Human Capital

As a trust group with the strengths of its wide array of functions and diversified business portfolio, our Group has placed emphasis on “utilizing the diversity and creativity of each employee for company management.” The concept of diversity, equity, and inclusion under the doctrine of fair and equitable treatment is enshrined in our management principles(mission) so that employees with diverse attributes and backgrounds can add value to the organization. We will implement various measures to help each employee achieve the aspirations.

We are putting great effort in human resource development by defining “personnel with fundamental knowledge of trust who can combine multiple areas of expertise, independently assess their area of focus and integrate their specialty as they shape their own careers” as “autonomous career-oriented personnel” and the Group is committed to create such personnel. We aim to enhance the Group’s value by creating human resource portfolio that enables the Group to realize corporate strategy through virtuous circulation, which is being made in between of individual capabilities gained by each employee’s challenge and growth to materialize its aiming future as well as organizational strength based on integration of wide array of functions and expertise that each employee has.

Guided by SuMi TRUST Group's management principles (mission), we seek to harness the diversity and creativity of each and every individual - the very concept behind diversity, equity and inclusion - and our Basic Policy for Personnel Affairs Management aims to add value to the organization by making full use of the diversity and creativity of all employees. The business model of a trust bank group should aim to offer added value to its clients by leveraging the breadth of diversity throughout the organization. While we have always believed in respecting diversity as an organization, we consider it vital that our employees reaffirm the strengths of the Group so that we can continue to enhance our diversity. SuMi TRUST Group and SuMi TRUST Bank have each established a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Office (D& Office) within the Human Resources Department. SuMi TRUST Bank's DE&I Office comprises dedicated employees from the Human Resources Department and business supervising departments. In addition to promoting the diversification of work styles for individual employees, the DE&I Office implements measures that best suit the situation of each business with the aim of enhancing corporate value.

SuMi TRUST Group views OJT as the foundation for human resource development. We also focus on assigning employees to roles that awaken their passion for growth and allow them to display their abilities to the maximum extent. In fiscal year 2018, SuMi TRUST Bank introduced a program that enables younger employees to experience multiple work domains within a fixed period. We are also advancing initiatives such as a trust internship program aimed at developing human resources who possess a "high degree of expert knowledge in trust operations" and a "deep understanding of the fiduciary spirit."

*OJT: On-the-Job Training. OJT is a process whereby workplace supervisors and senior employees teach subordinates the knowledge, skills, and duties required of them via their daily tasks.

SuMi TRUST Group has established the SuMiTRUST University to offer group training with the objective of improving employee business skills and management abilities. In addition, many opportunities in the self-development programs encourage employees to continue improving their skills. The company's president serves as the dean of SuMiTRUST University, while the executive officer in charge of the Human Resources Department and an external expert serve as vice deans. The university is a group-wide program that also receives advice regarding management from the graduate school of Hitotsubashi University. From FY2020 we plan to turn SuMiTRUST University into a platform through which employees can discover their own appetite for learning, connect with others around them, and learn from each other. We also intend to enhance the content offered and strengthen the university's infrastructure so that it is more user-friendly.

*Off-the-job training: Workshops, training, and other methods are utilized to provide employees with the knowledge and skills that cannot be acquired through OJT.

SuMi TRUST Bank offers a program to develop next-generation executive candidates in cooperation with Hitotsubashi University's Graduate Programs. Candidates receive instruction on the values, general liberal arts knowledge, and MBA elements they need for management, and through sessions and courses, they complete the program by presenting a proposal to senior executives. The Bank also provides a leadership development program for female employees to step up to management through various rank-based training. After the employees complete their training, operations are conducted such as providing them with opportunities to practice what they have learned during training in a variety of environments, primarily through promotion and job rotation.

Fair and just evaluations and treatment in accordance with abilities, roles, and results form the basis of SuMi TRUST Bank's performance evaluation system. The system used is based on a participatory model, in which employees communicate closely with their supervisors on a daily basis to establish and review specific goals. The process focuses not only issues related to the performance of duties, but formulates and provides feedback on future career development. Also, as a means of obtaining a multifaceted view of personnel, we have introduced an anonymous survey through which subordinates and others can rate the day-to-day management actions of line managers (general managers, deputy general managers, section managers, etc.). By conducting this survey, we can encourage management action reform and foster a culture of interactive communication.

Mental and physical health is the foundation of well-being and the driving force for value creation. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank will strive to achieve a company where employees can work vigorously in good health and demonstrate their performance by appointing the well-being promotion director to provide a safe and pleasant work environment and supporting each employee in raising health awareness and promoting health in collaboration with the society-managed health insurance, the health promotion center (in-house clinic), and Human Resources Department.

In recognition of its efforts to promote the physical and mental health of all employees, the Group has been certified as a "White 500 company under the Outstanding Organizations of KENKO Investment for Health Program " for seven consecutive years. With the aim of improving the health literacy of all employees, the Group strives to promote and raise health awareness through study sessions for the top management level, training for management, seminars and e-learning for personnel, and other programs. In addition to annual health checkups, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank has implemented a non-smoking policy in all of its buildings and lowered the age limit for breast and cervical cancer examinations for physical health. The Bank also provides individual guidance to ensure that employees who need medical attention as a result of their health checkups consult with doctors, and the recent rate of employees receiving a full medical checkup was 80.1%. With regard to mental health, it has held seminars on mental health measures and set up counseling rooms where clinical psychologists provide counseling. Currently, the Bank is focusing on supporting women's health. The effectiveness of these health measures will be verified through stress checks or measurement of presenteeism and absenteeism to improve and adopt the measures widely.

The Group is working to create a corporate culture that encourages challenge and learning and to revitalize two-way communication in order to "provide opportunities for all employees to play an active role and grow in a rewarding manner. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank is also working to improve the communication skills of the management level by holding the business unit manager school where the business unit managers serve as lecturers to convey their own experiences and knowledge and introducing 1-on-1 coaching training, thereby developing an open workplace environment that guarantees psychological safety. Further, it has introduced employee awareness surveys and pulse surveys as a mechanism to convey the voices of employees to the top management and management levels.