Securing and Developing Human Resources

Relevance to our business

With the globalization of our business of offering food to people around the world, about 70% of the Fuji Oil Group's approximately 6,000 consolidated employees are now based outside Japan. Human resources underpin our corporate activities, and are vital assets to achieve our goals and sustain business growth. We believe that the Group's growth depends on the growth of our diverse human resources as we vigorously pursue challenges and innovation, and constantly create new businesses, technologies and products together.

Basic approach

To grow sustainably, the Fuji Oil Group must make the most of the skills of our diverse workforce in order to fulfill the mission stated in our Group Management Philosophy and keep on serving the global food market. Our aim is to enable our global and diverse workforce to work together and maximize their potential. To that end, we provide growth opportunities and create a better workplace that align with our business strategies and respond to the constantly changing market.

Management system

In FY2022, Group companies carried out their own human resource development initiatives according to their business conditions, under the plan laid out by the Global HR Group at Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. In line with our identification of material ESG issues^*1 for FY2023, we transferred oversight under the material ESG issue and action theme of "securing and developing human resources." The Human Resource and Administration Division Head of Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. oversees initiatives in this area. The Sustainability Committee,^*2 an advisory body to the Board of Directors, monitors the progress and results of initiatives.

• *1 https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/materiality/

• *2 https://www.fujioilholdings.com/en/sustainability/sustainability_management/

Next Step

In FY2023, based on the Group policies for human resource initiatives, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. in Japan established a new human resource development section to enhance performance by providing a streamlined system that conducts both hiring and training. Using the following three concepts, we will develop training programs available to eligible employees regardless of their employment status.

To address these issues, we set the following goals for FY2023.

Development of human resources with global business skills

To keep up with the accelerating pace of our global strategies, we conduct initiatives to recruit, promote, and develop human resources that can demonstrate their capabilities globally.

Cultivating management personnel

In FY2020, Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. identified the qualities required of future executive managers and carried out comprehensive discussions on the global and strategic development of executive candidates. We select candidates from the entire Group regardless of their nationality, gender, or background and develop diverse executive managers who can move the Group forward.
In FY2022, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. identified the qualities required of its leaders and selected candidates with a view of fostering its future leaders. Sixteen selected candidates took a practical training program for about nine months, which included planning new businesses and making presentations to top management.
In addition, aiming to develop candidates for future management positions at an early stage, Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. and Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. have been conducting a training program since FY2016. This program incorporates performance assessments and aims at helping trainees to grasp their behavior trends in group and individual situations through group discussions and interview exercises. Fifteen employees underwent the training in FY2022. The program is designed to help the trainees understand what a manager should be like, and objectively identify their own strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, it involves post-training feedback meetings with their supervisors and HR Department staff, and on-the-job training (from planning to review). We aim to achieve trainees' steady growth by ensuring close involvement of supervisors and other relevant people in the training.

Human resource development to support globalization

At Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. and Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., we place great importance on developing personnel who will lead the Fuji Oil Group's global management, as well as personnel who will manage and lead business operations at corporations outside Japan. We consider them as the core management resource for continued growth and development of our business globally.
We conduct self-development and off-the-job training to improve the language skills of employees. We also work to develop their global mindset and have them gain business experience from a global perspective through postings at Group companies outside Japan according to their area of expertise.
In FY2022, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. conducted training to improve the English speaking skills of selected personnel engaged in work requiring English. In addition, we began full-scale implementation of our global trainee program in FY2021. The program provides trainees with a six-month foreign language study, followed by on-the-job training at their assigned Group company. It also seeks to encourage trainees to develop practical skills for identifying and solving problems as well as the capacity to be immersed in, and adapt to a different cultural environment. We thus work on early-stage development of candidates for future management positions at Group companies outside Japan.

Career support system

For employees working at Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. and Fuji Oil Co., Ltd., we provide upskilling support through training programs by job level, and financial assistance for distance learning courses, along with educational support and incentives for getting the proper work qualifications. We also provide employees with the opportunity to share growth and issues with their supervisors during their evaluation feedback. Individual employees also have a meeting with their supervisors once a year based on the Career Advancement Communication Sheet for reviewing the progress made toward their goals and their career aspirations. We endeavor to provide opportunities to foster career development, where employees flourish through suitable job assignments.
In FY2023, we launched the FUJI Learning Cafe, a cafeteria-style training program for fostering learning habits and a culture of continuous learning, and where employees can discuss with their supervisor and choose a program in line with the career direction they would like to pursue. We create a culture in which employees develop the direction of their own careers with the support of their supervisors. We will also expand the scope of the senior career training program that started in FY2022.

Employee engagement

Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. and Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. conduct an annual employee satisfaction survey. In this survey, we ask employees for their honest opinions on a wide range of topics, such as workplace environment and systems. The survey analysis results are given to executives and managers to improve business operations and the workplace environment.
Overall satisfaction in FY2022 was the same as in FY2021, maintaining a high level of satisfaction compared to benchmark. On the other hand, looking at individual survey items, there was insufficient understanding and awareness of corporate policies. Hence, we worked on boosting understanding by holding policy briefings and producing videos for division-level training. Starting in FY2023, we plan to change the survey method into an engagement survey that more accurately captures employee job satisfaction and motivation, which could not be measured by the present survey, and to rapidly implement measures to increase job satisfaction.

Dialogue between labor and management

The dialogue between labor and management is important for Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. since employees and the company should support each other. The HR Department serves as the company's contact point for dialogue with the Fuji Oil Workers Union, which represents the employees. The workers union was established at the same time as the company. Both entities have worked hard for 70 years to create a comfortable work environment for employees. The dialogue between labor and management takes place in a monthly forum consisting of representatives of the Human Resource and Administration Division of the Company and the executive committee members of the workers union. The aim of this forum is to encourage employees to maximize their potential, improve themselves and play active roles. When revising labor systems, we actively listen to the opinions of union members at each business site nationwide and make sure to increase the frequency of dialogues as necessary. The Fuji Oil Workers Union adopted a union shop system, and the participation rate of the Company's regular employees other than managers and executive officers is 100%.