Top > Corporate Social Responsibility > [Activity Report] Human Resources > Creating Employee-centered Workplaces
- Enhancing the Childcare Leave System
- Benesse Evening University
- Awards System Aimed at Enhancing Employee Satisfaction and Staff Retention Rates
- Teleworking System
- "Cafeteria-Style" Employee Welfare Plan
- Benesse Leave
- Family Participation Day – a chance for children of Benesse employees to learn about their parents’ work activities
Enhancing the Childcare Leave System
A male employee on paternity leave
Benesse Corporation aims to allow every employee to use their abilities to the fullest, working according to their individual life stages. To this end, since the 1990s, the company has introduced childcare support and nursing support systems, with the goal of creating a healthy working environment. Moreover, the company has continuously enhanced the implementation of these systems to ensure that employees actually use them.
From fiscal 2006 Benesse Corporation began providing financial support for workers taking childcare leave to ensure that employees, especially men, could actually use the childcare leave system if they wish. Beginning in fiscal 2009, the childcare leave program has offered both men and women who take childcare leave 1/2 pay for three months of their leave. Benesse Corporation’s childcare leave system has several distinguishing features. For example, the company allows parents with small children to take childcare leave, and the period covered extends beyond the child’s first birthday, to the next subsequent April, when children can enter nursery school. This exceeds the requirements established under Japan’s employment regulations. The company also allows employees to return to work by April 15, to provide for any adjustment period needed for children to settle into nursery school.
As a result, in fiscal 2010, 13 men took advantage of the childcare leave system.
Ratio of Employees Returning After Childcare Leave (Fiscal 2008 to Fiscal 2010)
Number of Male Employees on Paternity Leave (Fiscal 2008 to Fiscal 2010)
Benesse Evening University
Benesse Evening University
In-house communication activities within Benesse Corporation include the monthly "Morning Meeting" and Benesse Group newsletter, "C", as well as the company intranet, which goes by the name "Begin." Since fiscal 2009, in order to shorten the lines of communication between top management and employees, the company has held a communication forum called "Benesse Evening University." In fiscal 2010, five discussion sessions among management, employees, external guests and other participants were held, based on the main themes of “increasing penetration of the corporate philosophy” and “relationships between corporate management and employees.”
Awards System Aimed at Enhancing Employee Satisfaction
and Staff Retention Rates
In order to enhance employees’ satisfaction and boost staff retention rates, Telemarketing Japan, Inc. holds company-wide awards ceremonies to recognize departments, teams and individuals who have produced results. Awards include the President's Award as well as the Best Employee Satisfaction Award and Employee Satisfaction Improvement Measure Award for call centers with the highest or most improved employee satisfaction. In fiscal 2010, ten centers received these awards.
The fiscal 2010 awards ceremony
Group photo after awards ceremony
Teleworking System
In fiscal 2009, Benesse Corporation introduced a teleworking system, with the goals of facilitating high-productivity by allowing employees to work efficiently, promoting increased efficiency and productivity across the entire organization, and enabling employees to live more satisfying lives to enhance their ability to create value at work.
Outline of Teleworking System
| Eligible employees | Full-time employees above a certain grade * Not restricted to child raising, nursing care or other such purposes |
|---|---|
| Standards | ·Telework is implemented only in sections where the general manager determines that it is feasible ·Teleworkers engage in duties conducive to telework, such as planning and design, and editorial work, and have a separate space within their residence where they can concentrate on work |
| Frequency | Up to five times a month |
| Method of operation | Work schedules are determined in advance (one week beforehand, if possible) and are made known to the supervisor and other team members. Teleworkers make sure to contact their supervisors by e-mail or telephone when starting or ending work and obtaining flex-time |
| Number of teleworkers | 200 (As of Sep.2011) |
"Cafeteria-Style" Employee Welfare Plan
This employee welfare program allows employees to choose the services they receive according to their life plans, within an allowance of points from a “menu” of services. The program seeks to address as much as possible the increasingly diverse values and needs of individuals across different work locations, ages, genders and other factors. In essence, it is a welfare program where each employee can freely choose the benefits they receive. In 2011, the Company decided to issue an annual allowance of 238 points per employee. (Although the amount of points consumed varies according to the selected menu benefit, 238 points would equate to a value of ¥238,000 assuming 1 point is worth ¥1,000.)
Cafeteria Plan Benefits Menu
| Benefit Category | Menu |
|---|---|
| Childcare / education | Daycare allowance |
| Babysitting allowance | |
| Childcare at Tokyo Head Office | |
| Subsidy for Shinkenzemi course fees | |
| Allowance for en-Famille food delivery service | |
| Medical | Hospitalization allowance |
| Allowance for housekeeping assistance in event of hospitalization or incapacity | |
| Medical expense allowance (for treatment covered by health insurance) | |
| Medical expense allowance (for treatment excluded by health insurance) | |
| Nursing care | Nursing care allowance |
| Health promotion | Employee medical checkup allowance |
| Family medical checkup allowance | |
| Physiotherapy or massage allowance | |
| Sports club allowance | |
| Financial planning | Employee savings scheme subsidy |
| Employee pension scheme subsidy | |
| Shareholding association grant (proportional and fixed amount) | |
| Shareholding association grant (continuous accumulation) | |
| Shareholding association grant (new membership) | |
| Shareholding association grant (resumption of contributions) | |
| Shareholding association grant (rejoining) | |
| Risk management | Counseling and consulting allowance |
| Insurance allowance (life, non-life and private pension) | |
| Benesse Insurance Service automobile group insurance | |
| Security proofing allowance | |
| Housing | Allowance for house-related financial planning |
| Subsidy for housing loan interest | |
| Others | Allowance for volunteer activity costs |
Benesse Leave
In fiscal 2009, Benesse Corporation launched the Benesse Leave system by upgrading and expanding the scope of its pre-existing “Refresh Leave” system.
The Benesse Leave system was established to reward employees for their service at important junctures in their careers and encourage them to work with a renewed sense of purpose. Benesse Corporation employees marking 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of continuous service on April 1 each year are eligible for this leave. Eligible employees are offered special paid leave according to the number of years of service and are paid an additional Benesse Leave Grant after using their holidays. Benesse Corporation hopes that employees taking Benesse Leave will expand their horizons by having more opportunities to participate in family life and their local communities. In fiscal 2010, the number of employees taking Benesse Leave was 335, while the ratio of employees taking this leave was 79.6%.
Outline of Benesse Leave
| Eligible employees | Number of days of leave granted | Benesse Leave Grant |
|---|---|---|
| 5, 10, 15, and 25 years of continuous service | 5 days | ¥30,000 |
| 20 years of continuous service | 10 days | ¥100,000 |
| 30 years of continuous service | 15 days | ¥150,000 |
* The Benesse Leave Grant is paid only to employees who take their leave
Family Participation Day – a chance for children of Benesse employees to learn about their parents’ work activities
In August 2011, Benesse Corporation, Learn-S Co., Ltd. and Benesse Base-Com, Inc.organized “Family Participation Day” activities, in which the children of employees toured the offices where their parents work, and learned about Benesse Group operations. By giving children a chance to see their parents at work, we aim to make them more aware of what their parents do for a living, and also help to facilitate deeper communication between parents and children. On “Family Participation Day”, children accompanied their parents to work. Their itinerary for the day included (1) a tour of the offices where their parents work, (2) a “stamp rally” event, (3) lunch in the company cafeteria and then (4) participation in discussions and presentation programs. They also had a chance to meet the company president and vice president, and to exchange business cards. In this way, they were able to get a taste of what working at Benesse is like.
Participating children made comments such as: “I was a bit nervous but I am glad I learned about the company,” and “the employees at the company are really friendly, and help each other out.” Subsequently, Synform Co., Ltd. also held a “Family Participation Day”, and in the future, companies throughout the Group plan to continue conducting this sort of event.
