HR Policies

General Group HR Policies

The Human Resources Policies of Sumida are presently being unified throughout the group. In the near future, all employees will be able to move anywhere within the group without the need to be briefed in detail about any local-specific HR policies.

Staff Training and Development

At Sumida, we believe investing in people is the most important investment we can do. We are known for our commitment to providing our employees with an ongoing learning environment and the opportunity to develop the most current skills and expertise. English language training programs are conducted at all Sumida offices in Japan and for management at the factories in Tai Ping and Pun Yu in Southern China. TOEIC tests are periodically conducted in all offices in non-native English speaking countries in which Sumida has a presence. As English is the common language of business as well as the dominant language on the Internet, the CEO, Mr. S. Yawata has announced a policy to make English the common language of the Sumida group from January 1 2002. This policy has attracted much attention from the media in Japan.

Our Hong Kong office conducts an Education Assistance Scheme where employees who embark on work-related courses aimed at achieving professional or technical qualifications at approved institutions are offered financial assistance with tutorial fees. The Hong Kong office has long been offering Japanese Language lessons to staff.

All offices regularly hold discussion groups, workshops and training programs as required.

Evaluation System

The Hong Kong office of Sumida has long had a performance appraisal system in place for employees. The Japan office, has also abandoned the traditional seniority based salary system and instituted a 100% performance based evaluation system. This policy is quite progressive for Japanese companies and it, too, has attracted the attention of the media in Japan.

The system instituted in Japan requires each employee to set goals for the coming period. Goals are discussed with the supervisor to ensure that they are specific, measurable, achievable and controllable. It is also necessary to ensure that there is no duplication of effort on the part of employees. Once the goals are in place each employee works toward the completion of a "Challenge Sheet" which is used in assessing performance. A points system is used to evaluate the employee on the basis of commitment, challenge and contribution. The supervisor and the employee discuss the evaluation and agree on a final overall assessment.

Corporate Intranet & Knowledge Sharing

Much sharing of information and knowledge takes place over the corporate intranet. From HR policies to e-mail etiquette, the Intranet is an integral part of the internal communications network of the Sumida group.