Human Resources Strategy
Relevant SDGs
At Seiko Group, we are dedicated to enhancing employee satisfaction, fostering innovation, and transitioning into a solution-oriented company. To achieve this goal, we actively work on talent development, improving diversity, and fostering an organizational culture that encourages innovation.
Policy and Basic Approach
Human Capital Management to Realize Group Purpose
Our Group's human capital management focuses on human resource strategies that foster talent and a culture that embodies our Group purpose. By developing individuals who accept challenges, grow constantly, and are ready to innovate, we aim to achieve our medium-to-long-term vision, enhance corporate value, and generate further investment in human capital. In other words, we are investing in a self-perpetuating virtuous cycle of talent development.
Human Resource Strategy Linked to the 8th Medium-Term Management Plan "SMILE145"
The basic policy of our Group human resources strategy is to "actively engage in human resource development, diversity enhancement, and organizational culture creation, improve employee job satisfaction, and aim to become a solutions company through innovation." Within this framework, we have set key themes such as "talent development," "promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)," and "creating a healthy organizational culture," along with foundation activities such as "health management" and "respect for human rights." We are working on Group-wide initiatives and domain-specific measures for each operating company.
Talent Development
Developing Human Resources for Managerial Roles
In an increasingly complex operating environment, the Seiko Group pursues a variety of programs to increase corporate value and achieve sustainable growth. These initiatives are based on the belief that the early and systematic development of human resources who will lead the Group’s management and the promotion of its businesses is essential. We classify management leader candidates within the Group into three levels: top successors, core leaders, and future leaders. Based on this classification, we operate the following programs.
- Nominate successor candidates for key posts within the Group and formulate development plans (succession plans)
- Implement talent visualization measures to fast track employees to the Group’s senior management
- Conduct management literacy training for next-generation leader candidates
- Advance the promotion of program participants to more challenging roles (tough assignments).
In the training program for next-generation leadership candidates, we select employees with diverse backgrounds from Group companies to spend approximately one year learning the fundamentals of management strategy while creating their visions as transformation leaders and developing leadership skills. After the candidates complete the program, we accelerate their growth by assigning them to more demanding roles and duties where the environment changes significantly.
Management Support
As workplace diversity progresses, employee awareness and values also diversify, making uniform management theories less applicable. Meanwhile, management’s roles in areas such as risk management and compliance are steadily increasing, adding to the burden on executives. We have introduced a platform that continuously provides useful information for smooth communication and appropriate responses among participants. In order to support early-stage managers, we produce and promote original videos offering practical know-how on motivational strategies and factors to consider in personnel evaluation, as well as real-world examples of success and failure from interviews with experienced executives. We plan to conduct workshops to share workplace concerns, challenges, and initiatives from other departments to further strengthen organizational management.
Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Promoting the Empowerment of Women
Since fiscal year 2013, the Seiko Group has continuously strengthened diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives with a focus on promoting the empowerment of women. In addition to its efforts thus far to enhance frameworks and systems, in fiscal year 2024 the Group launched the Seiko Woman Academy as a new program to develop next-generation female leaders. The program aims to ensure that female employees chosen from Group companies create their own vision of an ideal leader and proactively aspire to achieve career advancement. To support this, it offers opportunities for dialogue with role models both inside and outside the Group, as well as leadership development activities that build on participants’ individual strengths. Through this initiative, we are seeing an expansion in the formation of networks among participants and in understanding and awareness within the Group. In these ways, we are establishing a foundation for achieving a ratio of female employees in managerial positions of 20% by April 2027. To this end, we will continue to develop supportive measures and environments that empower female employees to leverage their unique strengths and characteristics to advance their careers. We are dedicated to building organizations that adapt to change and empower diverse talent to succeed.
Eruboshi Certification (Three Stars)
The Eruboshi certification is a system that recognizes companies actively creating workplace environments where women can thrive. Companies that meet the criteria in all five areas—Recruitment, Continued Employment, Working Hours, Ratio of Women in Managerial Positions, and Diverse Career Paths—are certified in three levels.
Under the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace, our Company obtained the highest level, Three Stars, in August 2025, certified by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
Work-Life Balance Support
The Seiko Group aims to create an environment where employees can continue to work with peace of mind while balancing their personal lives with their work responsibilities. To achieve this goal, the Group is developing systems to realize flexible workstyles and conducting initiatives to encourage workplace understanding. In particular, to promote the taking of childcare leave among male employees, in fiscal year 2022 the Group adopted childcare leave at birth with a maximum of four weeks of full pay. In addition, we proactively support male participation in childcare by communicating messages from senior management that raise awareness of childcare leave, holding seminars, and sharing the personal experiences of male employees who have taken childcare leave.Thanks to these efforts, the percentage of eligible male employees taking childcare leave reached 91.4% in fiscal year 2024. Despite this achievement, we will strengthen further awareness-raising initiatives with the aim of ensuring 100% of eligible male employees take childcare leave. The Group will continue to proactively conduct initiatives supporting flexible workstyles that are unconstrained by time or place in consideration of both employee life events and operational efficiency. These initiatives include shorter working hours and the use of working from home arrangements and shared offices.
Mid-Career Hiring
The Seiko Group is proactively engaging in mid-career hiring to accelerate organizational transformation and the spurring of innovation by incorporating fresh expertise and diverse values. In its recruitment activities, the Group ensures fair and impartial screening processes and implements initiatives to strengthen communication, helping midcareer hires quickly adapt and thrive in their new roles. In recent years, we have also seen an increase in the number of former employees—members of our “alumni” network—rejoining the Group after gaining experience and perspectives outside the organization. Those rejoining the Group not only make immediate contributions but also have a positive impact on organizations.
Establishing Systems for Flexible Working Styles
As values regarding work styles diversify, we believe it is essential to create an environment where employees can work productively without being constrained by location or time. In addition to establishing a system of shorter working hours to accommodate childcare and nursing care, we continue to support remote work and shared office systems in order to promote flexible, efficient working styles regardless of time or location.
Care Leave and Short-Time Work for Caregivers
Seiko Group Corporation has established systems that exceed legal requirements for care leave and shortened working hours for caregivers.
| Care Leave: | The leave period is up to 365 days per eligible family member |
|---|---|
| Shorter Working Hours for Caregivers: |
The applicable period is up to three years from the time an employee first uses the system Employees can choose from various work models, with a reduction of either 90 or 150 minutes per day |
In addition to the above, we have introduced flexible working hours and telecommuting for caregivers.
Activating Senior Talent
We are actively working to improve the situation for senior employees. We want to create an environment where they feel that they are still contributing meaningfully to our corporate growth by nurturing their successors and constantly improving our operations.
Promoting Employment of People with Disabilities
In recognition of their efforts to meet the challenge of diversity, Seiko Group Corp. and seven operating companies (Seiko Watch Corp. and its two domestic subsidiaries; Seiko Time Creation; Wako Co.; Human Capital Corporation; and Aoba Watch Service) have received special certification within the Group.
As of June 1, 2025, our employment rate for persons with disabilities has reached 2.50%, meeting the legally mandated rate.
Promotion of Local Employment
Our Group conducts business globally and proudly promotes local employment at its overseas locations.
Organizational Culture Reform
To drive fresh innovation, it is vital that diverse employees can transcend organizational boundaries both physically and psychologically to engage in free and broad-minded discussions. To this end, the Seiko Group works to develop environments that allow employees to take on challenges without fearing failure.
Company-Wide Organizational Culture Reform Initiatives
The Group believes that it must enhance Group synergies and develop a new corporate culture that drives innovation if it is to transform itself into a solutions company. To this end, in fiscal year 2023 it launched the SWING Project, an initiative for promoting organizational culture reform. SWING is an acronym of Seiko (the Seiko Group), Will, Identify, Natural, and Glory. The project name expresses our desire to “swing” our organizational culture, creating waves that shake and transform it. In fiscal year 2025, we will introduce the Seiko Group Internal Recruitment System and the Career Challenge System as measures to boost the career autonomy of employees. Providing support for employees to take on challenges on their own volition in new areas will enable them to acquire multifaceted perspectives and flexible thinking skills. This approach will spur creativity and drive innovation across the Group. We will also maintain our existing initiatives for promoting interactions and communication across vertical and horizontal organizational boundaries. At the same time, we will further enhance employee engagement by encouraging them to embrace challenges autonomously.
Fundamental Activities
To drive fresh innovation, it is vital that diverse employees can transcend organizational boundaries both physically and psychologically to engage in free and broad-minded discussions. To this end, the Seiko Group works to develop environments that allow employees to take on challenges without fearing failure.
Respect for Human Rights
As part of our human rights initiatives, in fiscal year 2024 we provided LGBTQ+ training for employees in charge of personnel matters at Group companies. The training strengthened participants’ understanding of considerations for gender diversity and proper responses in the workplace.
