SOMPO’s Purpose
Value Creation Cycle : Route of Driving Force
Fostering a culture driven by My Purpose
SOMPO’s Purpose is to create a society in which every person can live a healthy, prosperous and happy life true to themselves by continuing to provide value to society through its concept of a “Theme Park for Security, Health and Wellbeing.”
The essence of Purpose Management is to achieve both economic and social value by solving social issues and to pursue sustainable growth that contributes to people’s happiness. The driving force for this is each and every employee of the Group.
Each employee of the Sompo Group is driven by My Purpose, which is his or her own life purpose. By overlapping SOMPO’s Purpose and the individual purposes of employees, innovation will be created through employees repeatedly tackling challenges based on their own internal motivation. This corporate culture will be the driving force of Purpose Management. This part introduces our efforts to foster such a culture, as well as My Purpose, which is the starting point for such a culture.
We will create an I&D* virtuous cycle that attracts diverse talents and fosters mutual acceptance by promoting Sompo’s unique I&D that respects My Purpose, recognizes diverse values, and allows individuals to demonstrate their strengths.
Through My Purpose and new work styles, each employee with My Purpose can work in his or her own way and take on challenges based on their intrinsic motivation, thereby improving engagement.
Strengthening the ability to create innovative new products and services (organizational capability) by fostering a culture in which highly engaged employees repeatedly take on challenges in an environment full of I&D
* Inclusion is important for respecting and acknowledging each employee’s diverse “My Purpose” and characteristics, and having them fully demonstrate their unique abilities, which will lead to innovation. In order to express this meaning, this part uses the acronym I&D for diversity and inclusion (D&I).
*1 Participation rate in domestic P&C insurance, domestic life insurance, and nursing care and senior business
*2 Targets at the end of FY2023 set at 3.70 pt in Japan / 4.10 pt overseas
*3 Applies to Sompo Japan and Sompo Himawari Life
*4 Of which, 11 companies were included in the White 500 (large corporation category
*5 Ratio of our directors and executive officers (5/34 people)
*6 Applies to key posts including Group CEO, Group CxO, and business owners (88 in total)
SOMPO’s approach to Purpose Management
The driving force behind the realization of SOMPO’s Purpose is each and every employee of the Group. In an era of a paradigm shift in the way we work and live, in which our values are shifting from the idea of “My life in the company” to “A company that helps you realize your life’s purpose,” Sompo Group believes it is most important for all employees to face their lives with their own purpose (“My Purpose”).
The starting point is My Purpose, which is a strong desire that wells up within each employee. By overlaying this desire with the company’s and organization’s Purpose, we aim to realize SOMPO’s Purpose. This is SOMPO’s approach to Purpose Management.
Culture that SOMPO is aiming for
In the SOMPO Group, each employee engages with their own My Purpose and overlaps it with SOMPO’s Purpose. Innovations are created throughout the Group due to employees tackling challenges based on their intrinsic motivation. In addition, we aim to create a culture in which diverse employees respect each others’ My Purpose and can fully demonstrate their individual strengths.
We are implementing a variety of measures to promote the following four steps in order to advance the transformation to the culture we are aiming for.
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① Lead the Self…Each employee changes after creating his or her My Purpose
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② Lead the Partner…Tackle challenges and create innovation through dialogue with partners based on My Purpose
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③ Lead the Team…Implement “tackling challenges and creating innovation through dialogue based on My Purpose” at the organizational level
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④ Lead the Culture…Create a mechanism to continue to implement the practices in the organization in a sustainable way, and achieve transformation of the culture
Efforts to visualize the impact paths of human capital
The Sompo Group is also focusing on visualizing the paths through which cultural and new work styles initiated by My Purpose will lead to increased financial and corporate value through an increase in human capital.
Specifically, we use the term “impact paths” to refer to the series of paths that My Purpose and new work styles will yield to “create short-term and mid-term financial value by enhancing the power of individuals and organizations, improving the quality and quantity of work, and increasing tackling challenges and innovation.” We are working on the details of the path, verifying the correlation between elements by utilizing internal and external data, and organizing the KPIs that will be required in the future.
In addition, as a mechanism to accelerate tackling challenges and creating innovation, we are considering the introduction of an award system (SOMPO Award) to recognize value-creating efforts initiated due to My Purpose. We are also considering the introduction of an award system (SOMPO Awards) to recognize value-creating initiatives by employees that originate from My Purpose.
My Purpose as the starting point
What is My Purpose?
“My Purpose” refers to the “purpose of life” or “meaning of work,” such as what kind of person you are, what happiness means to you, and what you want to accomplish in your life.
When considering My Purpose within the Sompo Group, we first look back at our own lives and careers from the three perspectives of “Want” (intrinsic motivation), “Must” (social responsibility), and “Can” (ability given to us by fate ),” and refer to the overlapping parts of these perspectives as “aspirations,” which is what motivates us.
Various measures to support the formulation and respect of My Purpose
Town Hall Meetings by the Group CEO
Under the theme of “Considering the Purpose/Mission of the Company and Individuals,” Group CEO Kengo Sakurada held Town Hall Meetings (seven times from September to November 2021) for employees of all Group companies in Japan, in which he spoke directly to approximately 10,000 employees. At the Town Hall Meetings, Group CEO Sakurada personally spoke about matters, including that “the essence (of My Purpose) is using the company to achieve one’s purpose,” and, “The most important thing is one’s purpose in life. I would like you to firstly remember what your own purpose is.” He clarified that the Sompo Group will make group-wide efforts to realize SOMPO’s Purpose by focusing on employees’ My Purpose at the center of its endeavors. In the post-participation questionnaire, 99% of the employees answered that they would like to have a My Purpose, indicating that this resonated with them.
Implementation of cross-Group training and movement from the field starting point
Various measures were implemented in order to keep the fire lit in the hearts of employees following participation in the Town Hall Meetings, including training and workshops to support the formulation of My Purpose across the Group, and meetings to share My Purpose. Approximately 4,000 employees participated in the 20 sessions (as of the end of July 2022). Employees who participated in these measures could be considered the starting point, from which the establishment of the “Purpose Promotion Committee,” the holding of “Meetings to Share My Purpose,” and other voluntary initiatives in various companies and departments have expanded. The movement to formulate and respect My Purpose is spreading throughout the Group.
From improving engagement to creating innovation
Engagement is enhanced when all employees with a My Purpose take on challenges based on their intrinsic motivation in an environment where they can feel a sense of individuality, happiness, and fulfillment. To this end, we will emphasize dialogue centered on My Purpose to encourage employees to take on challenges based on each individual’s intrinsic motivation, enhance engagement, and systematically improve the ability to generate innovation.
Various measures to achieve purpose-driven organizational management
My Purpose 1-on-1 training
In order to encourage employees to take on challenges based on their intrinsic motivation through dialogue centered on My Purpose, we have conducted Group-wide My Purpose 1-on-1 training for managers and above 267 times (as of August 16, 2022) for approximately 2,500 personnel.
The KPI is to have 100% of all targeted personnel take the training by the end of FY2023. 86% of targeted personnel are expected to complete the training by the end of this fiscal year.
The My Purpose 1-on-1 is a “personal-level” 1-on-1 meeting between a supervisor and his or her subordinate that focuses on My Purpose, looking back on past experiences and encouraging taking on challenges towards one’s future ideal state (“My Vision”) for the realization of My Purpose.
By implementing and habitually conducting dialogue based on this dialogue flow in each department, we will foster a culture that generates taking on new challenges and innovation, which will lead to the realization of SOMPO’s Purpose.
Town Hall Meeting for Domestic Leaders
In FY2022, we held a Town Hall Meeting with Group CEO Sakurada for the 3,600 leaders in Japan who are the key to implementing a new era of management that makes the most of each and every employee who works in a purpose-driven manner. There were discussions on what a leader should be and how organizations should be managed in order to make our efforts to spur taking on challenges and innovation through dialogue based on My Purpose sustainable.
Group CEO Sakurada conveyed passionate messages to the participants, such as, “Sometimes it is the leader’s role to connect the mission with each person’s My Purpose,” and “Purpose management is tough, and is an opportunity for leaders to demonstrate their abilities.” Many of the leaders present received inspiration for solving their daily hesitations and concerns. In the post-attendance questionnaire, 99% of participants answered that they understood and recognized the importance of purpose and the role of leaders in leading purpose-driven organizations.
Engagement Survey
Based on the belief that improving the fulfillment and happiness of every employee is the driving force for achieving high productivity, we have set employee engagement as a common KPI for the Group since FY2021. We have adopted Gallup’s Q12 survey for our Engagement Survey, and conduct it twice per year for domestic and overseas group companies. In the most recent Engagement Survey, approximately 75% of the Group companies showed an increase in their scores. We are gradually seeing the effects of our measures to spread the concept of purpose. Going forward, we will continue and expand various measures to further improve employee engagement in the future.
From I&D* to creating innovation
The Sompo Group works to foster a culture in which employees from various backgrounds respect each other’s My Purpose and recognize diverse values. This culture and our human resource strategy based on My Purpose have created a virtuous cycle that attracts diverse talents from outside the company and further strengthens I&D, creating new innovations through the concentration and collision of diverse values.
* Inclusion is important for respecting and acknowledging each employee’s diverse “My Purpose” and characteristics, and having them fully demonstrate their unique abilities, which will lead to innovation. In order to express this meaning, this part uses the acronym I&D for diversity and inclusion (D&I).
I&D through My Purpose
Sharing and resonating with My Purpose
Inclusion of each employee’s diverse My Purpose and their utilization as a force for Group innovation starts with understanding and recognizing one another’s My Purpose. The Sompo Group is disseminating “SOMPO DNA,” a biography of the futures of 100 Sompo Group employees with diverse personalities who are motivated by their respective My Purpose and are realizing their aspirations on the Sompo stage, both inside and outside the company. In addition, through other means such as videos, cross-Group communities, and sharing meetings at each workplace, we are promoting efforts to disclose and respect each other’s My Purpose among employees, including directors and officers.
A system to further promote I&D and to encourage taking on challenges and innovation
Introduction of a personnel system that supports career development based on My Purpose
The Sompo Group is advancing the introduction and expansion of a personnel system that enables employees to make choices in their own life and career paths based on My Purpose, and to demonstrate their achievements.
Sompo Holdings is promoting self-driven career development centered on job selection led by the employees themselves, including not reassigning employees without their consent and introducing a system whereby employees can run for department or section manager posts. In addition, at Sompo Himawari Life, each employee discloses their knowledge, skills, experience, career history, and achievements to the company along with his or her My Purpose as part of the “Himawari My Purpose Career System” It allows employees to choose where they would like to move to from among the departments that have offered them a new position based on this information.
Career recruitment
The Sompo Group actively promotes career recruitment with the main purpose of promoting I&D and acquiring highly specialized talents. After we began hiring in April 2020, we have hired approximately 100 mid-career hires, or 20% of our workforce, over the past two years. We have placed mid-career hires in the respective posts of general manager, section manager, and person in charge. By integrating the strengths of each of our existing internal human resources, we have been able to create new value.
Closing the gender gap
The Sompo Group is building a climate and environment that supports how easy it is for female employees to work, including by introducing a training program that supports balancing life events and career advancement, an unconscious bias diagnostic tool, and training videos . As a result of these efforts, the number and ratio of female managers as of April 1, 2022 are respectively 1,843 and 26.8% (target by April 1, 2024: 30%). In addition, the Succession Plan for the Group’s major key posts (88 posts in total) sets a numerical target of 50% female candidates by FY2022, and efforts are being advanced to achieve this target.
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