Employee Relations

Policy and Approach

In January 2023, the Sunstar Group established the Sunstar Global HR Mission Statement aimed at improving the well-being of Sunstar’s employees and realizing sustainable growth of our businesses. It expresses our common global vision for human resource management, and is the basis for all our human resource measures. By referring to this statement, we will realize human resource management that continues to create new value.

Creating a Workplace to Increase Employee Productivity and Happiness（Policy and Approach）

We aim to maximize employee engagement by creating an environment where employees can devote themselves to their work, share ideas with each other, and grow. We create opportunities for employees to share their opinions and issues, and work together to formulate measures to address those issues and improve the work environment.

We have a responsibility to provide a safe, healthy, and productive environment to employees, and in return we expect employees and visitors to our premises to comply with all safety rules and laws.　

Major Initiatives

Implementation of flexible work styles, including work from home (Global)

In order to enhance the safety and productivity of each employees, as far as business condition and local regulations allow, we support diverse work styles allowing a flexible choice of working hours and locations, considering respective roles, work environment and personal circumstances.

New system launched to motivate employee performance (Japan)

From January 2021, work-from-home and full-flexible work schedules with no core hours have been officially implemented at all Group companies in Japan. We support diverse work styles, including the adoption of a free dress code and a free seating system in the office. Since 2022, we have begun conducting an annual employee engagement survey, and we continue to implement initiatives to maximize employee performance.

Employee assistance programs (Europe, Americas)

We provide support, counseling, referrals and resources for issues that impact the lives of employees and their families in Europe and the Americas. In addition, seminars and webinars have been conducted on a range of topics including diversity and inclusion, conflict resolution, managing workplace stress and other work/life issues.

In addition, we also continue to hold webinars to help employees maintain good communication with each other and share ideas for improving work efficiency even when they are primarily working from home under COVID-19 situation.

Health Promotion (Policy and Approach)

The health of our employees is a priority. We support all employees in improving and maintaining their well-being so that they can continue to work in a healthy and active manner.

We work to promote good health among employees, delivering the message below to our global workforce in line with a basic policy of health promotion for employees indicated in our corporate motto, Guiding Principles for Employees, and Sunstar Group Long-Term Vision 2032.

Major Initiatives

Health management centering on health guidance camps at Sunstar Mind-Body Kenkodojo (Japan)

Not only do we provide employees with comprehensive annual health check-ups, dental examinations, and follow-up care by doctors, public health nurses and dental hygienists, we also run health guidance camps at the Sunstar Mind-Body Kenkodojo in-house welfare facility for new employees and those requiring specific health guidance.

Measures to address lack of exercise (Global)

As a company involved in health-related businesses, we naturally implement programs that promote the mental and physical health of our employees. We have held sporting events and created other opportunities for physical activity at our locations around the world, and in 2022 we launched the “Sunstar Workout” event in Japan to strengthen employees lower backs and legs.

Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunities (Policy and Approach)

We believe that leveraging the diversity of our workforce helps the organization to grow and promotes the creation of innovative value. We aim to cultivate an organizational culture whereby employees respect each other’s individuality and diverse backgrounds, and where the organization accepts and can leverage that diversity based on mutual understanding.

We strive to ensure equal opportunities and fair treatment to all employees and job applicants in all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, transfer, demotion, compensation, benefits, layoff, and termination. We do not tolerate any discrimination on the basis of race, color of skin, disability, country of origin, religion, beliefs, age, marital status, citizenship, military experience, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other personal characteristic. We also demand the same standards from our customers and business partners. Sunstar complies with all applicable laws that guarantee equal employment opportunities and the elimination of discrimination in the employment.

Sunstar group employees by area

(as of December 31, 2022)

A total of 3,822 employees work at the Sunstar Group in 22 different countries. Of the Group’s workforce, 47% work in Japan, 23% in Asia, 13% in Europe, and 17% in the Americas.

Global gender equality ratios per career level

(as of December 31, 2022)

Female employees make up 38% of Sunstar’s total global workforce; they account for 26% of management positions, and 10% of executive positions.

All employees

Managers

Executives

Major Initiatives

Effort to diversify workstyle（Europe, Asia, Japan）

Sunstar is promoting employee wellbeing and workstyles innovation – for example recommending work-from-home once a week, setting flexible work schedules during the summer time, and more. In Switzerland, Singapore, and Japan, we are promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion for example by providing specific training opportunities for all.

Respect of diverse values（Asia）

At Sunstar, we work to honor diversity and respect different customs and values. In Indonesia, we have a prayer room within the office for Muslim employees. We have also established buildings equipped with a multi-purpose room, which can be used both as prayer room and as a meeting room.

In Singapore, where multinational employees work, we hold employee trainings and workshops every year to improve internal communication as part of our effort to promote diversity and inclusion.

Labor-management councils and roundtable conferences (Global)

In Japan, we hold regular meetings intended to foster cooperation between labor and management and encourage inclusive company management in which everyone plays a part. During these meetings, participants discuss solutions to business challenges and ways to improve workplaces.
We have similar frameworks in other countries to match systems specific to those nations.

Supporting Employee Growth（Policy and Approach）

We believe that the development of employees leads to employee engagement and organizational growth. We provide all employees with opportunities for professional growth, and require all employees to be involved in human resources development in the workplace.

Moreover, we evaluate the actions of our employees based on the corporate motto, the Fundamental Management Principles, and the Guiding Principles for Employees, and conduct highly transparent and fair evaluations of contributions to results and value creation. We believe this approach leads to the growth of both employees and the organization as a whole. In order to continue providing the Sunstar Group’s corporate value globally, we are committed to communicating and entrenching our corporate philosophy within the organization..

Major Initiatives

Sunstar Global Four Awards (Global)

Every year, we present awards to Sunstar Group employees across the world in recognition of activities that have made a significant contribution to the Group’s growth or corporate value based on an understanding of our corporate culture, philosophy and management policy. The aim of this initiative is to nurture ingenuity among employees and encourage them to become involved in the company’s management.

Promoting a common understanding of the corporate culture and interaction among employees (Global)

We implemented the “Sunstar Connect” program in Europe to deepen the common understanding of our corporate culture and improve good communication across different countries. In 2022, we held a special global online event to celebrate our 90th anniversary. A diverse range of employees from all around the world shared video messages with each other, which increased the sense of unity among our global workforce.

Company-wide seminars to study new business trends (Global)

We held the second Sunstar Summit in 2022 for employees around the world. We invited external experts to speak on various topics, such as innovation, brand building, e-commerce, customer data analysis, and climate change. Employees were able to deepen their knowledge in those areas, and shared related Sunstar initiatives. The event also served as a forum for employees to enhance their ability to create new business opportunities.

Implementing an E-Learning Platform (Europe)

Sunstar has implemented an innovative new e-learning platform in Europe. Linking up with Bookboon Learning, the platform enables employees to access self-study contents in the form of audiobooks, electronic documents, and virtual classrooms.

Enhancing opportunities for self-development (Japan)

In Japan, Sunstar is promoting diverse employee education programs, with the twin aims of ensuring the wellbeing of both individual employees and of the company organization as a whole, and of transforming its workforce into an autonomous and highly competitive group of professionals. Sunstar is seeking to create a corporate environment that facilitates innovation; to this end, the company is developing educational programs for self-development, so that employees can proactively bring about change with high levels of ambition and expertise.

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