Sustainability of the SoftBank Group

Environment

Society

GovernanceFeature3

SoftBank Group’s Resilience
Further Strengthened during
the COVID-19 Pandemic
As the spread of COVID-19 continues, SoftBank Group Corp. isstrengthening its resilience as a company and achieving business
continuity while ensuring the safety of its employees. Here, thehead of the Human Resources Group of the Human Resources
Department, which supports major changes in work styles from asystem perspective, and the head of the System Planning & Security
Management Group of the Information System Department, which
supports actual business operations from a work environmental
perspective, will talk about the efforts in response to the pandemic
and the resilience of the SoftBank Group.

What we were most aware of during
the emergency——— The spread of COVID-19, which fully began in
2020, has brought about major changes in both
our institutional and business environments.
What were the things that you were most awareof in this situation?
Sumitomo: From a human resources perspective, while wewere forced to fight against an unknown virus, weplaced the utmost importance on realizing employee
health management and maintaining a safe workenvironment, and strived to respond and implement
measures as quickly as possible.
Takahashi: The Information System Department focused on
creating an environment where employees can workwithout feeling overwhelmed and maximize theirwork efficiency, including tasks from setting up andarranging PCs to handling security issues. We were

Sustainability Report 2021

Yohei Takahashi

Hiroyuki Sumitomo

Head of System Planning &Security Management Group,
Information System Department

Head of Human Resources Group,
Human Resources Department

always conscious of the need to improve the work
environment and efficiency, with as littleinconvenience and disadvantage as possible, even in
emergency operations, including the spread of
COVID-19.

Implementation of anti-infection
measures and a “Zero TrustNetwork”——— How were changes made in the system and work
environment in response to the spread of
COVID-19?
Sumitomo: In order to ensure both the safety of ouremployees and the continuation of our business, we
switched to remote work company-wide in March
2020, when COVID-19 began to show signs of
spreading in Japan. Since we had already

implemented remote work on a trial basis prior to thespread of COVID-19, we were able to make thecompany-wide switch to remote work relatively
smoothly.
Takahashi: The Information System Department continued
to evaluate and verify remote work as a response toIT-BCP and work-style reform. In this phase of thespread of COVID-19, we decided to distribute a totalof two PCs to each employee, one for office use andthe other one for home use, because it was too muchof a burden for employees to carry their PCs aroundwhen working from home, and we madepreparations accordingly.
Sumitomo: Thanks to such preparations, two PCs were
distributed to employees by April 2020, when thefirst emergency declaration was issued and thetransition to remote work was made. It was wellreceived by our employees that they can work fromhome or at the office without any additional burdens,
including when they have to come to the office forunavoidable reasons.
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Sustainability of the SoftBank GroupFeature
3

Environment

Society

Governance

SoftBank Group’s Resilience Further Strengthened during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Takahashi: At the same time, the Information SystemDepartment was migrating to a “Zero Trust Network”
that would allow fast and secure access to thecompany environment from anywhere in the world
24/7, and enable more efficient operations. This
implementation project, which began with concept
development in late 2019, was completed in October
2020, and remote work using the new method wasinitiated. The transition would normally take several
years, but it was completed in only about a year tocoincide with the move to the new Takeshiba
Headquarters at the end of December 2020. We
believe that we were able to quickly realize a workenvironment with high security even when working
from home by preparing for implementation before
the spread of COVID-19.
Sumitomo: With the company-wide implementation ofremote work, internal meetings, one-on-onemeetings, recruitment interviews, andcommunication with business partners and investees
are all conducted through the web conference system
as a general rule. Although we had been using a web
conference system for communication with people
from overseas, during the emergency declaration,
online meetings were recommended company-wide.
Despite some confusion at first, each department is
now able to use it relatively smoothly.
Takahashi: As for our web conference system, we currently
use Zoom as our standard tool and issue accounts toeveryone. We also implement security checks andmeasures to ensure secure communication.
——— What measures are you taking to ensure thesafety and security of employees?
Sumitomo: In May 2020, we conducted antibody tests ateach major Group company in Japan and confirmed
the presence of antibodies and the status ofinfection. In addition, taking advantage of theestablishment of a PCR testing center within theSustainability Report 2021

Group, we have been conducting periodic saliva PCR
tests for all employees since August 2020. Because
the saliva PCR test gives the results on the same day,
if there are suspicions of a positive result, weimmediately contact the person and their supervisor
to check the person’s physical condition and also to
confirm the possibility of close contacts. Based on theresult of the test, we can instruct the employee to go
to a medical institution or work from home, and if
the person who has tested positive was working
onsite, we can promptly have the office disinfectedby a specialized company. By identifying
asymptomatic employees early on and building asystem that prevents cluster outbreaks, we are able
to provide employees with a safe work environment.
In June 2021, we also started workplacevaccination for employees of domestic Group
companies and their families and business partners.
In cooperation with each company, we were able topromptly arrange venues, doctors and nurses, andthus were able to start the vaccination program at an
early stage.

Awareness and improvement ofwork style born in response to
COVID-19——— Please tell us about the positive side effects
from the pandemic, if any.
Sumitomo: One positive aspect that I would like to mention
is that employees who used to think that they had tocome to the office to work now understand that it ispossible to carry out certain tasks even when working
from home. By changing the operational rules that
we used to take for granted, we were able tominimize the number of employees coming to theoffice, and this has also led to improved operational
efficiency. In addition, we are starting to work on

things that we have not been able to address in thepast such as consideration of the use of electronic
signatures.
Although the work environment triggered by the
pandemic has brought many challenges, it hasbrought the possibilities for improving our operations,which have been positive in the end. This can be
attributed to the fact that the Information System
Department has developed an environment thatenables employees to work from anywhere.
Takahashi: The implementation of the Zero Trust Network
was a major achievement, and I think anotherpositive aspect is that we were able to quickly
introduce in our operation system cloud services thatare highly regarded as global leaders in improving
business efficiency.
——— What are some of the issues and challenges thatremain?
Takahashi: In anticipation of future emergencies, we areaiming to create a system environment and structurethat will allow all operations to continue as in normal
times, even if offices are completely closed for several
months or longer. In particular, we believe that it isnecessary to create an environment that can handle
further online processing, especially for contractrelated operations and the operations of the16Sustainability of the SoftBank GroupFeature3Environment

SocietyGovernance

SoftBank Group’s Resilience Further Strengthened during the COVID-19 Pandemic

accounting department involved in processing
consolidated financial settlements that include
overseas subsidiaries.
Sumitomo: As remote work continued, one of the concerns
I felt was that it was difficult for employees to have asense of balance between on and off work as thesupervisors cannot pay enough attention. Looking at
how employees used their time over the last year, I
feel that both employees themselves and theirsupervisors are struggling. Since switching on and offwork is very important for improving productivity, weare taking measures in response such as educating
employees on points to keep in mind when working
from home. In the second year of remote work, I
would like to raise the awareness of each employee
in order to overcome these issues, while aiming toachieve more appropriate work styles.

A corporate culture that promotes
speedy and smooth change——— What do you think about the reasons andbackground behind the smooth implementationof personnel measures and BCP response amid
the pandemic?

Sumitomo: The Group has always had a corporate cultureof “Get the thing done anyway” and “Never say wecan’t do it, but think of a way to do it,” and I feel that
this culture has permeated every corner of ourorganization. In the case of the pandemic, as we had
no choice but to work from home, we made the rules
to make it happen, created a system, and took action.
As a result of this approach, we were able toimplement company-wide remote work, PCR testing,and vaccination within a short period of time, and I
believe that this has helped ensure employee safety
and business continuity.
Additionally, by responding flexibly and promptly
to subsequent changes each time, we have been able
to achieve an optimal mix of office work and remote
work and continue to be an organization that canachieve results even during the pandemic.
Takahashi: The SoftBank Group is a group of companies
with a strong commitment to speed, tenacity, andbeing No. 1, which puts a high level of pressure on
those working on projects. However, for elementsthat are expected to be valuable and effective as
resources for realizing objectives, internal approvaland implementation is speedy and a high degree of
freedom is provided. Even if there is no precedent inJapan, we are able to proceed using the knowledgeof our overseas investees and the power of Group
companies, and we also have the attitude of aiming
to be the best by combining the optimal solutions,
unconstrained by the precedents. I believe that thischaracteristic of our corporate culture is also reflectedin our effective response to the pandemic.

to take advantage of the benefits of both office workand remote work, and how to solve the issues thathave arisen with the move to online work (such asworking hour management, employee care,personnel evaluation, and the effectivecommunication). Furthermore, we believe that there
will surely be applicants seeking to join our company
who desire to work from home, and we need toconsider the feasibility of organizational and business
operations that include such personnel.
Takahashi: As vaccination progresses and overseas businesstrips resume, I believe that the Zero Trust Network
operations system we have established in response toCOVID-19 will demonstrate its strength and enable
us to work safely and efficiently 24/7, from anywherein the world. The Information System Department
will offer appropriate support to continue thisenvironment and make it even more successful forthe organization and our employees. We intend tosupport the global development of our businesses bypromoting and strengthening information security
governance and its processes for Group companies inJapan and overseas.

———What are your goals for the post-COVID-19
pandemic, and what do you hope to work on in
the future?
Sumitomo: When COVID-19 is under control and office
work is fully resumed, we need to rethink about work
styles in the post-COVID-19 pandemic, including how

Sustainability Report 2021

17

Disclaimers
This report provides relevant information about the Group and does not constitute or form any solicitation of investment, including any
offer to buy or subscribe for any securities in any jurisdiction.
This report contains forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions regarding the Group, such as statements about the Group’s futurebusiness and future position, including estimates, forecasts, targets and plans for the Group. None of the Group nor its management gives
any assurance that the estimates expressed in these forward-looking statements will turn out to be correct, and actual results orperformance could materially differ from expectations.

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