Stakeholder Engagement
Basic Approach
Ushio believes that in the course of corporate management it is important to co-create value not only with shareholders but also with employees, business partners, customers, creditors, local communities, and other diverse stakeholders. For this reason, we will fulfill our corporate social responsibilities by engaging in continuous dialogue with each stakeholder and utilizing the opinions we receive on a daily basis in our management. Revenues and results generated through value co-creation and productivity improvement will be appropriately distributed to each stakeholder through the following initiatives.
Actual Results
| Stakeholders | Policy | Initiatives |
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| Employees | Ushio's Management Philosophy states in the first paragraph, "Build both a prosperous company and prosperous employees." As part of Ushio’s ESG management, we have set "developing our diverse talent to get closer to our vision" and "creating working environments where it is easy to produce results" as important issues (materiality), and we will work to maximize added value by developing employees and increasing productivity. On top of that, using the revenue and results generated, we will raise wages in an appropriate manner based on the company's situation in accordance with the "Principles of Wage Determination," and aim to be a "highly engaged group" in which the company and employees grow together and benefit each other. In addition, based on the belief that "human capital" is the most important management resource that supports the sustainable growth of the company, we aim to provide sustainable returns to employees by actively investing in personnel. |
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| Business Partners |
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| Other stakeholders |
In Vision 2030, we have defined ourselves as a "light solutions company" and our mission is to "promote the use of light as illumination and energy to support human well-being and societal growth." We will work toward sustainable development by solving social issues with our proprietary optical technology, matching social value with economic value, and sharing this value with all stakeholders. |
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Specific Initiatives
Introduction of Employee Stock Compensation System
We are taking various measures with the aim of achieving high engagement levels that enable the Company and employees to grow together in line with Vision 2030.
In fiscal 2023, we introduced an employee stock compensation system through an employee stock ownership plan covering Group companies in Japan. Under this system, employees receive shares in the Company as compensation for the positive impact of achieving the required targets of the 1st Medium-Term Management Plan and as a means of supporting collaboration between management and employees under the 2nd Medium-Term Management Plan, which started in fiscal 2023.
In addition to further increasing employees’ investment in business performance and enhancing motivation to work with management to improve medium-to long-term corporate value, we will look to encourage uptake of the employee stock ownership plan as a means to help employees build assets.
Internal Communications
Introduction of New Communication Tool U-spot
In August 2021, Ushio introduced U-spot, a new communication tool that allows employees to send messages of "appreciation", "praise", and "encouragement" to each other for their contributions to the company's business, along with "peer bonus" points that can be used to receive gift voucher. This is not limited to direct contributions to business performance, but also aims to increase employee motivation by putting a spot light on the jobs that seem "good/like" and the small contributions that tend to be filled. In the post-introduction questionnaire, 76% of employees responded "I felt positive by sending or receiving messages." This leads to increased motivation. In the future, we plan to expand the program to domestic and overseas Group companies and hold awards. Through U-spot, we hope to foster an organizational culture that fosters mutual recognition, learning, and enhancing each other, which is our HR's vision, and to create an organizational structure that continues to take on challenges.
Cultural and Sports Clubs
Ushio has a Culture and Exercise System with around 40 active clubs including a Marathon Club and a Reading Club. The Company provides subsidies and other support for club activities as a way of helping employees to improve their health, increase their cultural education and development, and enjoy communication and refreshment with one another.
Engagement Survey
Survey Implementation and Taking Results on Board
We have carried out engagement surveys since fiscal 2021 as a means to visualize employee engagement. At Ushio, we define engagement as "a state of feeling valued through relationships with the Company and co-workers and feeling motivated to make an active contribution." The engagement score indicates the percentage of employees who answered affirmatively to questions indicating that this is the case for them. This was carried out for Ushio Inc. in fiscal 2021 and was expanded to domestic and overseas Group companies in fiscal 2022. Based on the survey results in the first fiscal year, we have come to understand that "understanding of strategies," "provision of growth opportunities," and "embracing of diversity" are three key themes strongly correlated with employee engagement. Our efforts to enhance understanding of strategies with the aim of further improving engagement have included town hall meetings with the president and the development of e-learning and other tools.
Ushio’s engagement score for fiscal 2022 was 52%. There is still progress to be made in our efforts to improve engagement, and we will continue our activities as we work to achieve our target of a 10 point increase compared to fiscal 2022 during the period of the 2nd Medium-Term Management Plan.
Initiatives of fiscal 2023
- 1. Enhancement of strategy-related communication
- We continue to hold town hall meetings with the president, have expanded their scope beyond Japan to include overseas locations, and now also hold town hall meetings with other top management personnel in addition to executives. Through this, we aim to foster closer communication over a wide range of areas.
- 2. Understanding of and empathizing with strategy and Five Management Focuses
- We have created a workbook as a support tool to encourage employees to take ownership of our strategies, and are using this workbook as a basis for workshops within each department. We are developing a system and tools that help employees to consider their own careers and feel the connection between their own work and the Five Management Focuses.
- 3. Connection between our Vision and careers
- As part of efforts to promote autonomous career development for employees, we have introduced workshop-based talent support and Self-career Dock System.
