(Issued in August 2023)

SOMPO’s Purpose Management

Driving Force for Value Creation

Value creation that originates from My Purpose

Starting point of the Value Creation Cycle
Overview of initiatives to spread the concept of Purpose

Starting point of the Value Creation Cycle
Toward improvement of engagement

Route of Driving Force (Engagement)
Enhancement of organizational strengths with diversity

Route of Driving Force (I&D)

Value Creation Cycle:
Route of Driving Force (Engagement)

Toward improvement of engagement

Engagement increases through the mutual functioning of three types of change: “individual changes,” “relationship changes,” and “organizational changes.” With My Purpose as the starting point, we are working to spark “inner changes,” consisting of three changes that occur within individuals and the organization, which will lead to higher engagement by taking various actions such as spreading the concept of Purpose and reforming work styles.

We will create “individual changes” through engagement with My Purpose, “relationship changes” through dialogue and sharing via My Purpose, and “organizational changes” via this process in the entire organization. Then, through mutual functioning of these three changes and their upward spiral, we will increase engagement and have this lead to “emerged changes” in the form of taking on challenges and innovations.

This part introduces our efforts to improve engagement through these three changes.

figure: Pursuit of My Purpose + Promotion of diverse work styles → 1.Individual changes, 2.Relationship changes, 3.Organizational changes → Improvement of engagement

The driving force behind the Sompo Group’s growth is each and every employee. The start of the transformation of the entire Group will firstly be the generation of “individual changes” by having each and every Group employee engage with their own My Purpose.

By having each employee formulate their own My Purpose, they will be able to face themselves and identify what is important to them, what makes them unique, what makes them happy, and what makes them fulfilled. Realizing this while working will improve engagement and lead to willingness to take on challenges and creation of innovation based on their own intrinsic motivation.

Here are introductions of some of the measures we are taking to generate “individual changes.”

Creation of My Purpose: Support the formulation of My Purpose

Making a formulation of My Purpose is not easy.

However, My Purpose is something that already exists within each of us. The Sompo Group provides support to employees to help them discover and verbalize the My Purpose inside them.

My Purpose discovery Training

To support each employee formulate their own My Purpose, we offer “My Purpose discovery Training.” The training is held on a regular monthly basis across the Group so that anyone can work on determining My Purpose at any time. The training has been held 25 times with 6,100 participants.

For the training, external lecturers are invited to explain the background of the need for My Purpose and the method for creating My Purpose. In addition, employees who have already created My Purpose serve as panelists to share their own My Purpose, their experiences in creating it, and their subsequent changes. This enables the training participants to work on formulation their own My Purpose with as positive an attitude as possible.

Through these efforts, we help each and every employee engage with My Purpose by considering what kind of a person they are and what happiness means to them.

Cumulative number of trainings: 25
Cumulative number of participants: 6,100

Deepening of My Purpose: [For management layer] My Purpose 1-on-1 Training

In the workplace, workplace supervisors, who have received training in dialogue on the theme of My Purpose, assist their team members in formulating and deepening their own My Purpose.

The My Purpose-centered dialogue between supervisors and team members helps the members deepen the My Purpose that they have created.

In order to support these efforts by workplace supervisors for their team members, the Sompo Group is developing Group-wide My Purpose 1-on-1 Training for all domestic management layer.

The KPI for this training is to have all eligible employees take it by the end of FY2023, and this is expected to be completed within the current fiscal year. The training is divided into several programs. These comprehensive programs cover everything from the creation of My Purpose by managers to methods for My Purpose-based Dialogue with their team members. In addition, a period of implementation in the workplace is always provided between the multiple programs so that through repeated input and output, the skills of the managers can become solidified and self-driven work styles based on each employee’s My Purpose can be established.

figure: [My Purpose 1-on-1] Dialogue on a regular basis with supervisors based on My Purpose. Repeated input and output to establish skills by supervisors and team members.

Comments from employees who have created My Purpose

The following comments have come from employees who have created and deepened their own My Purpose through training supporting the creation of My Purpose as well as dialogue with their workplace supervisors. Engaging with My Purpose in this way brings about changes in each employee’s feelings and actions.

I found myself getting truly interested and created My Purpose.
I became able to verbalize my vision for myself, and it gave me an opportunity to think about my future career and next actions.

Yuko Sekimizu
Business System Promotion Office,
Business Planning & Development Department
Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

When I tried looking back at each of my past actions, I realized that everything is connected.
I am glad that I found what I value.

Kenta Iida
Kitakyushu Branch,
Kyushu Regional Division,
Sompo Himawari Life Insurance Inc.

I learned tips on how to lead a life with no regrets
It gave me an opportunity to reexamine myself
It gave me a boost to take on my own challenges
I was glad to gain a new awareness of the values I have cherished
I was able to clarify what I want to do in the future and the direction I want to go
I became able to look forward even when I am having difficulties

Verbalizing My Purpose and recognizing the overlap with SOMPO’s Purpose is the foundation for increasing motivation for daily work.

Our company has found that the more the organization has verbalization of My Purpose and recognizes the overlap of My Purpose and SOMPO’s Purpose, the higher the engagement.

graph: Correlation between the “verbalization of My Purpose” and “engagement score” Correlation coefficient: 0.85 — Correlation between the “verbalization of My Purpose” and “engagement score”

graph: Correlation between “overlap of My Purpose and SOMPO’s Purpose” and “engagement score” Correlation coefficient: 0.90 — Correlation between “overlap of My Purpose and SOMPO’s Purpose” and “engagement score”

* Our analysis is based on a survey about engagement aimed at employees of the Sompo Group and conducted by Sompo Institute Plus.

When “individuals” who have engaged with My Purpose disclose My Purpose to their supervisors and workplace team members and participate in My Purpose-based Dialogue, “relationship changes” will arise. In addition, dialogue among supervisors and workplace team members about My Purpose can lead to new insights about the My Purpose of the individuals.

In this way, “individual changes” and “relationship changes” function together, and new value is created through the acceleration of both types of change. Here are introductions of two efforts for generating “relationship changes.”

Action 2-1 Implementation of My Purpose-based Dialogue

Relationship changes between supervisors and team members: Daily dialogue through My Purpose

Once individuals have formulated their own My Purpose, My Purpose-centered dialogue is held between managers and team members in the workplace. Rather than a 1-on-1 meeting focused on conventional job content, the My Purpose 1-on-1 is a “personal-level” 1-on-1 meeting between a supervisor and his or her team member that focuses on My Purpose, looking back on past experiences and encouraging taking on challenges toward one’s future ideal state “My Vision” for the realization of My Purpose. Many of the following comments have been heard from workplace managers and team members who have actually implemented the My Purpose 1-on-1, and changes have arisen in the relationships between supervisors and team members that were not seen in the previous 1-on-1s.

figure: Past 'MY Story' → Present 'MY Purpose' → Future 'MY Vision'.

Comments from team members

Disclosing My Purpose to my supervisor made me feel more secure and made it easier to have conversations in my daily work.

I felt that my supervisor was looking out for me when I was assigned work based on My Purpose.

Comments from managers

By disclosing our formative experiences and My Purpose together (between supervisor and team members), we were able to close the gap between us, and I began to receive more consultations than before.

I assigned responsibilities based on the My Purpose of each team member, and they have been proactive in carrying out their work without much advice from me.

Relationship changes with workplace team members: Implementation of My Purpose Disclosure and Meetings to Share My Purpose

In addition to My Purpose-based Dialogue between workplace supervisors and team members, having team members in the same workplace share their My Purpose together has a positive impact on their relationships.

Effective efforts to create such relationship changes among team members in the workplace are “My Purpose Disclosure” and “Meetings to Share My Purpose” that are held in each workplace.

By disclosing My Purpose in the workplace and speaking at “Meetings to Share My Purpose” about each other’s formative experiences and the Purposes created from those experiences, mutual understanding among workplace team members is fostered as well as a culture of respect for each other’s values. In addition to speaking themselves, the participants also receive feedback from other team members in their workplace, which leads to new insights and further deepening of their My Purpose.

In each workplace of the Group, various efforts are being made to spread movements for disclosing My Purpose and holding Meetings to Share My Purpose. Through the sharing of My Purpose and dialogue with others, relationships among colleagues are beginning to change.

My Purpose Disclosure: My Purpose Compilation

By talking to team members about my Purpose during the meetings to Share My Purpose, I clarified areas where there is room for deeper exploration.

Conducting meetings to Share My Purpose has increased the number of daily conversations among team members. There have also been positive results for engagement.

We believe that dialogue with supervisors based on My Purpose and mutual recognition of each other’s values contributes to increased diversity and improved engagement.

We have confirmed that the more the organization has My Purpose-based Dialogue as well as mutual recognition of each other’s values, the higher the engagement.

figure: Correlation between “My Purpose-based Dialogue” and “engagement score” Correlation coefficient: 0.79 — Correlation between “My Purpose-based Dialogue” and “engagement score”

figure: Correlation between “respect for each other’s values” and “engagement score” Correlation coefficient: 0.93 — Correlation between “respect for each other’s values” and “engagement score”

* Our analysis is based on a survey about engagement aimed at employees of the Sompo Group and conducted by Sompo Institute Plus.

In an organization where there is mutual recognition of diverse values based on the My Purpose of individuals, it is easier to generate innovation by increasing engagement, creating willingness to take on challenges, and increasing communication.

The key to having such a corporate culture take root and implementing it at the organizational level is the “management” of the organization. In order to transform the management and bring about “organizational changes,” the Sompo Group is implementing a variety of measures.

Action 3-1 Implementation of Purpose-driven Management

As one of the measures, we are conducting a survey of the conditions at sites with pioneering Purpose Management to clarify the mechanism of organizational transformation originating from My Purpose. We are also designing and holding “workshops for management” based on the “form” of Purpose Management to implement the transformation.

A total of 11 workshops of three types with 1,700 participants were held in accordance with the organizational transformation phases.

In the workshops, breakout sessions are held among the participants to collect comments from the field and what is happening in the field (tacit knowledge), and this information is reflected in the Purpose Management form (explicit knowledge). By continuing this cycle, we are working with management in the field to promote management transformation.

Current situation on management

1.Leaders created and shared their own My Purpose 2.Plan to have team members create their My Purpose and then hold My Purpose 1-on-1 meetings and Meetings to Share My Purpose 3.Asked team members to create their My Purpose and held a sharing meeting 4.Have team members create My Purpose and conduct My Purpose 1-on-1 meetings on a regular basis 5.Conduct My Purpose 1-on-1 meetings on a regular basis, and encourage team members to take on challenges 6.Conduct My Purpose 1-on-1 meetings on a regular basis and encourage team members to take on challenges, which has created positive results — Progress in My Purpose-based Dialogue for management

Spread to the workplace. My Purpose-based Dialogue and Management. Linkage between My Purpose and SOMPO’s Purpose and performance. — Management concerns (top 3)

The reality is that management in the workplace faces a variety of concerns and issues when implementing Purpose Management. That is why we at the Sompo Group are aiming to create and implement a new form of SOMPO’s Purpose Management with managers in the field. The challenge undertaken by the Sompo Group has only just begun.

Engagement

Despite various difficulties and issues, the results of the engagement survey show an upward trend across the Group, showing that the fruits of our efforts are emerging. The data also shows that increasing engagement can lead to an increase in willingness to take on challenges, and we have confirmed the higher the engagement score of the organization, the higher tendency to take on challenges.

By continuing and expanding the development of various measures in response to the mechanism of changes going forward, we aim to increase engagement and the total amount of taking on challenges, and thereby work to foster our Group’s envisioned corporate culture.

Gallup Engagement Survey results and target scores (5-point scale)

Correlation between “engagement score” and “willingness to take on challenges”

* Our analysis is based on a survey about engagement aimed at employees of the Sompo Group and conducted by Sompo Institute Plus.