Seven & i Group believes that human resources are the wellspring for enhancing corporate value and that human resources capable of thinking and acting for themselves are essential for further growth. The Group constantly places importance on human resources, such as the training and education of employees, on the basis of our Corporate Creed of “Trust and Sincerity,” which was our founding philosophy, and the Group companies conduct human resources development to match their respective business characteristics.

Based on the Medium-Term Management Plan announced in July 2021, Seven & i Group aims to build an organization in which both companies and employees can grow together and to build workplaces that are pleasant for everyone. We seek to enhance job satisfaction through such initiatives as skill development and support for autonomous learning for each employee and to build workplaces in which employees really can feel satisfied through workstyle reform, productivity improvement, the promotion of diversity and inclusion, and so on.

Seven & i Group engages in human resources development through training systems refined by the Group companies to match their respective business characteristics. The Group focuses particularly on the essential task of improving the skills of store employees who interact with customers. To this end, we hold regular group training by position and also work to enhance the skills and develop the careers of individual employees, including part-timers.

To respond to the diversification of values in society and the economy and digital transformation (DX), and to promote human resource policy as an axle alongside management strategy, in August 2020 Seven & i Holdings split the educational function from the Personnel Planning Department and newly established an independent body, the Human Resources Development Department, to promote skill development and human resource development in the Group. We are making efforts to improve the human resource development setup to support the skill development and autonomous learning of individual employees, the standard bearers of value creation.

Seven-Eleven Japan holds a “new employee training” program for new hires at stores, and a “shift leader training” program aimed at nurturing the “shift leaders” who will serve as models for franchise store employees. Those who undergo shift leader training are presented with a certificate of completion and a business card holder.

In the fiscal year ending February 28, 2022, 10,914 training sessions were held, and 39,740 employees took the courses. Through the training, Seven-Eleven Japan lends support to the franchise store owner’s work to teach their employees, while also improving both work satisfaction for many employees and the level of customer service in the stores.

Ito-Yokado holds new employee training for all employees, including part-time employees, to teach company policies, retail fundamentals, and skills and knowledge required for work. Furthermore, training leading to on-the-job training at stores is continuously held to provide basic knowledge of products handled by affiliated section and to improve skills related to customer service and fresh food preparation. In this way, the company assists employees in upgrading their skills. Additionally, training is held for everyone from new recruits to sales floor staff, sales floor managers, division managers, and store managers, to provide knowledge of sales floor management and management skills in stages and in line with their respective positions. Advance training is also implemented to encourage employees to keep on learning and to improve their skills in preparation for their next positions.

York-Benimru uses target setting charts to assess the individual employee’s current skills and abilities as well as skills to be acquired and training targets between individual employees and their managers. The target setting charts include detailed items necessary for job performance, such as customer service, sales area management, ordering, and food preparation techniques, with the skills and abilities of the employee assessed on a six-step scale from 0 to 5. In the “skills version” for staff members and part-time employees, items are determined for each division depending on duties, job characteristics, and products handled for each analysis item. There is also a “management version” for store managers, assistant store managers, customer service managers and section managers that is intended to help raise and standardize management abilities. Based on the chart, employees confirm their skill levels with their supervisors and twice a year share the progress they have made with their supervisors and establish the next set of goals. This enables them to check their own growth, helping to boost motivation.

To provide opportunities for employees to engage in independent study, Seven & i Group subsidizes fees, and so on for those employees who are taking correspondence courses and e-learning related to business skills, knowledge, etc.

Ito-Yokado proposes 306 correspondence courses to all employees, including part-time employees, and subsidizes part of the tuition fees of employees completing a course. In the fiscal year ending February 28, 2022, 358 employees took correspondence courses.

Seven Bank provides about 350 courses for self-development, including correspondence courses for learning English, financial knowledge, and other subjects; online courses to study English conversation, business knowledge, information technology, and programming; and at-school courses for earning an MBA. In the fiscal year ending February 28, 2022, employees took 210 courses.

Akachan Honpo uses correspondence courses to support the self-development of employees, and covers all costs for taking courses when a specific certification is being acquired. Also, it held 24 non-compulsory "TERAKOYA" business courses as a means for store managers and assistant store managers to improve their business skills, in which many employees took part.

Seven & i Group, which develops diverse businesses, believes it is important to support employees’ acquisition of professional skills, such as sales and cooking, befitting their work characteristics, to ensure that every employee understands the spirit of “Trust and Sincerity”, which is our founding philosophy, and to foster the next generation of human resources. For this purpose, the Group companies have been making use of the Ito Training Center as an educational facility. Opened in 2012, so far this center has been used by an aggregate of more than 400,000 employees.

The center underwent a major renovation in 2020 so that it can respond to new educational programs. The historical materials room utilizes digital signage and provides an easy-to-view, easy-to-understand study environment. The training rooms offer an environment in which employees can study enthusiastically. Unbound by any fixed format, they are equipped with stair-type stools catering to freely movable training and remote cameras and tablets enabling trainees to pleasantly take part in online training.

Seven & i Holdings has an open recruitment system that is made available once a year through which employees can apply for open positions at any Group operating company regardless of where they work. The goal is to support all the Group’s employees to develop their diverse careers. Every year, many employees apply for the system and are active in new fields while making the most of their previous experience.

Group companies have also instituted internal recruitment systems. For example, at Ito-Yokado, employees who have worked at the company for at least one year can become candidates for managerial positions and jobs regardless of business experience or seniority. In the fiscal year ending February 28, 2022, 207 people applied through this system and 40 people were appointed to their preferred positions or jobs.