

Annual Average Wage Ratio, by Gender

Employment of People with Disabilities

• Based on Japan’s Act to Facilitate the Employment of Persons with Disabilities

Work-Life Balance

• Permanent employees

• Childcare leave, parental leave, paternity leave
• The usage rate for fiscal 2021 was calculated in line with the Basic Survey of Gender Equality in Employment Management of Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. From fiscal 2022, the calculation includes parental leave and paternity leave, in accordance with the standards of the Act on Childcare Leave and Caregiver Leave.
• Figures for fiscal 2021 have been revised (rounded down to the nearest whole number).
• Percentage of employees still working 12 months after returning to work.

Human Resource Development

• Includes management skills improvement training, specialized training, and (from fiscal 2023) study sessions and Sharp Language Academy.

Occupational Safety and Health