A.Suntory's Career Vision System ensures that every staff member is provided with an opportunity to discuss their career with their managers once every year for their personal growth.
Under this system, the staff members have a meeting with their managers to discuss their career thoroughly, such as how fulfilling their current job is, what job they want to try to do, and which department they wish to be placed in. The HR Department then examines how each staff member should be developed and which position they should be assigned to, based on the Career Vision Sheet filled out by each staff member and their manager, as well as on the company's policy, to support their challenging career path.
How far will my own wishes regarding placement be met?
It is not possible to make decisions based solely on the preferences of individual staff members. However, the HR Department goes to every reasonable effort to ensure that the content of Self Assessment reports and the information obtained from the placement interview held before the group training course for new recruits are taken into account. Where necessary, internal application systems are set up for certain positions in each department. There is also the Career Challenge Program, which invites applications from staff who wish to work overseas in the future and be involved in business launch and set up in the future to take part in a year-long training program which will build practical experience that will be of benefit in the future.
Guidance sessions are held before new recruits join the company, in which detailed information is provided about the company outline, business deployment, corporate organization and the work of each department. At these sessions, new recruits are asked to fill in a Self Assessment form, detailing their preferences for department placement. A placement interview is held before the group training course run when new recruits join the company, where new recruits have the opportunity to discuss exactly where they would like to be placed, in terms of department and location. A final decision on placement will then be made by the HR Department. Placement is always decided based on a combination of the stated preferences of staff members, their suitability for available roles, and the overall staffing needs of the entire company.
There are no set rules for how often a member of staff is transferred, as we give priority to the individual Skills & Training Plans drawn up for each member of staff. On average, however, staff are transferred every 3-5 years.
Please tell me about accommodation provided to staff who are relocated for work.
Plenty of support is available. Company housing is provided, fully furnished. Staff can also make use of the Rent Support System which provides assistance for the leasing of non-company housing.
I’m interested in working overseas at some point. What departments or opportunities do you have outside of Japan?
The work we carry out abroad is very varied. For example, executive management of overseas offices and group companies; management of production sites; development of new markets; brand development and marketing; financial/legal managerial support, and so on. There are plenty of opportunities for you to work overseas. There is also considerable work related to our overseas businesses, which does not require you to actually move overseas, such as the marketing of overseas brands in Japan; distribution; procurement, and so on. This work is carried out in Japan, but requires considerable liaison and contact with staff and businesses overseas.
Please tell me about maternity and childcare leave.
There are three schemes in place for maternity & childcare-related leave, as follows:
Maternity leave: 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after childbirth
Childcare leave: until the day before the child’s third birthday
Contracted/flexible hours: from pregnancy until the child reaches junior high school
In addition to the above, flexitime, work-from-home and job return systems have been introduced for those staff who require greater flexibility for family reasons, such as pregnancy, childcare and nursing care. We are committed to supporting the life/work balance of our staff.
In FY2012, the number of staff who made use of the systems was as follows:
Childcare leave: 55 (100% take-up, 98% return)/ Contracted/flexible hours: 114
