Diversity and Work-Life Balance

Our Approach to Diversity

The ID&E Group has established a working environment in which diverse human resources with different values and perspectives, regardless of nationality, gender, age, or employment status, can demonstrate their individuality and abilities and play an active role in the Group. We believe that this is indispensable for the growth of the Group. In our Long-term Management Strategy, we have also included in our human resource strategy the development of a highly productive work environment that makes maximum use of innovative technologies such as AI and ICT in line with the progress of digitalization, and the pursuit of diverse work styles and diversity management regardless of the form, place, or time of employment.
In 2021, to further promote the active participation of diverse human resources, we set three diversity targets (numerical targets) of ratio of female managers, ratio of foreign managers, and ratio of mid-career recruit managers, which are all to be achieved by 2030. These figures will be reviewed and announced each fiscal year, and we will work steadily to achieve these targets.

In addition, as a basis for the success of these diverse human resources and the expansion of diverse work styles, we will continue to promote the building of various foundations, such as reducing overtime work, improving the annual paid leave utilization rate, developing and operating a childcare leave system that is easy for both men and women to take, creating a gynecological leave system to support further success for women, and establishing an English-speaking consultation service for non-Japanese.

Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace

In regard to the policy on women's advancement, we have set quantitative targets in the "Action Plan based on the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace" and are continuing our efforts. In addition, we will implement new priority measures at the graduate recruitment stage to increase the ratio of female employees.
Specifically, we have set a target for increasing the percentage of new female university graduates hired to at least 20%.

Promoting the Active Participation of Foreign Employees

ID&E recruits new and mid-career human resources regardless of nationality to accelerate its global business expansions. In addition to further advancing our response to globalization in Japan, we are also promoting the development of global human resources for new graduates in career-track positions as well as the creation of autonomous career plans.

Promoting the Active Participation of People with Disabilities

We are working to create a comfortable working environment for people with disabilities and to develop their work duties, such as working together as a team for a single task. In 2022, Aichi Tamano Information System Co., Ltd., a Group company established in 1987 for the purpose of promoting the employment of people with severe disabilities, was certified as a special subsidiary of the Nippon Koei Group, transforming from its old form as a subsidiary of Tamano Consultants. The employment rate in recent years has been 2.69% (including the special subsidiary), exceeding the statutory employment rate of 2.3%.

Diversity and Work-Life Balance Initiatives

We must prepare and enhance various systems and cultivate an organizational climate where people can use these programs easily to become a place where human resources can always work enthusiastically. Specific initiatives include the preparation of a childcare support program and assistance measures founded in an action plan to support the development of the next generation as well as implementation of an action plan for the promotion of women’s participation to create a workplace where both men and women to play an active role. We are mainly promoting the creation of an environment and systems that allow employees with various circumstances and lifestyles to play an active role, regardless of their gender, as well as changes in life stages such as childcare and nursing care.
ID&E also participates in external activities. In 2019, ID&E joined the Ikuboss^* Corporate Alliance to further raise management awareness about diversity and work-style reforms. In 2021, we attended the Industry-Academia-Government Council on Promoting Diversity as a member institution and actively participated in theforums to promote the active participation of female researchers, such as seminars as well as social gatherings for industry, academia, and government.

• *Ikuboss:Management level employees that consider the work-life balance of their employees and staff they work with, support the development of their career and life, achieve business results as well as enjoy the work and life of their own (business owners and management level).

Telework Promotion (Work from Home/Satellite Offices)

The ID&E Group provides support and facilitates a balance between the personal and professional lives of its employees by allowing flexible work styles, and it has even adopted a work-at-home system and set up satellite offices for the purpose of building a workplace where people can continue to work during each life stage. We currently have satellite offices in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area including Yokohama and Tsukuba with plans to open more in the future.
By better promoting telework systems, we will build an environment aiming for a variety of work styles and high productivity.

Flextime system

If all employees are present during core hours (10:00 to 15:00) when they must work, it allows for a wide range of arrival and departure times and flexibility in the way employees work.

Introduction of no-overtime days

Every Wednesday (Friday for the Research & Development Center) is designated as "No Overtime Day" and employees are encouraged to leave the office on time. We aim to improve the working environment problem during the busy season, which is a common issue in the construction consultant industry.

Platinum Kurumin Certification

ID&E acquired the Kurimin and Platinum Kurumin^* Certification from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as a company with a high-standard of support for child raising in accordance with the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation . The Kurumin Certification is awarded to the companies that outlined an action plan according to the Act on Advancement of Measures to Support Raising Next-Generation Children and achieved the target. Platinum Kurumin is the special certification awarded to Kurumin-certified companies who go even further to fulfill a certain set of requirements for initiatives supporting an even higher level of work-life balance.
ID&E will continue to build an environment where human resources may have diverse work styles in an effort to foster a better work climate.

• *Platinum Kurumin:A symbol of a specially certified company which gives stronger support for a balance between work and family life than a company with the "Kurumin" does.

Systems to Support Work Friendliness

ID&E has put in place a wide range of programs aligning with its approach to diversity as a way to support employees at different stages of life whether having or raising children or caring for sick or elderly family. We not only work to treat employees well but also put in place systems unique to ID&E in addition to legal criteria in an effort to provide a better work-life balance.

Childcare leave:

Employees with children under the age of three may take up to 18 months of childcare leave at ID&E. This system goes beyond statutory requirements (up to one year of leave for children under the age of one) to provide an even more comprehensive program.

Sick/injured child leave:

Employees who have children in elementary school may take leave to care for a sick or injured child (up to five days of paid leave) in addition to their annual paid leave if their child needs a physical examination, hospital visits or other type of medical care. This system goes beyond statutory requirements (There is no paid or unpaid leave arrangement.) to provide an even more comprehensive program.

Special childcare leave:

Employees with a child less than one-year and six months old may take up to ten days of special childcare leave (paid). This system unique to ID&E can be used before and after childcare leave.

Special maternity leave for spouses:

Male employees may take up to a total of three days of special leave (paid) in addition to annual paid leave for and after the birth of a child.

Re-employment program:

Many of our employees have continued to work consistently throughout their career even while having and raising children. Some employees though do have no choice but to resign when having or raising children or when a spouse is transferred. To support these employees in resuming their careers, ID&E established the re-employment program as a means to actively re-employ anyone within six years after their resignation.

Extended nursing care leave:

Employees who need to take care of a sick family member may take up to 365 days in extended nursing care leave. This system allows our employees to take longer leave than the statutory requirements (up to 93 days).

Nursing care leave:

Employees who need to take care of a sick family member may take up to five days of paid nursing care leave in addition to their annual paid leave. This system goes beyond statutory requirements (unpaid/paid leave) to provide an even more comprehensive program.

Support for employees selected as donor candidates for the bone marrow bank:

When selected as a bone marrow bank donor candidate, employees can take a special storage leave for up to 10 days (possible in installments) during the period required for outpatient / hospitalization associated with the donation of bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells.

Employment of disabled persons

ID&E actively employs people with a disability. Today, many of our employees play an active role as the right person for the right job. Some examples include the active roles of people who are visually or physically impaired in administrative and office support positions. We recognize the large difference between individuals whether sharing the same or having different disabilities. ID&E strives to build and develop work-friendly environments, such as cooperation in a particular task through teamwork.

Non-Japanese Employees

ID&E recruits new and mid-career human resources regardless of nationality to accelerate its global business expansions. Every year, a variety of people from different nations join and actively participate in the ID&E Group. Some hope to brush up on their skills with practical experience after learning in a foreign exchange program at a Japanese university or other academic institute. Others hope to take on the world by gaining experience in overseas development projects or at companies overseas and become a bridge between Japan and their hometown at project sites in emerging nations.

Phase III Action Plan based on the Act on Promotion of Women’s Participation and Advancement in the Workplace

ID&E has established Action Plan based on the act on promotion of women's participation and advancement in the workplace as below and is promoting to create a work environment that supports both work and family life without inequality between male and female.

Plan period

July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2024

Quantitative targets

• 1.
  We aim to increase the ratio of female employees to the total number of new graduates hired to 20% or more.
• 2.
  We aim to achieve an annual paid leave utilization rate of at least 60%.
• 3.
  We aim for at least 55% of male employees to take childcare leave and special leave for childcare.

Promotion of Women’s Participation Seen Through Data

• *1Among employees who joined the company between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 and who are still employed as of June 30, 2022.
• *2Calculated by dividing the number of employees who started childcare leave in the current fiscal year by the number of employees whose child was born in the current fiscal year. Even if the date of birth of the child and the date of commencement of childcare leave belong to different fiscal years, they are included in the denominator and numerator of the calculation of the leave utilization rate.

Post-Corona Work Style Reforms

ID&E spearheads work style reforms centered upon the promotion of telework to encourage diverse and flexible work styles.

• Preparation of a telework environment
  • Provision of notebook computers and smartphones to employees
  • Preparation of an environment to access remotely from home
• System innovations for various electronic requests
  • Implementation of system reforms for electronic requests for expense reimbursements, approval and other request forms as a way to support telework
• Preparations for office environments
  • Installation of acrylic partitions in offices and conference rooms
  • Installation of thermal cameras (non-contact temperature sensors) at the head office entrance
• Setup of satellite offices
  • Satellite offices opened in Kanagawa, Chiba and West Tokyo
  • More are scheduled to open in the future