Diversity
Employees Hired From All Over the World
The group is expanding its presence in various regions and so employs people of a range of nationalities. Benesse Corporation mainly recruits and trains personnel in East Asia to meet the needs of its growing educational services business, while Berlitz Corporation recruits and trains in over 70 countries (including franchise operations).
Promoting Active Participation of Women in the Workforce
Consumer-oriented perspectives are crucial to the Benesse Group's businesses, such as the education and childcare business and senior/nursing care business. Thus, all human resources, regardless of their gender, are required to make the most of their individual strengths to perform high-value-added work.
At Benesse Style Care Co., Ltd., female workers represent 74% of all employees. Many of these women are working as heads of nursing homes and childcare facilities. The company believes that helping staff to enhance their capabilities and encouraging them to remain active in their various job roles and working assignments, contributes to customer's peace of mind and helps to improve the services they receive. For this reason, Benesse Style Care has bolstered its childcare support, which includes a childcare allowance to support full-time regular employees who have children in childcare centers, a reduction in work hours to help look after children until they reach the 3rd grade in elementary school, and efforts to improve the management abilities of those in administrative positions.
Benesse Corporation has a history of more than 25 years working to promote the active roles for women in the workplace. Through various changes over the years, the company has developed systems to support these efforts together with employees. Benesse Corporation seeks to put the main emphasis on career support based on a well-managed professional and personal life, with initiatives going beyond merely helping employees to balance their work and childcare or nursing care duties. The company also aims to rigorously implement work-life management initiatives as a personnel measure not just for women, but for all employees.
In April 2016, Benesse Corporation achieved the third rank (highest rank) in the designation system of the Act for Promoting Active Participation of Women in the Workforce . Companies receiving the third rank must meet the standards set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the five aspects of 1) recruitment, 2) work continuity, 3) working style including work hours, 4) ratio of women in management, and 5) diversity of career paths.
Benesse is determined to promote its initiatives in this area even further going forward.
(Reference) Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare database website for companies promoting active participation of women (in Japanese)
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Support Based on a Management Policy that Sees People as the Essence of Services
We strive to support employees even during pregnancy or when they are busy with childcare, so that they can remain active at work and make the most of their individual strengths. In the nursing care business, our core operation, there are many aspects of the job, such as shift work and assistance with physical transfers of elderly residents, that require consideration and respect to women who are pregnant or caring for children. For this reason, as one way of offering support, we prepare a guidance brochure containing all the considerations to note during pregnancy and after returning from leave. The brochure is provided to individual employees when they become pregnant, while allowing the supervisor to confirm the content as well. The goal is to put both the employee and the supervisor on the same page in terms of the substance of various systems, specific work considerations and so on, in order to ensure that the employee can continue working with a sense of reassurance.
In businesses like nursing care and childcare, people are the essence of services. To deliver good service and grow our businesses, we will continue our efforts to ensure that many more employees can remain active at work for a longer time.
Employment of Workers with Disabilities
The Benesse Group is working to create exciting, fulfilling workplaces where people of all abilities and disabilities can work together and make the most of their individual abilities and aptitudes. It is therefore an active employer of people with disabilities and maintains a high level of compliance with statutory employment rates. The Benesse Group as a whole aims to create an environment in which diverse individuals are accepted and employment of people with disabilities is completely normal.
Arrangements for employment of people with disabilities in the Benesse Group
| Division | Role | Responsibilities |
| Benesse Holdings Human Resource Department | Responsibility for employment of people with disabilities in the group |
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|---|---|---|
| Benesse Business Mate (hosts the Disabled Employment Promotion Office) |
Secretariat for employment of people with disabilities by group companies, employment and retainment support |
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| Group companies | Employment of people with disabilities at the level of individual companies |
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Initiatives undertaken by Benesse Business Mate
Benesse Business Mate was established as a special-purpose subsidiary in 2005 to promote employment of people with disabilities by Benesse Corporation, Benesse Style Care, and other group companies.
It was joined in 2016 by Benesse Socius, which was established as a Type A ongoing employment support business, creating further employment within the group.
Certification as a "disability-friendly employer" (Benesse Business Mate)
Benesse Business Mate was certified as a "disability-friendly employer" on March 29, 2018.
This certification scheme is run by the Japan Association of Employers of Persons with Severe Disabilities (Zenjukyo) on behalf of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
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In order to be certified as a disability-friendly employer, a company must meet the following conditions:
- It must take active steps to provide working conditions to retain and support people with disabilities.
- It must actively and continuously promote employment of people with disabilities.
- It must be a trustworthy, good corporate citizen with whom people with disabilities can play active roles.
Last updated : 2018/12/25