Human Resource Development and Career Development

Introduction

Ryohin Keikaku operates globally and aims to build autonomous, decentralized organizations. We will recruit the people necessary to support new store openings in Japan and overseas and provide training to realize independent store management. We will create an environment that enables organizations to grow autonomously and support employees who seek to learn and grow. We want to develop talented individuals with a deep knowledge of each country and region, empowering them to lead growth in their respective areas. In addition, we aim to create a vibrant organization by developing future managerial talent as well as headquarters and overseas personnel, and then fast tracking and promoting such personnel to key positions.
Ryohin Keikaku provides a variety of training programs for new employees, managers and executives in order to create a culture in which all employees and staff members are challenged to set high goals, work hard and feel a sense of fulfillment when they achieve them. Our goal is to contribute to individual growth and the improvement of professional knowledge and skills.

Enhancing Training Programs

We are working to develop education and training systems, as well as opportunities to support autonomous growth, to meet the needs of employees who want to learn and grow throughout their careers.

1. Training Store Managers Who Will Promote Independent Store Management

Training store managers who will promote independent store management is critical for realizing “a truthful and sustainable life for all.” We have launched a two-year Store Manager Cultivation Project to instill the mindset and skills needed to be a store manager through a combination of training and on-the-job development. As of the end of August 2024, approximately 650 employees are participating in the program. We are also strengthening elective training and e-learning to develop the business skills necessary for carrying out independent store management. For the development of store staff, as an aid to trainers, we are developing educational tools to support on-the-job training in stores (such as skills management charts and educational videos), and working to promote a training mindset.

2. Leader Talent Development

In 2022, we began the Leadership Talent Development Session, in which executives, general managers and managers from Japan and overseas come together to discuss issues with the president. Topics have included corporate culture, organizational climate and work style. As of the end of August 2024, a total of 291 people had participated. The event is a discussion-type session in which participants talk about the mindset and behavior necessary to produce results in day-to-day business, deepen their mutual understanding and then link their actions to improvement in daily operations. Through this session, we will develop the leadership talent necessary to maximize our performance as an organization.
We have also established the Human Resource Development Committee, which discusses the development and appointment of future leadership candidates, as well as approaches to individual leadership development and domestic and overseas rotations. We identify the strengths and challenges of each individual, and are building a talent pipeline (development plan) aimed at early promotion to management for personnel who gain experience in multiple divisions during their 20s before taking on management roles in their early 30s.

3. Quality Control and Industrial Engineering Training

At Ryohin Keikaku, we emphasize quality control and industrial engineering* as a foundation for promoting operational improvements and developing problem-solving skills. We provide employees with training to acquire and implement quality control and industrial engineering skills and knowledge, enabling them to take the initiative in making improvements in operations or service at stores and in their own departments. The training is open to anyone, regardless of their job position. In 2024/8, 39 people participated in total. By instilling the ideas of quality control and industrial engineering throughout the Company, we will develop a corporate culture of proactiveness and independence—one in which employees review and improve upon their own work processes.

* A universal approach to identifying and resolving issues in order to increase the quality of products and services, as well as a methodology for maximizing their value by finding and eliminating waste.

4. Support for Improving Business Skills

We are enhancing business skill improvement training for headquarters employees and managers. Training themes include business strategy, business development, marketing, communication, organizational management and data analysis. We provide a basic version and a practical version so that people can participate based on their level. In the training, for which we invite external lecturers, the programs combine the acquisition of specialist skills and knowledge with hands-on workshops. In 2024/8, 505 people participated.

5. Overseas Training

Starting in 2024/8, we have begun enhancing overseas training to support growth as a global company. The training includes on-site visits to overseas divisions, lectures on markets and the implementation of initiatives aimed at solving local challenges. It is designed for employees aspiring to work in overseas business roles in the future and enables them to experience local markets firsthand. It also aims to have them engage directly with current challenges and future priorities. All employees, including part-time employees, are eligible to apply for the training. In 2024/8 it was held twice across eight countries and regions, with 96 participants.

6. Anti-Harassment Training

To prevent harassment in accordance with the Group’s Compliance Code of Conduct, we regularly hold anti-harassment training sessions. In 2024/8, harassment training sessions were conducted for a total of 10,110 employees, including partner employees, with a participation rate of 85.9%.

7. Language Learning Assistance

To support employee’s self-improvement efforts, employees, contract employees and some partner employees are eligible to receive partial subsidies for personal language study, including English, Chinese, and Japanese, the language of the country where MUJI operates and other languages used by the employee in work.

8. Publicly Solicited Initiatives

In aiming to create a corporate culture of proactiveness and independence, we have also been actively developing publicly solicited initiatives. In July 2023, we launched Team ESG, a group of volunteers who are very interested in the topic of sustainability. Approximately 400 people* are a part of the project. The team holds study sessions and events on major themes and good practices in the Company related to ESG management. In April 2024, we also launched Team Regional Revitalization, with approximately 460 participants.* The team invites external lecturers, and participants learn from one another while enhancing their knowledge regarding how to solve regional issues and finding ways to put that knowledge into practice.

* As of the end of December 2024

9. Community Manager Training Program

We are focusing on the training of community managers who have the role of planning and conducting business activities within each region. Community managers are expected to connect with various people and organizations in the region, such as government agencies, companies, business operators, producers and local residents, and to find ways to resolve regional issues. In this training program, trainees are encouraged to reflect on their own values and relationships with others, experience Ryohin Keikaku’s philosophy and vision more deeply, and develop into individuals who can put what truly matters to them into practice in their work.

10. Lifestyle Organizing School

The Lifestyle Organizing School was launched in 2018 as an internal training program to develop talent who can discover the charms of local life and propose business plans based on them. Participants visit local communities, communicate with citizens active in the community and local governments in order to develop business plans for the betterment of the community. Since 2018, six sessions have been held, and approximately 102 employees have participated in these sessions (as of the end of August 2024).

Training System

Systems for Proactive Career Building

Based on the idea that employees themselves are the owners of their careers, we have established a variety of systems and training programs for proactive career building.

1. Career Design Workshops

We hold career design workshops to foster an awareness of proactive career building among employees and to support them in doing so. Perspectives on future careers and concerns such as balancing work with life events can vary significantly depending on an individual’s life path and work experience. We therefore offer a wide range of workshops to help participants better understand themselves and clarify their career vision. As one particular program, we hold a career workshop for younger female employees worried about their long-term career development and advancement. The aim is not just to help them envision their career path, but to also make it more actionable by looking at actual issues and potential biases, and then to create opportunities for making changes in behavior.

2. Internal Recruiting

At Ryohin Keikaku, we conduct internal recruiting on a six-month basis. This system gives employees an opportunity to proactively develop their careers. Employees can apply for any division, including overseas operations, enabling them to take on the challenge of a new job based on their own ambition and skills. In addition, we are also working to create an environment that makes it easy for employees to envision their careers. We have set up a website that clearly presents each division’s mission, business activities and required skills, and periodically hold division introduction events.

3. Career Statements and Career Consultations

To give employees the opportunity to regularly reflect on their career plans and discuss them with supervisors, we have established a system in which employees submit a career statement every six months and hold career consultations with their supervisors. The career statements encompass questions for the employee about sources of motivation and fulfillment at work, the kind of workstyle they would like to focus on, and what they would like to achieve at Ryohin Keikaku. The goal is to create an organizational culture in which individual employees proactively envision their careers, reflect on what they want to do at Ryohin Keikaku, and strive to achieve it. In the career statements for November 2024, 79.2% of employees responded that they have something they want to achieve through their work at Ryohin Keikaku.