Human Capital Management

Human Resources Development Platform

We provide all employees with a system for visualizing capabilities by utilizing an open skills and performance database (Career Link), diverse learning opportunities including a learning management system (NSLearning), and a high-quality system for on-the-job training that is standardized by job type (training follow-up sheet, mentor system by job type).

Strengthening DX Capabilities

Based on the status of capabilities visualized with the human resources development platform, we promote measures for developing DX personnel by flexibly combining training, both inside and outside the company, and systematic assignment of projects after training.

NSSOL Academy: A Training Institution for Highly Skilled Human Resources

“NSSOL Academy” is an organization for developing key human resources with highly professional skills, broad experience, and strong leadership (“leading professionals (LPs)”) who can support our customers’ business and help us to grow with our customers.

NSSOL Academy consists of six communities based on the type of human resources: Technical HR (Project Management, IT Modeling, Domain Modeling, Operating Service Management), Sales HR, and Management HR.

Each community is a place where, having LPs certified by the company at its core, next-generation key human resources are cultivated cross-sectionally. At the Academy, participants are involved in self-motivating workshops and study sessions and share their experience, knowledge, methodologies and other information, and both experienced and younger staff train each other beyond generations. During the first year of the establishment of the Academy, 50 events and other activities were held and 1,400 employees participated.

Overview of Human Resources Development Measures

Compensation by Job Classification for Core Management

In April 2022, we introduced a compensation by job classification system for core management*. Under this system, their treatment is determined based on the level of their positions, missions, and roles. This system is intended to reflect these factors in the treatment of a wide range of specialist jobs and diversified human resources in an accurate and timely manner, taking their values in the labor market into consideration. We believe this will enable them to make further contribution to our customers and create new value for society in line with their respective roles.

• *Core management: management positions at the section manager level or higher

Individual Evaluation Framework

This is a concept to evaluate actions and outcomes (competence) and results (performance) achieved by each individual based on the level of their capacity and to reflect them in their treatment. Core management is evaluated based on results (performance) in their roles, and senior professionals and lower positions based on actions and outcomes (competence) and results (performance). To enable fair evaluation in both cases, we clearly define the requirements for each qualification and take a multifaceted approach by employing multiple reviewers.

Job Rotation and In-house Staff Recruitment

We do job rotations and in-house staff recruitment (such as Innovation Open Challenge System), as well as other initiatives to provide opportunities to volunteer for various positions. These initiatives are intended to allow our employees to think autonomously about their own careers, gain work experience and improve their ability at various business operations and projects, and achieve their career goals.

65 Mandatory Retirement Age

From April 2022, our mandatory retirement age is set to 65.
We aim to be a company where each individual can work in a flexible manner according to their life stage from the perspective of emphasizing and promoting our employees’ autonomy and diversity. We are constantly improving our environment and providing support for our employees to help them to grow and succeed regardless of their age.

Side-Job System

From the perspective of expanding career options with a view to longer employment periods, we have instituted a side-job system to create an environment that enables employees to work autonomously and energetically through longer and diversifying careers.

Our efforts to reform work practices and work styles

Amid aging of the population and low birthrates, and the expected rapid decrease of the working-age population in Japan, for our company to achieve sustainable growth, it is necessary for all of our employees to improve their expertise and work with enthusiasm, and for the company as a whole to generate greater added value.
To that end, we believe that it is necessary to create a corporate culture wherein various people can work together, to constantly update the way people perform their duties as well as working arrangements to enable various people to continue working actively.
Based on this philosophy, we established a company-wide task force during the last half of FY2015 to promote the reform of work practices and work styles from various viewpoints, including work environment, assignment of tasks, operation of systems, awareness-raising, and fostering a corporate culture. We also established the Work Practice Reform Cross-functional Team in 2019 to enable management and on-site employees to work together to promote the reform of work practices. This Team consists of employees dedicated to its mission to present opinions on company-wide measures to be taken from the perspective of on-site employees and to disseminate information concerning the reform of work practices.
In 2010, we first began examining the possibility of introducing a teleworking system as an effort to increase workplace flexibility. This system was introduced in 2013 for those providing child care, then expanded in 2014 for those providing long-term family care. In 2017, to increase productivity, a teleworking system with no restrictions on usage was introduced for discretionary workers in the position of section chief or higher, and in April 2021, this system was expanded to all employees.
In May 2022, we introduced a system to enable working remotely from distant locations, under which employees who meet certain requirements are not required to come to the office as a rule. To ensure the system is operated in an optimal manner even as its users increase, we have created a practical teleworking guide and made it available throughout the company, and we also incorporate the essential points of remote work management in our internal training programs.

• Introduction of teleworking system that can be voluntarily used by everyone (Japanese only)

Efforts to promote proper total working hours

We conduct our business activities in accordance with the Nippon Steel Group Corporate Code of Conduct, with high ethical standards in due consideration of human rights issues associated with the globalization of the economy. We comply with labor laws and regulations not only in Japan but also in other countries, and strive to create a work environment where individual employees can maximize their abilities. In particular, we believe that continuously working long hours will have a lasting impact on our employees’ energy and health and could hinder the medium- to long-term growth of our business.
We have long held up a policy of eliminating health-damaging practices of working excessively long hours, not to mention violations of the Labor Standards Act and other relevant laws. In addition to complying with laws and regulations, we have been working as a company to promote work practice reform. As part of these initiatives, we have been making persistent efforts to encourage our employees “to clearly separate the time they work and the time they are off.” As for our system, starting from the introduction of a system to prohibit working after 10:00 pm and on holidays unless it is truly unavoidable (General Rule Prohibiting Work Late at Night and on Holidays) and a system to recommend taking annual paid holidays for five consecutive days (9-day Refreshment Holiday System) in 2005, we have implemented various measures to realize proper total working hours, including establishing and improving various systems and streamlining our business and making our business more efficient. We are, across the organization, constantly making efforts to reduce total working hours based on two key performance indicators (KPI) as common indicators for the entire company, which are: total annual hours worked and annual paid holidays taken. We continue to make efforts across the organization to realize proper total working hours.

Efforts toward better health of our employees (advancement of health and productivity management)

We believe that it is essential to enhance health for employees to perform better. Our HR director is responsible for advancing health and productivity management. We have a health and productivity management advancement section (HR Development Department Health Management Group) within our Human Resources Bureau, which is responsible for submitting a periodical report to the management team and taking cross-sectional measures. More specifically, we provide all of our employees with not only periodic health checkups through the company's own public health nurse system but also after-checkup interviews. We also perform interviews with employees who work long hours to check their health conditions, to stay close to each employee to understand their worries and anxieties.
We also provide voluntary training on a regular basis to help our employees to take the initiative in promoting their own health.

Recognized as a “2024 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organization”

Our company was recognized, by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Nippon Kenko Kaigi, as a “2024 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organization” as a highly outstanding enterprise engaging in efforts to advance heath and productivity management based on the measures taken that are in line with local health issues and health measures promoted by Nippon Kenko Kaigi.

Periodical engagement survey

One of our medium-term core targets is “the creation of an organization with high employee engagement,” and we are promoting the creation of an organization where employees can work at a high level of engagement.
To continuously improve the level of employee engagement, it is important to recognize and understand the status of the organization in a timely manner, and to implement necessary improvement measures in a timely manner at the company and workplace levels. To realize this goal, we conduct an engagement survey on an annual basis.
Survey results are immediately calculated and shared internally, and linked to the review of company-wide employee engagement improvement measures and to the improvement activities at each workplace.
The entire company will work together to realize “the creation of an organization with high employee engagement” by continuing this process.

Respect for the right to organize and the right of collective bargaining

We respect the “right to organize” and the “right of collective bargaining” in accordance with laws and regulations and a collective agreement. We negotiate with the labor union in a sincere manner, and do our best to create a sound labor-management relationship. We regularly set up a forum for discussion with the labor union to discuss our policies concerning business and the employees’ capacity building and various labor conditions such as wages and work-life balance. Our management team directly participates in these discussions, and keeps close communication with employees through exchange of opinions with their representatives.