CHAPTER 3 | Development20

i-Company
One key element for creating a high level of employee

Moreover, learning about Motivation Engineering, which isengagement is the development of independent human

our core technology and the source of our competitive

resources. The following is an excerpt from our DNA Book,

advantage, is an opportunity that other companies cannot

through which we pass down our management philosophy.

provide. We have operated LM College as an institution fordeveloping human resources since its establishment in 2004.

As a pro, deepening professional expertise and contributing toOne of its main goals is to develop management skills

the organization are inextricably linked. At a higher level, bothconsistent with our principles and to serve as a model thatare synonymous. Pros are fully aware of their role in theorganization and concentrate on performing to their maximum
ability for the organization. This attitude builds theorganization’s trust in the individual, and consequently, it also

leads to maximizing the satisfaction of his or her needs.

embodies our message to society, “Our people are ourgreatest, most powerful asset.”
We are also committed to nurturing our next generationof managers. To continue to change and grow, we must(Vol. 35: The Team Orientation of a Pro, DNA Book)

continuously develop new leaders. These leaders must be

We emphasize that each employee should adopt theand embody our philosophy, increase employee engagement,

able not only to advance our business, but also to understandviewpoint of being the manager of their own “i-Company” toand link those attributes to successful results. We have

independently develop their careers. By doing so, they gain ainvested considerably in this area, and in 2021 we ramped up

new perspective on their i-Company’s customers, partners

our efforts by launching Top Gun Selection, a new selectiveand competitors, as well as its strengths and challenges,

program for developing the next generation of managers.

facilitating independent and autonomous career development.
21

CHAPTER 3 | Development
01 Developing i-Companies

Cultivating i-Companies for
Independent Career Development

Training System Based on Our Frameworkof Requirements for Human Resources

The growth of every employee is essential for carrying out our business

Strengthening IT Skills forDigital Transformation (DX)strategies. The Link and Motivation Group places great importance on- DX survey, PC skill training by level・・・・・・・・Strengthening Motivation Engineering
TechnicalSkills

corporations to independently develop their own careers. We haveStrengthening the Portable Skills
Required of Professionals

therefore systematized the elements necessary for generating individual・・・・・
PortableSkills

cultivating “i-Companies,” in which individuals regard themselves as- Top Gun seminars

performance as a framework of requirements for human resources and- Negotiation training- Logical thinking training- Self-motivation control training- Leadership training- Career design training

offer numerous opportunities for their development, mainlyetc.

Strengthening the Stance Required at Each Level
Level-Specific Training to Understand Roles

・・ - New company president training(Understanding Expectations for Each Level)

Stanceprovides as services outside the Group.
Total developing and training costs in 2021 are shown on the left.
They are calculated as external expenditures for training and personnelexpenses, but actual costs are not that high because we utilize our own- New manager training- New employee stance training

services. However, when converted to the amount that would be

Level-Specific Survey Training(Setting Tasks for Growth)- Survey feedback training for: upper management;
management; senior employees; leaders; mid-levelemployees; junior employees

Total developing
and training costs

through the various types of training that Link and Motivation also

2019

2020

2021

Actual costs (thousand yen)

195,891

146,799

94,793

Converted to amount charged forservices to customers (thousand yen)412,642404,515

385,674

charged for providing the same services to customers, these figures
make it apparent that we invest a considerable sum. Costs decreased
in 2021 compared with the previous year because we switched to online
implementation, but we intend to continue investing in developing ourhuman resources.

22Reference
Rank-Based Survey Training

Accelerating Individual Growth byFrequently Implementing the PDCA Cycle

Diagnosis

Transformation

Evaluation by supervisors
and workplace colleagues
based on items that varydepending on rank

Employees of same rank takepart in multilateral discussions
to provide advice

Strengths andweaknesses

To accelerate the growth of individuals, all employees, including directors, complete atwice-annual 360-degree evaluation survey, a service of Link and Motivation,
to identify individual growth issues and create an action plan.
First, each supervisor and workplace colleague evaluates the individual on 40
items that vary depending on the roles required for the relevant rank. This entails

Goal setting

evaluation on two axes—degree of expectation and degree of satisfaction—tomeasure whether the individual is meeting the expectations of those around them.

Action planTargetRankSurvey*
Conducted

The survey results are then used for training in the form of multilateral discussions to

Number ofParticipants in
2nd Half of 2021

provide advice. Employees of the same rank are grouped randomly, and these fivemember groups give each other advice on issues they are facing. Joining each group

Upper management

Plato Survey

52

is one employee of a higher rank who plays a facilitating role in raising the field ofManagement

Lincoln Survey

106

vision of group members. For example, in the advice session for directors, Link andSenior employees

KOSI Survey17

Motivation Group Chairman and Representative Director Ozasa Yoshihisa participates

Leaders

Einstein Survey

130

in the facilitation role.

Mid-level employees

Columbus Survey729

New employees

Darwin Survey

209* Surveys conducted are products of Link and Motivation Inc.,and the product names are listed.

In this way, we are putting considerable effort into individual development, andprovide an environment where people can continue to grow no matter theirseniority or position.

23

Reference
Transfers

Accelerating Individual Growththrough Strategic Transfers

Developing Portable Skills through Transfers
Portable SkillsSkills that are transferable regardless of industry or occupation
Task-directedcapabilities

Self-directedcapabilities

Interpersonalskills

Ability toattempt

Ability tochange

Ability tobe agile

Ability tocreate

Ability toplan

Ability topropel

Ability toperform

Ability toanalyze

Ability tomake decisions

Ability to deal
with ambiguity

Ability to
act quickly

Ability totake risks

Ability topersevere

Ability tomaintain discipline

Ability topersist

Ability tobe prudent

Ability toassert opinions

Ability todeny

Ability topersuade

Ability tolead

Ability tolisten

Ability toaccept

Ability tosupport

Ability tocooperate

In addition to development through training, appropriate transfers to acquire a fullrange of competencies are important for cultivating i-Companies. Human resources
whose experience is exclusively in the same field or occupation find it difficult toachieve a full range of competencies and skills, and thus tend toward specialization.
Experiencing multiple fields and occupations broadens a person’s range ofcompetencies and skills, and we believe that enables us to contribute to thedevelopment of i-Companies. Therefore, the Link and Motivation Group focuses on
how long an individual is assigned to the same field, and conducts transfers once
every four years as a rough guideline.
At the same time, we believe objectives other than individual development should

2019
Average period in thesame field1 (years)

3.4

Internal mobility rate2
(%)

73.2

2020
3.7

2021
4.1

also be considered in making transfers. Considerations include appropriate

allocation of human resources to supplement organizations that lack personnel,
as well as organizational revitalization, in which transfers prevent the human

56.4

69.7

1. Group businesses are categorized into specified fields, and theperiod an individual spends in each field is calculated.
2. Transfers among occupations and the fields in note 1., as well aschanges in roles due to promotions or demotions, are defined asinternal transfers for the purpose of calculating the internal mobility
rate for the year.

resources in an organization from becoming set in their ways. We aim to build moreproductive organizations by considering these various objectives to conduct themost appropriate transfers.

24

CHAPTER 3 | Development

Discontinuous Corporate Growth throughthe Cultivation of Human Resources Who Can
Adapt to Product, Labor and Capital Markets

02 Developing Management Personnel“Top Gun Selection” Training for Management Personnel

Cultivating management personnel to lead the organization isSelective Training Program (Excerpt)
PROGRAM｜2

PROGRAM｜1
Proposal Presentation
MeetingSurvey Feedback
Training

Presentations to directors on
various themes and feedback

Setting tasks and targets withGroup Representative
Director Ozasa Yoshihisa

indispensable for business expansion and growth. The Link and

PROGRAM｜3

Motivation Group’s management personnel are expected to be able toGroup Dinner
Sharing views from variousangles and socializing withGroup Representative
Director Ozasa Yoshihisa

adapt to product, labor and capital markets, and to think froma Group-wide perspective. However, in carrying out day-to-dayduties, there is a tendency to adapt only to the product market and toClass

Objective

No. of Participants
2021

take the perspective of one’s own particular field. Therefore, since 2021

2022

we have been implementing the selective training program Top Gun

Corporate officer

Raise the level of corporate officers

ー5Company
president

Cultivate the next group of officer candidates

55

The year-long program selects members from each level, fromManager

Cultivate future officer candidates

512

general employees to senior managers, to learn the perspectiveGeneralemployee

Cultivate the next group of manager
candidates

66and approach a manager should have.
A total of 16 participants from all levels received training in 2021.

Prospective Management Personnel (As of December 31, 2021)
Officercandidates

・・・・・・・・

27 candidates / 24 current appointees(Successor coverage rate: 112%)・・・・

116 candidates / 37 current appointees(Successor coverage rate: 314%)

Company presidentcandidates(Breakdown of candidates)
Ready in less than 1 year:
Ready in 1 to 3 years:
Ready in 4 to 5 years:

Selection as an opportunity for growth separate from actual work.

428
84

Comments included, “I felt an urgent need to develop the perspectiveof a manager” and “It prepared me to take charge of my company
someday in the future.” We believe that the program has been effective
in developing human resources as management personnel.
In 2022, 23 people have been selected and training is under way.
We will continue to focus on developing human resources who will beleaders in the future.

25CHAPTER 3 | Development
02 Developing Management Personnel

Training for Managers Who Serve as a
“Junction Point” to Broaden Their Perspective
and Fulfill Their Roles

Leadership Development Policy
Managers General Meeting(Held Quarterly)Managers Serve as a
“Junction Point”
Explanations

Decisions

Awareness

SupportWe believe that the role of a manager is to serve as a “junction point”
that connects a company and its members—it is a role crucial for
maintaining a high level of employee engagement while producing

Development
Programbusiness results. To that end, we conduct manager training and monitor
how others evaluate managers’ leadership as a core metric.

Participation Rate (%)

Objective

20192020

2021

New manager
training

Understand the role expected of amanager

100.0

100.0

100.0

Level-specifictraining formanagers

Understand current situation to settasks and targets

92.2

94.2

91.0

Managers General
Meeting

Broaden perspective as a manager

--

100.0

Our main manager training programs consist of new manager
training so they understand the role they should play,level-specific training so they recognize their current situation
to set tasks, and participation in the Managers General Meeting tobroaden their perspective.
We also monitor how others evaluate managers’ leadership basedon the results of individual surveys. In 2021, results for all fiveManager Leadership Evaluation

metrics scored 4.0 or higher (of a maximum of 5), so we feel thatthe managers of the Link and Motivation Group are functioning

Five Sources of Influence Expected of a Manager
Expertise

AppealReciprocity

Consistency

Strictness

4.5

4.3

4.7

4.3

4.1

well as junction points.
We intend to continue to enhance manager leadership going forwardby conducting the development measures managers need.

Note: Calculated as the average for all managers, based on the results of individual
surveys regarding managers. Responses are scored on a five-point scale from1 (“not satisfied at all”) to 5 (“very satisfied”). Figures are results for 2021.

26

Reference
Leadership Team Skill Matrix
Corporate Management
Name

Current Position

Areas of Expertise

ManagerialExperience

Employee
Engagement

Industry
Knowledge

Ozasa Yoshihisa

Chairman and Representative Director

●

●

●

Sakashita Hideki

President and Representative Director●●●Ohno Shunichi

Director

Yuasa Tomoyuki

Outside Director●●

Kakuyama Takashi Outside Director

Finance &Accounting

Legal & Risk
Management

Research &Development

●
●

●

●
●

●

Kuriyama Hiromi

Audit & Supervisory Board Member (Full-time)

Kimura Hidekazu

Audit & Supervisory Board Member (Part-time)

●

●

●

Tominaga Kenji

Audit & Supervisory Board Member (Part-time)

●

●

●

Sales &Marketing●●●

DX & IT

●

●

●

●

Appointing Directors Capable of Making Management Decisions
That Link Business and Organizational Strategies
The Board of Directors of the Link and Motivation Inc. is composed of five

In January 2022, the Company introduced a corporate officer

directors (two outside directors). The three internal directors makesystem with the aim of separating management decision-making andmanagement decisions that link business and organizational

supervision from business execution, thereby enabling the execution ofstrategies as professionals in organizational transformation, withmanagement based on judgments that accurately grasp both theextensive experience as organizational and personnel consultants.

business environment and changes in it. Three managing directors

The two outside directors leverage their deep insight into corporate

oversee the Organizational Development Division, the Individual

management and expert knowledge of industrial and organizational

Development Division and the Matching Division, respectively, and fivepsychology, which has affinity with the Group’s business.

corporate officers oversee various Group-wide functions.

27