Human Resource Strategy

The company recognizes that our employees are important human resources indispensable to the realization of our management philosophy, and are capital that is the source of value creation. By actively investing in our human resources and continuously increasing their value, we aim for sustainable development of local communities and our own sustainable growth. In addition, employees are important “stakeholders,” and our management philosophy states that we will “continue to be an attractive company where employees can be proud to work”.
Based on this concept, we have established our Group Human Resource Policy, a basic policy for maximizing human capital to realize our vision of being “a solution company rooted in communities and selected as a partner to walk together” and have formulated the Group Human Resource Strategy linked with our management strategy for building the talent portfolio that we aim to achieve in the mid to long term.

We have established our Group Human Resource Policy as our basic policy regarding the human resources of our group based on our management philosophy.

〈Basic Concepts〉

〈The human resourcess we seek〉

In order to realize our vision while responding to changes in the external environment, we have formulated a Group Human Resource Strategy linked to our management strategy, and are implementing measures related to human resources from a medium to long-term perspective to eliminate the gap between “As is” and “To be”.

Through investment in human capital, we work to increase the number of sales personnel (=Quantity) and increase solution revenue per capita (=Quality) by improving skill levels, thereby strengthening solution profitability, which is the foundation of profitability.

The “Group Human Resource Strategy” covers the period up to FY2027 and has three basic themes: ① “Human Resource Development that values the will to grow and to take on challenges”, ② “Build an Organization that enlivens the activities of diverse human resources and ③ Create an Environment that starts with individual well-being”.
Under these three basic themes, we will work on 10 major measures to enhance employee engagement (Total attractiveness of the company) while building a talent portfolio with quantity (ratio of sales personnel) and quality (solution earnings per employee), and as a result, we will aim to achieve the management target of ROE of around 7%.

While streamlining the total workforce through structural reforms by reducing administrative workloads and improving operational efficiency, we aim to increase the sales workforce by re-skilling administrative staff, aiming for a workforce that is approximately 60% sales personnel in FY2027. Among sales personnel, we define “solutions sales personnel” as those who are especially engaged in providing solutions to customers, and we are systematically securing and developing them.
In order to increase the number of sales personnel, we will work to secure high-quality personnel by reinforcing the recruitment of new graduates, and securing highly specialized human resources by upping our mid-career recruitment.

By strengthening training programs and self-development support, we will increase the proportion of personnel with advanced skills at sales branches and through inter-disciplinary learning to acquire advanced skills, we will increase the number of direct sales personnel at headquarters and in this way develop human resources with high solution sales capabilities who have high business execution skills and advanced knowledge.
Through these efforts, we aim to achieve a per capita solution revenue of over ¥90 million in FY2027.

The Group is working to increase the frequency of dialogue between management and employees in order to enhance employees' understanding of our management and human resource strategies and in order to reflect the views of employees in management.
In FY2022, we held 78 (large) town hall meetings, in which management strategies and other information were explained to all employees. In addition, we held 132 small group town hall meetings, mainly for section managers and lower, to listen to the opinions of sales branches and for them to hear directly from officers about management policies and their thoughts on management.
In response to the many requests from employees during these town hall meetings to have more time for personal growth, the Bank of Yokohama launched the “Job Satisfaction Improvement Project Team” to create more time for self-fulfillment by fundamentally reviewing the way business had been done until then in order to improve employee job satisfaction and engagement. By implementing measures across the entire company to resolve management issues highlighted in questionnaires and interviews with employees, we aim to achieve a vibrant workplace through behavioral and cultural reforms.
In addition to these efforts, we aim to enhance the total attractiveness of the company by implementing key measures based on the three basic themes of our human resource strategy.

In implementing measures related to human resources based on the Group's Human Resource Strategy, we will strengthen investment in human capital, with a focus on Human Resource Development that emphasizes the development of human resources that support our solutions business, as well as Organizational Development and Environment Development.

In order to realize our vision of being a solution company, we believe it is important to improve the skills and expertise of those in charge of providing solutions.
Based on this concept, we will implement human resources development that links OJT and Off-JT, expanding opportunities for employees to take on such new challenges as internal recruitment, external secondment, and self-development support, in order to actively respond to each employee's desire to grow.

The Bank of Yokohama has introduced skill certification systems for its corporate and personal departments in order to define the capacities (skills and knowledge) required of solutions sales personnel, to visualize their proficiency status, and to provide education and training opportunities according to the proficiency level of each individual for the pupose of raising their skill levels. Through the operation of this certification system, we are working to expand the number of solution sales leaders at our sales branches.
This certification system comprehensively visualizes the skill level of solutions sales personnel based on the three elements of “skill proficiency”, “education”, and “performance” every six months, and measures the skill levels of liaison personnel in the Corporate and Personal Divisions. In addition, Higashi-Nippon Bank measures skill levels in its Corporate Division by judging the check items for each prescribed skill level.
Under this certification system, we are working on “human resources development that strongly links on-the-job training (OJT) and off-the-job training (Off-JT)” in order to effectively improve the skills of solutions sales personnel. Off-JT supports the steady acquisition and retention of skills through group training by department and by skill level, as well as through ongoing follow-up after the group training, while OJT includes assigning employees after group training to projects where they can apply what they learned. We have established a human resource development system that puts staff members into practical work at sales branches early on so that they can feel the improvement in their skills and their growth.
Through these efforts, we will increase the proportion of highly skilled personnel who have advanced solution skills and knowledge and a wealth of experience in providing solutions, thereby enhancing our solutions sales structure.

To improve the quality of our solutions business, we are working to raise the skill level of our sales branches as a whole based on our skill certification system, are working to give them the capacity to provide high value-added solutions, and are working to strengthen our direct sales departments (such as the Financial Solutions Department), which have the function of offering solutions to customers directly.
The direct sales division of headquarters is systematically increasing its workforce through the transfer of employees with higher skill levels, the dispatch of human resources for training at megabanks, government financial institutions, and funds, and the recruitment of highly specialized mid-career solutions sales personnel.
In parallel with these efforts, we are promoting the advancement of the Group's overall solutions sales posture, including at sales branches, by systematically rotating personnel from direct sales departments at headquarters to positions as branch managers and executives at sales branches.

We have implemented “In-house recruitment” and “re-skilling challenges” as an open recruitment system to motivate employees for self-development and to encourage them to take on the challenge of career development on their own initiative.
Our in-house recruitment accepts applications regardless of career stage. In addition to assignments to various divisions of headquarters, we also offer external secondments and MBA programs. With 220 applicants in FY2022, concrete actions for career realization are expanding on a bank-wide scale. In FY2023, the “FA System” was introduced to give bank employees who have certain qualifications and experience the opportunity to widen their skills in a department of their choice.
The re-skilling challenge is an open recruitment system for administrative staff at sales branches and headquarters to take on the challenge of “re-skilling” to close the gap between their current skills and the skills that will be needed in the future. We also provide support such as a career roadmaps to help staff envision the person they want to be and a Job Forum for understanding the operations of each department in headquarters. In FY2021, when we began this initiative, there were 91 applicants, and in FY2022 there were 231 applicants, of which 130 were hired as trainees and 95 have been transferred to new positions in the sales department or headquarters.

In October 2021, the Bank of Yokohama introduced the “Career Innovation Support System (Concurrent and Secondary Jobs)” as a system to allow employees to take on outside concurrent or secondary jobs in accordance with certain requirements, such as personal growth, core business, or community contribution. By expanding opportunities for employees to gain a variety of experience outside of banking, this system aims to encourage their self-directed career development and growth outside their existing career paths, as well as to increase the diversity and expertise of human resources, to improve operations productivity, and to reform our corporate culture. Since the system was introduced, 10 people have used it.
Higashi-Nippon Bank too plans to introduce a concurrent/secondary employment system by the end of FY2023.

To promote and support employees' autonomous career development, we have established a Career Consultation Desk to provide consultation on career development and career paths.

In order to flexibly respond to changes in the economic and social environment and to continue to provide optimal solutions to the increasingly diverse and sophisticated needs of local communities and customers, it is important to be an organization in which human resources with various backgrounds and expertise can maximize the use of their individual abilities.
In order to build an organizational foundation, we have positioned the recruitment of human resources as a key management issue for the Group, and we are further strengthening our recruitment activities, upgrading our talent management, promoting the activities of senior human resources, and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), aiming to be an organization where a diverse range of human resources can play active roles.

The Group has introduced a talent management system as a tool to centrally manage information on each employee's skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and career design, and is promoting its use in strategic human resource operations to maximize the utilization of the potential of each employee. We are developing a system that will enable strategic personnel assignment according to the characteristics of each branch and headquarters department, with the aim of “visualizing skills and assigning the right personnel to the right positions”

With the arrival of the “age of centenarians” and the increasingly diverse employment needs of individual employees, it is becoming more and more important to support them in developing fulfilling second careers in which they can work with passion and enthusiasm. We have also received requests from our local business partners to utilize people from our group to achieve sustainable growth. In response to this situation, we are expanding training programs to provide recurrent reskilling training so that senior human resources with a wealth of experience and advanced skills can remain active both inside and outside the bank for a long time. While they utilize the knowledge, skills, and experience that they developed in bank operations up till now, we support them in acquiring the latest knowledge in labor managment, DX support, and other areas currently in demand. We are working to further promote the activities of senior human resources by providing new opportunities for them to play active roles within our group, and as a regional financial institution, we are seconding them to our business partners to contribute to the development and growth of local communities.

One of our materialities is “promotion of work style reform and diversity”, and we are working on each measure as a member of the community.
Concretely, based on our Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Policy and with the involvement of management, we are promoting Environment Development of a workplace where diverse employees can thrive, by providing training for all employees to promote diversity and understanding of unconscious bias.
The progress of diversity promotion is reviewed semiannually at the Board of Directors' meeting, and under the management and supervision of the officer in charge, issues are addressed and the direction of measures are discussed, actively incorporating the opinions of outside directors and others, to enable our systems to respond quickly to the changing times.

In order to reflect a variety of thinking in our management policies and in order to meet the increasingly diverse and sophisticated needs of local communities and customers, the Group considers ensuring manager diversity and promoting women's activities as important management issues, and actively discusses them at management meetings.
Since FY2022, the Bank of Yokohama has been implementing the Tsubaki Project to promote women in executive and management positions. Through a combination of training and roundtable discussions with outside directors, the project provides career development support with a view to promotion to management positions and fosters human resources who are candidates for management positions. Also, Higashi-Nippon Bank offers Career Support Seminars to support career development for women. Through these efforts, we aim to raise the percentage of female managers in the Group from 16% in FY2022 to 25% in FY2027.

We believe that local employment and procurement play an important role in fostering positive relationships with the countries and regions where we operate and contributing to sustainable development.
We are actively recruiting talents at our overseas locations to leverage their familiarity with local customs and needs. As of April 1, 2023, we had hired 48 employees overseas.
Important matters such as labor standards and compliance regarding working hours, wages, etc. are translated into the languages used at overseas locations, such as English and Chinese, and communicated to all locally hired employees to ensure widespread understanding.
We are actively promoting the appointment of foreign nationals to management positions. As of April 1, 2023, the number of foreign nationals in management positions was 11.

In April 2019, we launched Hamagin Business Challenged Co., Ltd. to support the independence of persons with disabilities and to realize an inclusive society. In April 2020, certification as a special subsidiary, and in May 2021, certification as an affiliated company of a special subsidiary were obtained. (Hamagin Research Institute, Hamagin Finance, and Hamagin Tokai Tokyo Securities, were added to the scope of special subsidiaries). As of March 2023, the Group's employment rate of persons with disabilities was 2.53%.

In order for each and every employee to utilize his or her full potential, it is essential to have a vibrant organizational culture and a work environment in which employees can work with peace of mind and in good mental and physical health. We foster an organizational climate and workplace environment that starts with the wellbeing of each and every employee and their diverse values and lifestyles.

The Group has introduced a human resources evaluation system for all employees, including part-timers, as a mechanism to motivate each employee and to energize the organization, as well as to support the realization of career visions and to promote human resources development and skills development.
The human resources evaluation system is a flow of operations based on the “Management By Objective (MBO)” objectives for the year and consisting of “goal setting”, “performance evaluation”, and “feedback” through personal interviews. This evaluation system is implemented and operated in order to bring out individuals' abilities, from short-term evaluations of performance and bonuses to mid- and long-term evaluations of transfers, promotions, and advancement.

The Group ensures fair and equitable treatment of all employees, including part-timers, in accordance with the weight of responsibility and contribution to performance based on the difficulty, scope, and role of the job, regardless of seniority, gender, or other attributes, thereby increasing each employee's willingness to take on new challenges and grow.
We also offer the same benefit programs and growth opportunities.
Regarding wages, we comply with laws and regulations regarding minimum wages and equal pay for equal work.

In order to establish flexible and diverse work styles that are not restricted by time or location and to improve well-being, the Bank of Yokohama and the Higashi-Nippon Bank have established teleworking systems and introduced satellite offices as “Hamagin Style” and “Higashi Nippon New Style,” respectively. We also conduct activities to spread the word about using tools and about getting away from paper and “hanko” signature seals.
In addition, we visualize total working hours and have introduced a system to ensure adequate time between one work shift and the next in order to raise awareness of more efficient work styles

In order for each employee to reach his or her full potential, the workplace must be a healthy place with a high level of psychological safety. The Group uses one-on-one meetings to provide opportunities for superiors and subordinates to discuss everything from work-related concerns to private matters without hesitation, and to ensure psychological safety by building mutual understanding and trust between superiors and subordinates.
In addition, the Group clearly states in its employment regulations that all forms of harassment are prohibited. The Group is working to prevent and appropriately respond to harassment by providing training for all employees on harassment prevention and training for managers on how to report and respond to harassment, by establishing internal and external “harassment consultation offices” for sexual harassment, bullying, harassment related to pregnancy, childbirth, childcare leave, nursing care leave, etc., and SOGI ^(*) harassment, and by establishing an internal reporting system (hotline).
In addition, we have established a consultation service for employees to discuss matters related to balancing work with childcare and nursing care, as well as matters related to diversity, equity, and inclusion regarding themselves and their surroundings, and we are widely promoting the development of a workplace environment that ensures psychological safety.
The contents of consultations are kept confidential, and a system is in place to protect the privacy of the consultants and other parties involved.

We conduct an annual employee awareness survey with the aim of utilizing the results in planning and formulating management measures to improve the job satisfaction and engagement of each and every employee.
Under the supervision of outside experts, we have formulated and introduced our own original questions. The survey results, including comparisons over time, are used to analyze the current status, strengths, challenges, and other factors within the organization. We utilize this analysis to measures related to “Human Resource Development," “Build an Organization," and “Create an Environmental," which are the basic themes of our Human Resource Strategy.

【 Results of Employee Awareness Survey(FY2022）】

To promote understanding of sexual minorities (LGBTQ+), we conduct e-learning, study sessions for headquarters executives, and holiday seminars. In addition, as part of awareness-raising activities to increase the number of allies (people who support and endorse the activities of LGBTQ+ people), we have established communities on in-house social networking sites and distributed ALLY stickers to employees who request them. In addition, we are accelerating our efforts to respect the diverse family types of our employees, for example, by installing coed restrooms in the Bank of Yokohama head office building, and including de facto and same-sex marriage partners in the scope of employees' “spouses” for the purposes of benefit programs such as leaves and payments.
In recognition of these efforts, in FY2022 we became the first regional bank to receive the highest rating of “Gold” in the “Pride Index 2022” (operated by the volunteer organization “Work with Pride”), which evaluates initiatives for sexual minorities (LGBTQ+).