Human Resource Management

In our Articles of Incorporation, we designate our employees as one of the Company’s principal stakeholders to realize our Corporate Concept (hhc), and enhance the value of our “human talent” by ensuring stable employment, respecting human rights and diversity, providing full opportunities for growth in support of self-fulfillment, and creating an employee-friendly environment.
We aim to effectively achieve social good by placing hhc and compliance as our core value for human resources, aligning our vision with what employees want to accomplish, and by providing an environment and programs that enable every employee to carry out their daily work with a sense of fulfillment and job satisfaction based on a strong sense of empathy with our corporate concept, and at the same time, support the growth and self-realization of the employees themselves.

We are focusing on strengthening organizational management, both in terms of systems and operations, in order to conduct the appropriate placement of human talent that supports the effective achievement of social good, treating them fairly, improving work engagement, and fostering a sound organizational climate.
In order to foster a climate that accepts and acknowledges differences in opinions and ideas among employees and promotes dialogue based on diverse values within the organization, we continue to work on simplifying the design of the organization and hierarchy, data-driven visualization of the characteristics and activities of the organization and its members, and developing and enhancing training programs that contribute to the improvement of management skills.
In addition, we support employee self-realization, along with careful management of goals, through fair screening of individual employees’ willingness and attitude toward work, performance and contribution to the company in light of the standards required for each role, as well as by conducting career reviews and providing opportunities to realize their potential.

Under the supervision of the Chief HR Officer (CHRO), we have established a system in which the HR organizations in each country work together globally to design and operate systems in order to maximize the performance of each employee, conduct optimal placement of human resources, and develop talent. This system allows us to understand issues concerning the management of the Company, including the rapidly changing business environment and diversifying employee values and work styles, and to swiftly resolve them, leading to the realization of management and business/divisional strategies. We have implemented a performance evaluation system for all employees globally. Through regular individual dialogues focused on goal setting, performance evaluation and feedback, we aim to achieve annual objectives.

In Japan, we also provide all employees with the Professional Development Review system to assist self-actualization that allows them to envision what they want to be in the future, understand their own strengths, weaknesses, and values, and incorporate it into action plans. We also provide a system that reflects each employee’s requests, ideas and opinions in personnel transfers, company policies and other measures. In order to enhance employee autonomy annual goal execution and growth potential, we promote quarterly meetings (mid-quarter reviews) between employees and their supervisors through guidelines and systems. This approach comes with not only reviewing the progress in business goals but also raising the likelihood of end-product completion and accelerate personal growth through checking and reassessing assessment results of quarterly action plans.

1）Engagement survey
To maximize the value of human resources, we have introduced an annual global engagement survey since fiscal 2021, surveying and indexing the awareness of employees awareness of employees on the company, work and organizational culture in all global companies of the Group, and utilized the results for analysis and action. 

In the 4th survey in fiscal 2024, the primary endpoint “Sustainable Engagement” maintained a score of 85 points, significantly exceeding ”Pharmaceutical Norm,” the global pharmaceutical company benchmark. While some regions improved as a result of ongoing initiatives, others struggled under the influence of business environment factors such as uncertainty over new product approvals, resulting in a flat outcome for the global total.

We also scored organizational culture across 15 other categories, with nine categories showing increases in scores from the previous fiscal year. Driven by the global launch of a drug that targets an underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease, we have maintained a heightened sense of contribution to patients, as well as strong levels of understanding and practice of “hhc,” “Goals & objectives,” and “ESG.” Scores for “Integrity & ethics,” “Customer focus,” “Communication and collaboration,” “DE&I^*1,” and “Psychological safety” are also trending upward, indicating that our organizational culture continues to improve.

　

“Innovation,” one of the challenging categories, improved by one point year-on-year, reaching a total of 70 points. Within this category, the question with the greatest improvement was “use of the latest technologies,” which rose three points from the previous fiscal year. Each of the other four questions linked to fostering a culture that facilitates innovation improved by one point year-on-year. Nevertheless, this category overall still has considerable room for improvement.

　

Regarding understanding and practice of our corporate concept, “hhc,” the item “Understanding of concerns through socialization” improved by one point, indicating progress in employees’ individual socialization. On the other hand, “Organizational creation of ideas based on socialization” remained at 76 points, showing limited growth and leaving significant room for improvement. Strengthening efforts in this area alongside building a culture of innovation will continue to be necessary going forward.

　

Another challenge category, “Leadership,” declined by two points year-on-year, marking a second consecutive year of decrease. This category reflects the score for employees’ sense of satisfaction with the company’s vision, strategies, and plans, which was significantly affected in some regions by a temporary uncertainty regarding new product approvals, which have now been granted. Addressing information asymmetry between the company and employees regarding management information, as well as strengthening two-way dialogue, has been designated as an important common global action. We are working to enhance both the quality and quantity of town hall meetings where executives engage with employees, and to improve methods of information sharing. While some regions have seen results, we recognize that further continuous efforts will be necessary for employees’ sense of satisfaction.

2）Initiatives Toward Enhancement of Organizational Strength
In order to visualize important positions and talents in the company globally, we identify important positions and formulate a succession plans with talent requirements and skill maps. At the same time, we have created development plans based on the experience and knowledge of successor candidates and are striving to produce global leaders systematically and sustainably. For positions that cannot be filled with the existing talents, we hire personnel and reassign personnel across regions to strengthen our global talent management. Regarding next-generation talents who have been recognized through these activities, corporate human resource managers conduct individual interviews on-site, and work to create a talent map that includes not only the status of duties but also future career plans of candidates.

3）Job Challenge (Internal Job Posting System)
In Japan, we are promoting the “Job Challenge," an Internal Job Posting System that allows employees to apply voluntarily for internal transfers, thereby strengthening the realization of the human talent allocation based on employees’ career preferences. We anticipate fostering a culture of career ownership through this system. After its introduction in 2016, a total of 59 employees have realized an internal transfer through the system to develop their new careers as of FY2025.

4) 360° Leadership Survey
Starting from fiscal year 2025, Eisai Co., Ltd. has introduced a 360° Leadership Survey targeting all organizational leaders. This system collects feedback from supervisors, team members, and peers to provide a comprehensive perspective. Under the theme of “Positive & Casual,” the program is designed to be separate from personnel evaluations, aiming to facilitate smoother organizational management through dialogue and to encourage behavioral change that promotes personal growth among leaders.
In its first year, the survey will be conducted with approximately half of the organizational leaders (around 200 individuals). Following the survey, a “Management Dojo” will be held to support reflection on the data and the development of action plans for behavioral transformation.