Human Resource Programs and Career Development: Providing Opportunities for Growth
Human Resource Programs for Talent Management
The NSK Group has established a range of human resource programs designed to maximize the motivation, skills, and individual potential of employees and to help shape encouraging workplaces for every employee. We provide many opportunities for individual growth, with a focus on employee evaluation and feedback using target management and performance agreements. Some of the main channels for growth are job rotation, our Workplace and Career Aspirations Survey, and our system for changing employee classification.
| Evaluation and Feedback Using Target Management and Performance Reviews | |
|---|---|
| The NSK Group uses a performance review system as a mechanism for employees to maximize their individual potential and abilities in achieving personal goals that are casecaded down from company and departmental objectives. This system aims to facilitate both individual growth and self-realization alongside company growth. Under this system, employees meet regularly with their supervisors to set goals at the beginning of each half of the fiscal year, then follow up during the period, and confirm results at the end of each half of the fiscal year. We also conduct a survey to determine how satisfied employees are with evaluation feedback from their supervisors, confirming every time that evaluations are fair and that managers and their employees are communicating well with each other. When setting personal goals with individual employees, the degree of challenge is based on the individual's own abilities and qualifications in order to encourage self-motivation and challenge-taking. Managers view feedback as another opportunity to support the growth of their team members. By giving individuals the opportunity to reflect on their performance through dialogue, managers employ this technique to help employees grow. | |
| Job Rotation | Young Employee Rotation |
| We believe that the growth of individual employees drives the growth of the organization. Accordingly, the NSK Group positions job rotation at the core of human resource development. The rotation system allows employees to be transferred within Japan, and even to overseas and affiliated companies. The aim of job rotation is to accelerate employee development by providing new career experiences and encouraging them to learn and grow independently by taking on new work challenges. | Based on our conviction at the NSK Group that people grow through experience, young employees up to age 30 are considered to be in a training phase. We carry out job rotation for these young employees in career-track positions to broaden their outlook through a variety of experiences and to give them a better perspective. They are interviewed every three years to check their career plans. Transfers are performed to promote career development, as well as to acquire the ability to adapt to changing environments, build relationships, and hone communication skills. This reflects our efforts to offer opportunities to be active as future NSK people and to nurture growth as the human talent that will become responsible for managing the Company. |
| Workplace and Career Aspirations Survey | System for Changing Employee Classification |
| Once a year, the NSK Group gives employees the opportunity to submit feedback directly to human resources departments through the Workplace and Career Aspirations Survey. The survey includes questions on their current workplace environment, their personal aspirations for their future with the company, and other personal concerns they might like to address. Employees may also request a follow-up interview with HR departments. Based on the results of these surveys and interviews, we employ strategic personnel transfers to enable our employees to fully develop their unique skills and abilities through growth opportunities. | We have set up a system that allows employees to change their classification, such as allowing them the opportunity to change from a non-managerial career track to a career-track position. The system also encourages employees to develop greater career awareness and take the initiative in developing their abilities. It is an opportunity for employees to promote their own careers. |
Providing Educational Opportunities for Individuals to Realize Their Potential
NSK aims to develop core human resources who can support sustainable growth. Through a variety of educational offerings and training programs that further refine our people’s abilities, knowledge, and character, we provide numerous opportunities and forums for further development. As a new initiative, we are planning employee career-advancement seminars by age group. In order to prepare for changes in society as the average lifespan moves toward 100, we started a trial program for employees in their 50s in fiscal 2019. We will continue to enhance these seminars, going forward. They provide an opportunity for employees to recognize how times have changed and how they can continue to learn and grow on their own. We hold the following specific training programs to help employees continue to develop their own careers.
Career Development System
NSK Management College
To develop talent for managerial roles around the world, the NSK Group has been running the Japan Management College (JMC) since 2000. In 2011, the eligibility criteria was expanded to include NSK Group employees worldwide, launching a parallel program named the Global Management College (GMC). At the JMC, managerial applicants selected in Japan systematically learn about business management over a period of about one year. They then make proposals to NSK’s executives for enhancing the Group’s future operations. About 400 employees have been through the JMC so far, and a steady stream of executives have been produced by the program. Every year, two GMC participants from each global region, including Japan, are selected to make educational visits to NSK Group sites worldwide. GMC participants receive lectures on business strategy and make visits to business sites in and outside the company, helping them to acquire the knowledge and skills required for senior leadership. In recent years, the GMC has been sending some participants to prestigious business schools outside Japan and inviting experts to come and give lectures. More than 100 people have completed the GMC to date, and they are now active as leaders across the NSK Group. Since fiscal 2019, we have been selecting outstanding young employees and offering them a special program to prepare them for potential admission to the college later in their careers. The aim is to further raise the level of the JMC program. While learning the basics of business management, these young participants learn about the current business environment, which is undergoing major changes as a result of globalization and digital technology. They spend four months studying and thinking about the optimal direction for NSK in the future.
Development of Professional Human Resources (NIT, NSK Manufacturing Education and Training Centers, and Quality-Support Professionals)
Established in November 2007, the NSK Institute of Technology (NIT) is a global educational institution that provides opportunities for employees to obtain knowledge on a broad range of market and customer technologies, while gaining specialized expertise by diving deeper into fields of focus at NSK. The credit-based curriculum is divided by academic discipline, with classes provided at technology departments in Japan and technology centers around the world. The aim is to provide a comprehensive technical education that goes beyond technical theory to include product usage and handling, safety, quality control, ethics for engineers, manufacturing methods, and cost control. In addition to these standard courses, there are objective-based courses such as English training, technology management training for managers, training for mid-career employees, sales engineer training, and quality education that combine textbook knowledge with practical skills. Open seminars are also held periodically, where external lecturers introduce new perspectives into the organization. In these programs, NSK goes a step beyond mere technical training in an effort to raise up highly talented engineers who will have a direct impact on strengthening the competitiveness of our businesses. In fiscal 2022, 495 students were enrolled in standard programs offered at 10 sites in eight countries. Seeking to develop frontline manufacturing specialists to inherit unique skills and expertise and pass them on to the next generation, NSK established the NSK Manufacturing Education and Training Center at Ishibe Plant in Shiga Prefecture and at Fujisawa Plant in Kanagawa Prefecture. The technical education provided at these facilities, conducted in three courses on grinding/assembly, maintenance, and electrical maintenance, offers training suited to the abilities and experience of each individual employee. Going forward, the centers will continue conducting the education needed to ensure skill transfer among our frontline employees.
Overview of NIT Education
NSK Manufacturing Education and Training Center: Courses and Content
| Course | Participants | Period | Course content | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled operators | Autonomous maintenance | Skilled operators | 3 months |
|
| Electrical maintenance | Candidates for advanced maintenance staff | 6 weeks + 2 months (at plant) |
| |
| Engineers | Beginner-level engineers | Engineers with 2-3 years (or equivalent) experience | 6 weeks |
|
| Intermediate-level engineers | Engineers with 5-7 years (or equivalent) experience | 1 week (held twice) |
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Developing Quality-Support Professionals
The NIT programs are broadly divided into technical and quality assurance education. NSK provides quality education based on collaboration between the Quality Assurance Division Headquarters and NIT. It is tailored to each employee’s rank and department. In fiscal 2016, we began restructuring our quality education systems by introducing quality ethics education and practical education in statistical quality control (SQC). We also adopted quality engineering (Taguchi method) and practical education.
