Our Policy and Strategy
The vision of the TOMY Group’s human resources strategy is to “build an environment facilitating a passion for work that creates Asobi as an organization capable of self-driven and sustainable growth.” Based on this vision, we support employee skill development so that each employee can think about their own career, aim to improve their skills and capabilities, and unlock further potential. We are also working to reform our career planning, evaluation, and compensation systems so that diverse human resources can work with a sense of fulfillment, maximize their personal growth, and help realize our Purpose, Vision, and Values. Going forward, we will make particular efforts to strengthen the development of next-generation management executives and human resources who promote marketing globally.
Management Structure
We have expanded the human resources division to include functions for promoting human resource development and training, putting in place a system to strengthen various measures and initiatives to achieve the Business Vision and Sustainability Vision formulated in the “Medium- to Long-Term Management Strategy 2030.”
The TOMY Group works to develop and expand an educational system to help maximize individual employee capabilities and enable self-driven, sustainable growth.
We provide a wide variety of training content so that each employee can think about their own career, aim to improve their skills and capabilities, and unlock further potential, while also creating a system that allows employees to make self-driven choices according to their own career plans, thereby supporting the development of their capabilities.
Key Initiatives
Unique TOMY Job-based Personnel System
Based on the vision of our human resources strategy, which is to “build an environment facilitating a passion for work that creates Asobi as an organization capable of self-driven and sustainable growth,” we revised our personnel system to one that promotes the growth and job satisfaction of all employees and maximizes their performance.
1. Grading system
We have revised the grading system to facilitate self-driven career planning with a variety of options.
Specifically, until now, the predominant form of career advancement has been to pursue managerial positions. However, we have revised the definition of the role of specialist positions, expanded career advancement achieved by exercising high expertise in various positions, and changed to a multi-path job group system consisting of managerial and specialist positions.
We have now moved to a unique TOMY job-based grading system where job groups that had been classified as permanent positions are now classified as core positions, job groups have been sub-divided into sales, marketing, development, production technology, corporate, and other positions, and employees can choose to either hone their expertise in their respective positions or experience a variety of positions before aiming for managerial positions. In addition, as a result of reviewing the role definitions of grades within core positions, the number of grades has been reduced by one, enabling employees to aim for career advancement to managerial or specialist positions earlier.
2. Evaluation system
We have revised the employee evaluation system to one that aims not only to assess results and achievements and reflect them in compensation, but also to promote employee growth. Specifically, instead of using the same evaluation criteria by grade for all positions, we have introduced evaluation based on the degree to which employees demonstrate the skills required for each position, thereby changing to an evaluation system that allows employees to grasp their current status in more detail and link this to their growth through meetings with their supervisors.
In addition, we have changed from a relative evaluation system in which positive and negative evaluations are controlled by the rate of occurrence, with a normal evaluation as the center, to an absolute evaluation system in which the degree to which each individual has demonstrated various skills is compared to set criteria. We have also clarified where the results of evaluation and compensation are reflected. Work results and performance are evaluated as a performance evaluation and reflected as a variable coefficient in performance bonuses. At the same time, performance evaluation is not used for promotion, and if the employee's conduct and skills are evaluated as being of a level that contributes to a higher grade, the employee is promoted by satisfying other requirements, such as an aptitude test.
3. Compensation system
We have revised the compensation system by eliminating seniority-based wages and allowances that have little to do with work or results, and by making each grade more competitive.
Specifically, we used compensation amounts from an external survey as benchmarks to set upper and lower limit ranges for each grade. Upon being promoted, employees are moved within the range set for the promoted grade and their salary is adjusted according to their evaluation within the range, regardless of age or years of experience.
Household allowances and child allowances, which were paid to employees who were heads of households and had dependent children, were paid primarily to men, and have now been eliminated. Instead, the wage structure will be more grade- and performance-oriented regardless of an individual's family structure or environment, to ensure that there are no wage differences or inequities due to personal factors.
Career Interviews
In addition to evaluation meetings, we conduct interviews with employees to learn about their medium-term career plans and promote their growth toward their envisioned careers. We are also developing mechanisms to understand employee aspirations regarding working overseas in order to develop global human resources.
Training System
Below are examples of the training programs we offer in Japan.
| Target | Main training content |
|---|---|
| All employees |
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| Specific professional grades, responsibilities, or years of employment |
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| Voluntary skill acquisition and self-improvement support |
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In addition to the programs listed above, we conduct a Toy Technology Training Course for young employees involved in planning development, technology development, production technology, or quality management to learn about the structure of toys and technology involved in molding. We also provide a TOMY Toy Technology Think Tank brochure that summarizes our expertise on setting up a new production base. Through such efforts, the TOMY Group has established a framework that enables young employees to benefit from our long-amassed technology and expertise.
Promoting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I)
The TOMY Group believes that embracing the diverse perspectives of a diverse range of people in our business is the best way to develop and invigorate our company, so we make our hiring decisions based on comprehensive judgement and a genuine respect for a candidate’s skills and individuality without reference to nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability or disability.
Women’s Empowerment
As part of creating workplaces where diverse talent can thrive, the TOMY Group promotes women’s empowerment to further gender diversity. We have established an action plan to foster working environments where women can succeed as managers, and aim to increase the percentage of women in managerial roles to over 30% in the TOMY Group and over 20% in the TOMY Company (stand-alone) by the end of March 2026.
Major initiatives include holding roundtable discussions with young managers, as well as various trainings and workshops, so that employees can find role models that match their personal goals. In April 2024, we also established a division to promote diversity, equity & inclusion (DE&I), and are further strengthening measures and initiatives in order to achieve our targets.
Targets (period: April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2026)
- 1. Increase the percentage of women in managerial roles to 20% or higher
- 2. Increase the percentage of men taking childcare leave to 30% or higher within five years
Rehiring Retirees and Specified Skill Personnel System
The TOMY Group has a retiree rehiring system for reemploying people who left the company at retirement age. Along with enabling them to leverage the skills, abilities and experiences they have gained over the years, the system is also used to train younger employees. We also have a personnel system under which employees with specific skills deemed vital to the Group (such as design, production, quality, after-sales service, overseas production management or business management) are designated as personnel with specified skills (called “fellows” within the company). We believe that bestowing the next generation with the technology, knowhow and experience gained through our wide-ranging operations around the world will be essential to the sustainable development of our business.
Mid-career Hiring Initiatives and Job Return System
We actively seek out mid-career hires whose skills are an immediate asset to the company. We also have a Job Return System in place to rehire former employees who left the company due to life circumstances — such as marriage, childbirth, childcare, nursing care or their partner’s job transfer — as well as those who left to further their career by going back to school, studying abroad or pursuing other roles. This system enables employees to utilize the knowledge and experiences gained after their departure from the company by returning to the TOMY Group, with the aim of revitalizing the company and creating new value.
