VOICE: Our employee engagement survey

Management has been running VOICE, an engagement survey asking for genuine feedback from all employees worldwide, since fiscal 2016. This is an initiative for OMRON’s continued sustainable development, allowing management to gauge our Company’s appeal as a workplace, understand and identify management issues, and take action on these issues.

From fiscal 2018, we have incorporated the Sustainable Engagement Index or SEI, which statistically examines growth in performance and the Company’s attractiveness.

Our management team uses scores based on analysis of the aggregate data as well as the free comments that communicate what our employees really think to monitor issues, understand and identify monitoring outcomes as management issues, hold thorough discussions aimed at their resolution, and continue reforms.

Since the previous survey in fiscal 2020, we have promoted various initiatives to address certain issues, including those related to operational efficiency and performance management with the aim of a company where each and every employee can work with vigor and vitality.

1. IT infrastructure

• Accelerated standardization of operations and digitalization of business processes through redesigned corporate systems (introduction of systems for global HR management and for travel expense reimbursement/indirect material procurement)
• Expand working from home and other flexible work styles and enhance communication by using Microsoft 365 (Teams)

2. Rules and business processes

• Review business decision-making and work processes at each worksite
• Introduce job-based performance evaluation systems (mainly in Japan)

3. Strengthening management capabilities

• Use 360-degree feedback to identify issues faced by managers and conduct training to improve feedback processes (Approximately 80% of the course is complete)
• Expand feedback and unconscious bias training to all overseas managers in order to strengthen their management skills

In addition, more than 230 other problem-solving initiatives have been actively implemented globally on the basis of the survey results.

In fiscal 2022, we conducted an engagement survey (targeting 20,603 individuals with a response rate of 91%) to assess changes in the aforementioned organizational conditions due to actions taken and identify new management challenges.

In fiscal 2023, based on these results, we are further accelerating reforms and improvements on issues (operational efficiency and performance management) that we must continue to address in order to realize "a company where each and every employee can work with vigor and vitality" on a global basis.

1. Operational efficiency

• Corporate system redesign
• IT infrastructure/business process improvement

2. Performance management

• Realization of a human resource allocation system which places the right people in the right places to maximize the motivation and abilities of our employees.
• Introduction of a job-based personnel evaluation system (mainly in Japan)