HUMAN CAPITAL

Mazda recognizes that people are its most important resource and aims to be a company staffed by people who are uplifted by work. In accordance with Mazda’s approach of co-creation with others, the Company respects the diversity of its employees from various backgrounds, including race, nationality, faith, gender, social status, family origin, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The Company is actively endeavoring to improve workstyles, compensation, workplace environments, and other aspects of the Company in order to heighten employee motivation and increase operational efficiency from an overall optimization perspective. 

To create a virtuous cycle of growth, employment, and distribution, Mazda shares returns—the outcomes of growth—with stakeholders while ensuring sustained employment and equitable returns for its employees. Specifically, the Company will share equitable return with its employees, including raising wages in a flexible manner, in consideration of the Company’s current conditions, from the perspectives of employment stability, quality of life, and human resources development. Another form of sharing returns that is currently being planned and implemented is investment in employees, such as through training, alongside better compensation and benefits. One example that is already underway is investment in training our employees to develop digital technology skills. Going forward, the Company will continue investing in its people to support their development of new capabilities that will drive corporate growth and will continue encouraging employee success and growth. 

Passion: Uplifted Employees

Vision: Employees Who Can Co-Create Uplifting Experiences with People Inside and Outside the Company

Mazda believes that new value is created when all employees are working while feeling motivated and energized based on mutual understanding and trust. The Company has established five pillars for maximizing people’s contributions and has defined, and is implementing, measures for each of them. The Company supports employee success and growth as well as development of employees’ skills and capabilities, which lead to corporate growth.

One of the foundations for maximizing employee contributions is ensuring an environment where management can provide one-on-one support for the growth and success of all of its people. At Mazda, management roles and responsibilities are defined in a management handbook and shared with all managers through role-specific training.

Management Support Program*

The management support program is a six-month-long, workplace-focused program through which all members of management learn about their roles and how to fulfill these roles. During the program, a focused approach is taken to enhance the quality of communication. In addition, the insight gained through coaching with divisional and departmental general managers and open and honest dialogue among middle managers is used to drive the creation of connections throughout the organization to enable managers to resolve issues in their workplace based on the human elements. 

【Statistics from FY March 2024】

Management support program conducted targeting three divisions and nine departments (April–December 2023)

* These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation.

Personnel Development Committee*

The Personnel Development Committee is a venue through which senior leaders of Mazda Motor Corporation and Group companies discuss and make decisions on personnel exchange and development plans with the aim of fostering, optimally assigning, and facilitating the success of the people who will lead global operations in every field of Mazda’s business over the medium and long term. 

* The Personnel Development Committee (PDC) is comprised of three committees: PDC1, which covers personnel in domestic and overseas global companies; PDC2, which covers personnel in middle management at Mazda Motor Corporation; and PDC3, which covers employees of Mazda Motor Corporation excluding those covered by PDC1 and PDC2. 

The foundation of Mazda’s human resources development initiatives is good communication. Such communication is only possible if employees can be honest and authentic in their interactions based on mutual trust and a helpful and supportive attitude. The Company is driving efforts to create an open corporate culture where people have open and honest consultations to facilitate mutual understanding, trust, and support. 

In March 2023, Mazda started initiatives to transform its current top-down organizational culture into one that shines alight on the front lines and where the higher echelons of management support them. Through these initiatives, Mazda is driving cultural reforms throughout the Company to foster an empowering organizational culture.

BLUEPRINT

Mazda arranges sessions for dialogue between corporate officers and managers with the following aims: 

■ Ensuring efforts for process reassessments and improvement activities conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic take root as a strength of Mazda’s culture, rather than only producing temporary benefits, through repeated initiatives to enhance dialogue (as a strengthening of the Mazda Way) 

■ Sharing senior leaders’ points of view on corporate messages, announcements, and media coverage to mitigate employees’ anxieties, questions, and doubts; alleviation of anxieties and doubts through ongoing communication to foster an environment in which employees can focus on what they can and should do 

【Statistics from FY March 2024】

Total of five management dialogue sessions held 

Mazda conducts employee surveys on an ongoing basis to track employees’ work motivation and to confirm conditions in working environments that support this motivation. The feedback gained through these surveys is used to make further improvements. The survey results are reported to senior management at Mazda and Group companies in Japan and overseas, and major findings are disclosed to employees. Organization-level results are communicated to the management of the respective organizations and companies, who are thereby encouraged to develop improvement plans as part of the plan–do–check–act (PDCA) cycle.

Social data（Global Employee Survey）

Raising of the Retirement Age*

Mazda has overhauled its retirement system and, beginning in April 2022, instituted a phased increase to the retirement age, with the goal of eventually raising the retirement age to 65 in FY March 2031. In conjunction with this process, the Company has revised our reemployment systems to introduce retirement age options. Through these measures, the Company has established a system in which all employees of all ages can make the most of their abilities and continue to make full contributions while feeling motivated and empowered. As a result, seasoned employees are now able to use the experience, expertise, and skills they have built up to expand their opportunities both in the Company and in their communities and society. The Company has thus developed an environment that can support the autonomous career development and choices for employees who have reached the age of 60 through discussions with workplace supervisors about their current work and future career opportunities. 

* These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation. 

Remote-Work System*

As part of workstyle reforms implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mazda reviewed its conventional work-from-home system and, in October 2020, introduced a new remote-work system. The Company aims to facilitate highly efficient, high-performance workstyles by skillfully combining workplace attendance and remote working to create workstyles that can maximize organizational and workplace performance. 

* These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation.

The key concepts behind Mazda’s human resources development reforms are autonomy, growth, and support. Mazda aims to transform the Company into a workplace and learning environment where the diversity of employees is respected and where they can better grow and succeed to ensure that work at the Company is a fulfilling experience. 

Developing Human Resources with Digital & IT Skills*1 

Mazda is investing in company-wide training for human resources with digital skills that can take full advantage of AI, and will work to raise its overall digital literacy. Utilizing programs from Aidemy Inc. and working with other partners,*2 the Company is pressing forward with reforms to ensure that by 2025 all indirect employees will have a certain degree of proficiency in AI and IT and can take on more advanced AI applications. The Company also aims to double productivity by 2030 by utilizing tools and by reevaluating and redefining work processes in order to shift to higher-value work processes. 

*1 These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation

*2 Udacity, Inc., Secondmind Ltd. and so on.

Mazda Business Leader Development (MBLD) is a type of business meeting unique to Mazda, one in which senior management shares messages with all employees and opinions and ideas are exchanged with regard to Mazda’s business path. In FY March 2024, an MBLD meeting was held at which managers from within and outside Japan with the rank of division general manager or above attended. At the meeting, participants discussed the various challenges that the Company faces and the directions to be taken in initiatives by reconfirming where the Company currently stands and asking what it will require to realize its 2030 Vision. Going forward, the Company will continue to promote the active participation of all employees in MBLD meetings in order to encourage understanding and action and to link these efforts to transformations in awareness and behavior. 

【Statistics from FY March 2024】

Participation in June 2023 MBLD meeting by 159 employees

The recruitment environment is becoming more challenging, prompting Mazda to reform its recruitment activities to focus on being selected by those who resonate with the Company’s desired direction. In terms of mid-career recruitment, the Company is bolstering its recruitment activities in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area while also holding workshops and briefing sessions. In areas where the need for specialist human resources is particularly high, the Company is allowing workstyles that do not tie employees down to a set working location. As part of new graduate recruitment activities, the Company offers summer and winter internship programs to highlight the appeal of working at the Company.

The Mazda Group conducts recruitment activities to secure the personnel required based on the needs of each country and region. Production sites strive to appropriately maintain and manage employment with an understanding that such practices have great impact on the local economies. In Japan, the Company has maintained the production volumes and related employment at production sites in Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures. Overseas, initiatives are underway to improve the operation rates of plants in Mexico and Thailand. In addition, steps are taken to maintain employment and recruit staff based on the labor practices of the respective countries and regions in conjunction with the commencement of operations employing Mazda Toyota Manufacturing (MTM) standards in the United States. 

Systems to Enable Limited-Term Employees in Manufacturing Operations to Become Full-Time Employees and Mazda Workers’ Union Members*

Mazda is committed to developing a workplace in which limited-term employees can feel fulfilled with their work. Specifically, a system has been put in place to allow limited-term employees who have worked for six months or more at Mazda to become full-time employees. In addition, limited-term employees who have worked for six months or more and had their contracts renewed can become members of the Mazda Workers’ Union. Through these and other initiatives, the Company is cultivating a sense of unity among differing types of employees as it aims to foster an environment where employees feel empowered in their work. 

* These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation. 

Mazda Technical College (Two-Year Course)*

Mazda Technical College, approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, is an in-house education institution offering courses to high school graduates and selected employees in order to cultivate human resources that can play a central role in manufacturing at Mazda. Those who complete the two-year program are assigned to various divisions, from research and development to manufacturing, and thrive at various vehicle manufacturing sites.

【Statistics from FY March 2024】

• Total number of 98 students, including 11 students from Group companies or suppliers (as of March 15, 2024) 
• Total number of 1,563 graduates (among current employees) (April 1988–August 2023) 

* These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation. 

To maximize the performance of its human resources, Mazda seeks to foster an organizational culture based on shared values and to support employee growth and contributions. The Company is also advancing other fundamental human resources development initiatives including the implementation of human resources systems that provide ideal work and workplace environments, global human resources development measures, and the promotion of diversity. 

In FY March 2009, Mazda consolidated the principles and values handed down within the Company through its history to define the seven principles that constitute the Mazda Way. Employees’ attitude and behavior based on the Mazda Way are utilized as competency evaluation items. In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of its founding, the Company provided all employees with an opportunity to look back on the history of the Company that shaped the Mazda Way. The Company continues to promote measures to ensure that the Mazda Way can easily be put into practice by employees. 

Mazda uses the Tobiuo* human resources system to provide the ideal work and workplace environments for supporting the growth and contributions of all employees so that they can deliver their best performance. Human resources measures are being deployed based on the system’s three pillars of Choice and Self-Accomplishment, Promote Balance between Work and Life, and Best Match of People, Work and Rewards. 

The Three Pillars of Tobiuo 

Choice and Self-Accomplishment 

Mazda provides various opportunities for employees to take the initiative in setting their own growth and performance goals and doing their best to achieve these goals so that, ultimately, such efforts can contribute to greater results for the Company. Mazda offers a range of education and training programs to help employees develop their careers and improve their skills based on their job types and positions. These programs are designed to enable Mazda and Group companies in Japan and overseas to share goals and to manufacture and sell products of the same quality in all countries and regions. 

Promote Balance between Work and Life*

Mazda is implementing and growing a variety of programs to enable its employees—a diverse range of people with different values and lifestyles—to feel empowered at work and find a healthy balance between their work and personal lives. 

■ Promotion of understanding of various work–life balance measures: To promote understanding of its various measures, the Company provides explanations in its management skills training programs and on its intranet about support measures designed based on life events. 

■ Review of the contents of the working regulations: The Company relaxed the conditions for remote working in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and takes other steps to adjust its working regulations based on changes to the social climate. 

■ Efforts to reduce excessive working hours: To make conscious efforts to reduce excessive working hours by streamlining operations, the Company has implemented various measures targeting back-office divisions, including the designation of no-overtime days and mandatory lights-out times, since 2007.

Best Match of People, Work and Rewards

Mazda has put in place a system to ensure that each employee understands their work evaluation results and ability level assessments and feels that their growth and performance are appropriately reflected in their compensation.

Specifically, since 2003, instead of using gender, age, nationality, or years of service as criteria, employees are graded according to their ability level (production and medical staff) and work level (administrative and engineering staff), so that individual employee’s performances are directly reflected in their base salaries and bonuses. In wage determination, the Company is in compliance with local laws and regulations in each region both in Japan and overseas. Moreover, it also takes the Company’s current circumstances and social trends into consideration—from the perspectives of employment stability, improvements to quality of life, and human resources development—when making decisions.

* These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation. 

Major Measures Promoting Work–Life Balance and Diversity in the Workplace (As of April 30, 2024)

*1 Operated under a different system before the commencement of this system.

*2 This is a selective benefit system. Individual employees can seek the type of assistance that most suits them by choosing from a number of preset benefit options within the points they have.

Major Education and Training Programs

*1 These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation.

*2 24 courses comprising skills to pass on to new engineers are available in 13 fields: Iron and casting, die casting, casting, powder alloys, heat treatment, machining, engine assembly, axle assembly, transmission assembly, press, chassis, painting, and vehicle assembly

Competency Evaluation System*

Once a year, Mazda carries out a competency evaluation to evaluate the work attitude and behavior of administrative and engineering staff. Based on the seven principles of the Mazda Way, a subjective evaluation (360-degree evaluation) is carried out to assess the work attitude and behavior items that the employee is expected to improve (competency evaluation items), from the employee’s own perspectives and from the perspectives of their supervisors, and, for managers and above, also from the perspective of subordinates, colleagues, and partner companies. Feedback on the evaluation results is given to the employee by supervisors at the career meetings at which they discuss growth goals and future issues to be addressed. The competency evaluation system is used as an effective tool for supporting the employee’s personal development and contributions. The evaluation results are used as a reference for effective Companywide positioning of personnel. 

* These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation

Career Challenge (In-House Recruitment/FA) System*

As part of the career challenge system, Mazda advertises for the requisite work experience and skills it requires for new positions and offers an in-house recruitment system for employees who want to take on the challenge of a new position. Briefing sessions on in-house recruitment are held, and many employees considering applying for the system have participated in briefings online. These briefings function as forums for the active exchange of information with the personnel from various departments that called for applicants for specific assignments. A large number of applicants come forward each time such recruitments take place. The Company will continue to periodically implement this system to provide employees with an opportunity to think about their own career development. 

* These activities are only conducted at Mazda Motor Corporation.