INTEGR䄀吀ED
REPORT 2023

1

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

Value Creation Story

About WILL GROUP

Human Resources Strategy

Mission, Vision, and Value

Company Information / Stock Information

President’s Message

Human Resources
Strategy of the WILLGROUP

At a Glance

Financial / Non-Financial Information

Value Creation Processes

Employee Roundtable Discussion

History of the WILL GROUP

Material Issues
Material Issues of the WILL GROUP
Special Roundtable
Discussion on Well-being

Business Portfolio

Medium-Term Management Plan
Review of WILL-being 2023, theMedium-Term Management Plan

WILL-being 2026, the Next
Medium-Term Management Plan

Sustainability Initiatives

Strategic Investment Areas

Environment

Profit Maximization Areas

Society

Exploratory Areas

Corporate GovernanceOutside Directors’ Roundtable Discussion

2

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

AboutWILL GROUPINTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Mission, Vision, and Value

Becoming a Change Agent Group that Brings
Positive Change to Individuals and Organizations.
There are many positive aspects to human society. For example, people encourage and improve each otherand move each other’s hearts. On the other hand, there are also negative aspects. People feel jealous of andharm each other, for instance. Of course, a fully positive society would be desirable, but in reality, humansociety has both positive and negative aspects. It is difficult to eliminate the negative aspects altogether.
However, if the proportion of positive aspects exceeds the proportion of negative aspects, even by a slightedge of 51% to 49%, we are confident that both individuals and organizations will gradually grow, resulting in abetter society.
To that end, we hope to continue growing ourselves and help to inject energy into and bring positive change toindividuals and organizations.

Creating a Strong Brand with High Expected Valueand Becoming No. 1 in the Business Fields ofWorking, Interesting, Learning and Living. This Is
Our Vision.
Working

Support Working

In the business field of Working, we support individuals’ career by providing services
that enhance positive career advancement.

Interesting

Support Interesting

In the business field of Interesting, we support individuals’ enjoyment by providing
services that create exciting moments.

Learning

Support Learning

In the business field of Learning, we support individuals’ learning by providing services thatlead individuals to enjoy lifelong individual development.

LivingSupport Living

In the business filed of Living, we support individuals’ lives by providing services that promote
physically and mentally healthy lives.

3

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Believe in Your Possibility
We have always been challenging ourselves.No matter how tough the situation was, we have always
looked forward, believed in our own possibilities and believed in our team members’ possibilities, which
led us to come so far.
Regardless of how many new members joining our company that started from just three members, ourphilosophy of Believe in Your Possibility will never fade away.
In fact, we believe that by having more individuals, the possibilities will become our group’s core and willturn into our power to move forward.
In every moment, this VALUE will always be in our heart.

4

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

At a Glance
Sales by Segment

Financial Figures （FY2023）
Consolidated Revenue

Consolidated Operating profit

Operating margin¥143.9 billion¥5.31 billion

3.7%（up 9.8% YoY）

(down 2.8% YoY)

(down 0.5% YoY

Operating margin:
Japan/overseas

ROIC

Total payout ratio

16.6%

31.2%

Japan 56.6%

Overseas 43.4%(up 7.6% YoY(down 1.3% YoY(Japan:down 0.5% YoY /Overseas:up 0.5% YoY

5

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Non-Financial Figures (as of March 31, 2023)

Number of permanent
employees

2,346

Number of permanent
employees on assignment
for non-fixed term staffing
service

Number of temporary workers

Japan 1,778
Overseas 568

3,866

17,059Well-being score

Percentage ofoutside directors

Percentage offemale managers

60%

30.4%

66.5ptAs of January 2023

(three out of five)
As of June 2023

6

Japan 14.4%
Overseas 54.5%

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

History of the WILL GROUP
The origins of the WILL GROUP can be traced back to two companies: Big Aid Co., Ltd., primarily focused on short-term outsourcing for light
work; and SAINT MEDIA, INC. (now WILLOF WORK, Inc.), specializing in telemarketing services. When we started in factory line outsourcing
for customers, we lacked the capital, enough equipment, or a noteworthy track record. However, what set us apart was our unwaveringcommitment to those customers who entrusted us with their work and a passionate team who shared this dedication. As time passed, more
like-minded individuals joined us, building a strong foundation. New pillars emerged, and in no time, our HR business had grown significantly.
Today, we operate internationally and have become a group of nearly 50 companies.

01 2000

Began HR services for factories

To achieve synergies between telemarketing and business outsourcing, SAINT
MEDIA, INC. merged with Big Aid Co., Ltd. and launched a business for outsourcing tofactories, with a primary focus on dispatching workers to food factories.

02 2002

Began HR services for call centers and sales

SAINT MEDIA, INC. relocated its headquarters to Tokyo and obtained approval for
offering services for dispatching general workers. This was the start of the call center
outsourcing business segment, or dispatching operators for call centers, as well as thesales outsourcing segment, or dispatching sales representatives to consumer electronics
retailers and mobile phone sales agents.

7

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

03

2006

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Formulated Mission, Vision and Value
Established a holding company

Around 2003, key concepts such as bringing about positive change to individuals andorganizations, We Do Change, and agents of change were created, forming thefoundation for our current Mission, Vision, and Value (MVV

that was officiallyestablished in 2006. In the same year, we founded Will Holding, Inc. (now WILL GROUP,
INC.) as a pure holding company, transitioning to a group management structure withthe aim of enhancing the expertise of our operating companies and optimizing ourmanagement resources.

04

2011

Began international HR services andestablished WILL Heart Association

With the aim of establishing a business presence in the ASEAN region within the HR
services sector, we acquired shares in Good Job Creations (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., basedin Singapore. This marked the beginning of our international HR services.

05

2013

Began HR support services for startups

SAINT MEDIA, INC. initiated services for permanent placements (now forStartups Co., Inc.) specializing in the Internet and IoT sectors.

06

2014

Began HR services in the nursing care sector
Established overseas intermediate holding company

SAINT MEDIA, INC. launched nursing care support services, or sending out
caregivers to various types of care facilities. In addition, WILL GROUP Asia PacificPte. Ltd. was established with the aim of overseeing overseas operations. Later,
our M&A strategy focused on accelerating our overseas expansion.

07

2018

Began HR services for construction engineers

With the aim of enabling temporary staffing and permanent placement services in theconstruction industry, we acquired shares in C4 Co., Ltd. (now WILLOF
CONSTRUCTION, Inc.). Our mission was to reshape the standards for the constructionindustry, leading us to initiate HR services for construction engineers, with a focus on
civil engineering construction managers and architectural construction managers.

8

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

08 2019

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Unified branding for HR services in JapanTo improve both our market recognition and our services, we unified our HR
services in Japan under the brand name WILLOF. Simultaneously, within the WILLOF
companies, we established “Chance-Making Company” as our new brand vision.

9

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Sustainability
Initiatives

Business Portfolio

Company Information / Stock Information
Company Profile
Company Name

WILL GROUP, INC.

Established

April 3, 2006

Representative

Yuichi Sumi, President and Representative Director

Headquarters

1 32 2, Honcho, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0012, Japan

Telephone+81-3-6859-8880

Number of Employees (consolidated, permanent employees andpermanent employees on assignment for non-fixed term

6,212 (as of March 31, 2023

staffing service)Group Companies

49 companies
Domestic companies: 15
Overseas companies: 34(as of March 31, 2023

Share Capital¥2,187 million (as of March 31, 2023)

Information on Shares(as of March 31, 2023
Total number of authorized shares

63,360,000 shares

Total number of issued shares

22,944,100 shares
16,996

Number of shareholders

Major Shareholders(as of March 31, 2023
Name of shareholder

Number of shares held

Shareholding ratio%

Ryosuke Ikeda

4,204,100

18.33

Ikeda Planning Office Co., Ltd.

2,007,500

8.75

Shigeru Ohara

1,680,500

7.33

The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Trust Account)

1,612,800

7.03

BBH for Fidelity Low-Priced Stock Fund (Principal All Sector Sub-portfolio)

1,058,509

4.61

Custody Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Trust account)893,141

3.89

WILL GROUP Employee Stock Ownership Plan

513,148

2.24

GOLDMAN,SACHS&CO.REG

484,700

2.11

State Street Bank and Trust Client Omnibus Account OM02 505002

420,900

1.83

Shingo Watabe

400,000

1.74

Notes:· . Treasury shares does not include Board Benefit Trust

BBT, 279,441 shares.

· . Shareholding ratio is calculated after deducting 5,409 treasury shares.

10

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Sustainability
Initiatives

Business Portfolio

Distribution of shares(as of March 31, 2023
Individuals/other59.06%

Overseas corporations, etc.

17.61%

Financial institutions

13.98%

Other corporations

9.33%

Treasury shares

0.02%

Major Group CompaniesJapan

WILLOF WORK, Inc.
Japanese version only)

WILLOF CONSTRUCTION, Inc.
Japanese version only)

CEspace, INC.
Japanese version only)

for Startups, Inc.

WILLOF CHALLENGE, Inc.
(Japanese version only)

11

CreativeBank Inc.

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Overseas

WILL GROUP Asia Pacific Pte.

Good Job Creations

Ltd.

Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Oriental Aviation

Ethos BeathChapman

International Pte. Ltd.

Australia Pty. Ltd.

DFP Recruitment Holdings Pty.
Ltd.

Scientec Consulting Pte. Ltd.

The Chapman Consulting
Group Pte. Ltd.

Quay Appointments Pty. Ltd.

u&u Holdings Pty. Ltd.

Asia Recruit Holdings Sdn. Bhd.

Editorial Policy
This Integrated Report is a communication tool that brings together financial and non-financial information related to the Company’s
mission, business activities aimed at improving corporate value over the medium to long term, the medium-term management plan, andsustainability initiatives. This report also presents financial and non-financial information based on major accounting and businessguidelines such as the International Integrated Reporting Framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC , theGlobal Reporting Initiative (GRI Standards, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Guidance for Collaborative Value Creation.
The aim of this Integrated Report is to deepen the understanding of the Company’s value creation story among our various stakeholders,
including shareholders and investors. This report has been translated from the Japanese original for reference only. In the event of any
discrepancy between this translated version and the Japanese original, the original prevails.

Disclaimer for Information in This Report
The information described in this Integrated Report contains forward-looking statements of the Company. The statements are based on
information currently available to the Company and on certain assumptions determined to be reasonable at the time. For this reason, thefigures and information shown here do not constitute guarantees by the Company of future performance. Actual results could differ
significantly from these forecasts for a variety of reasons.

12

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Material issues

Sustainability
Initiatives

Business Portfolio

Financial / Non-Financial Information
Financial Information
Profit and loss
FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

Revenue

Millions of yen

118,249

131,080

143,932

Operating profit

Millions of yen

4,030

5,472

5,318

Profit attributable to owners of parent

Millions of yen

2,363

3,286

3,236

Financial conditions
FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

Total equity

Millions of yen

10,027

13,121

15,877

Total assets

Millions of yen

46,76052,35054,939Cash flows
FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

Cash flows from operating activities

Millions of yen

4,316

4,350

4,816

Cash flows from investing activities

Millions of yen

433

306

1,761

Free cash flow

Millions of yen

3,883

4,044

3,055

Cash flows from financing activities

Millions of yen

2,646

2,959

2,783

Financial indicators
FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

ROE

%

35.1

33.5

24.9

ROA

%

5.2

6.6

6.0

Millions of yen

6,259

7,556

7,456

Basic earnings per shareYen

106.35147.03143.20Equity attributable to owners of parent per share

Yen

370.13505.08646.04

Dividend per share

Yen

24.00

34.00

44.00

Dividend payout ratio (consolidated)

%

22.6

23.1

30.7

EBITDA

Financial Information 10 Year Summary)

13

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

AboutWILL GROUPINTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Material issues

Sustainability
Initiatives

Business Portfolio

Non-Financial Information
Well-being 1
FY2019Well-being scorept

FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

66.1

65.7

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

FY2019FY2020

FY2021-

FY2023

66.1

66.5

47.4

50.9

59.4

61.1

49.4

57.6

Workplace well-being2
1

Work experience%

2

Work evaluation%

3

Self-determination at work%

1.

Figures of permanent employees at WILL GROUP, INC. and its domestic major subsidiaries

2.

Workplace well-being is happiness and satisfaction felt by individual through working.

Environment 3

Total CO2 emissions

t-CO2

Scope 1

t-CO2

Scope 2t-CO2

Scope 3t-CO2

Workplace safety preparedness score

3.

-

%

FY2022

FY2023

1,967.0

1,440.0

1,472.1

1,565.2

343.1

270.5

289.6

329.5

772.2

704.8

647.5

631.3

851.7

464.7

535.0

604.4

-

-

-

61.3

-

Figures of the WILL GROUP, INC. and its major domestic subsidiaries

Society/Human Capital 4,5,6
FY2019Number of permanent employees4

FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

1,997

2,285

2,127

2,165

2,427

Domestic

1,535

1,732

1,632

1,671

1,779

Overseas

462

553

495

494

648

Male

1,259

1,378

1,235

1,282

1,380

Female

738

907

892

883

1,047

599

650

369

543

559

117

124

81

53

85

Male

74

65

52

36

46

Female

43

59

29

17

39

313

335

197

268

314

Male

209

225

118

177

206

Female

104

110

79

91

108

Number of hires4
New graduates in Japan

Mid-career hires in Japan

14

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

AboutWILL GROUPINTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Material issues

FY2019FY2020

FY2021

Sustainability
Initiatives

Business Portfolio

FY2022

FY2023

169

191

91

222

160

Male

62

76

30

91

52

Female

107

115

61

131

108

299

306

332

476

447

1,532

2,203

2,718

3,198

3,866

21,09820,392

18,174

17,687

17,059Overseas hires

Number of contract employees4
Number of permanent employees on
assignment for non-fixed term staffing service5
Number of temporary workers5
Percentage of female managers4

%

6.6

7.7

27.2

30.3

30.4

Percentage of mid-career managers

%

66.2

67.2

73.1

73.6

77.1

Percentage of non-Japanese managers4

%

-

-

-

42.7

39.5

Employment rate of people with disabilities

%

1.0

1.1

1.7

2.5

2.3

32.2

33.2

33.9

34.4

36.4

years

3.2

3.7

4.2

4.6

4.6

Attrition rate

%

14.1

11.3

9.4

7.9

12.4

Workplace satisfaction score

%

-

-

-

51.2

52.9

Growth satisfaction score

%

-

-

-

59.4

57.8

32

36

41

67

76

Average age4
Average years of service4

years
old

Number of in-house training
Happiness in the workplace
A culture of safety and peace of mind

pt

-

70.0

69.5

70.5

71.7

A workplace atmosphere built on mutual trust

pt

-

71.6

70.7

71.4

72.3

An atmosphere that encourages challenges

pt

-

71.9

70.7

71.3

72.1

Workplace recommendation rate

pt

-

61.9

60.8

60.4

60.6

Percentage of employees seeking promotion

%

-

-

51.3

52.8

42.5

Rate of taking paid leave

%

-

65.6

55

63.1

75.2

Rate of taking childcare leave

%

18.4

28.7

26.4

48.1

75.0

Male

%

2.8

4.4

4.1

11.4

42.9

Female

%

93.3

115.8

73.9

91.9

107.1

Gender wage gap

%

-

-

-

-

73.5

Percentage of employees taking medical checkups

%

95.0

95.5

80.5

81.4

68.0

Matching gift donation amountYen

4,207,050

5,799,877

5,076,550

4,663,150

3,756,456

449

541

451

389

351

Number of WILL Heart Association members

4. Number of permanent employees, number of hires, number of contract employees, percentage of female managers (since FY2021 , percentage of non-Japanesemanagers, average age, and average years of service are figures including consolidated overseas subsidiaries.
5. The number of permanent employees on assignment for non-fixed term staffing service and the number of temporary workers are figures for domestic major subsidiaries.
6. Others are the figures of permanent employees at WILL GROUP, INC. and its domestic major subsidiaries.

15

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

AboutWILL GROUP

Sustainability
Initiatives

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

FY2019FY2020

FY2021

FY2022

FY2023

%

40.0

40.0

40.0

42.9

60.0

Inside Directors

%

0

0

0

0

0

Outside Directors

%

0

50.0

50.0

33.3

33.3

Audit & Supervisory Board Member

%

33.3

33.3

33.3

33.3

33.3

Number of serious information leaks

0

0

0

0

0

Number of harassment cases leading to disciplinary dismissal

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

-

-

99.5

89.7

72.5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Corporate Governance 7,8Percentage of outside directors

7

Percentage of female directors7

Number of cases of misconduct(bribery, corruption, fraud, accounting fraud)
Compliance training attendance rate%

Number of serious workplace accidents
Political contribution

Yen

7.

The percentage of outside directors and percentage of female directors are based on figures as of June of the following fiscal year for WILLGROUP, INC.

8.

Others are the figures of WILL GROUP, INC. and its major domestic subsidiaries

16

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

President’s Message

Words of a new employee changed my outlook on life
In June 2023, I became President and Representative Director of the WILL GROUP during the General Meeting of Shareholders. I joined
SAINT MEDIA, INC. (now WILLOF WORK, Inc.) in 2003 and have held various roles in the Group, including General Manager of Sales,
President and Representative Director of a group company, and General Manager of the HR Division and Director at WILL GROUP, where I
currently work.
During my student days, I didn’t aspire to follow a traditional corporate career path; I had dreams of becoming a skateboarder or a rapper. I
envisioned a future as a globe-trotting backpacker, earning money to fund luxurious trips with friends. To achieve this goal, I set targets: tobecome a company president by 30 and chairman by 40. I actively pursued job opportunities in industries with the potential for rapid career
growth and found SAINT MEDIA. During my interviews, I expressed my ambition to start my own business by 30. SAINT MEDIA’s response
was unique; they encouraged me to begin my entrepreneurial journey earlier, recognizing that my goal was quite common. This advice led
me to join SAINT MEDIA with the aim of achieving exceptional results within five years.
In my third year at the company, which coincided with the founding of Will Holdings (now the WILL GROUP),Chairman Ryosuke Ikeda (at thattime President Ikeda) emphasized the need for an HR department to facilitate growth, and gave me a copy of Built to Last: Successful Habitsof Visionary Companies, by Jim Collins and others. This book had a profound impact on me, igniting a strong desire in me to build a company
capable of lasting across generations. Later, I took the initiative to create our Mission, Vision, and Value (MVV)as the basis of our HR
department.
Let me recount an episode that perfectly represents the WILL GROUP’s culture and was a turning point in reshaping my dreams, work values,
and perspective on life. We were in the process of defining our values during an internal meeting for a recruitment project. The theme forthat year’s recruitment campaign was "Believe in Your Possibility," and as the meeting concluded with a motivating message for the year,
about 30 attendees, including executives and managers, began to rise from their seats.
A recent female graduate, who had just started in the HR Department as one of the secretaries/clerks who were taking notes, unexpectedlyshared her thoughts. She expressed the idea that the recruitment theme, "Believe in Your Possibility," resonates with the values of the entire
organization, and that whether it was reaching out to clients despite a lack of prior achievements or building teams dedicated to deliveringresults, our shared belief in our potential and that of our colleagues is what drives us. She emphasized that this unwavering belief in ourpotential had brought us to where we were and that this was a value that we should preserve.

17

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

After a brief pause, the room filled with excitement. In that moment,
I was deeply moved, realizing the incredible nature of thiscompany. Hearing this new employee’s words and seeing how they
resonated with everyone, I understood that this was a value we all
shared. From then on, my goals shifted from extravagant overseas
trips to the collective dedication for achieving our mission andvision with my colleagues, aiming to make a positive contribution to
the world and its people. To do this, we continue to believe in ourpotential, and with that, I charted my course for our grandadventure.

Igniting hearts and building a sustainable company
In my new role as President, I want to emphasize the importance of preserving our culture of assessing individuals based on theirperformance, fostering achievements through teamwork, and valuing the quality of relationships. Similarly, our MVV

Mission, Vision, andValue) will continue to have a profound significance.
Currently, many HR companies aspire to create employment opportunities, promote career advancement, and enhance well-being throughtheir services. While these goals are admirable, there are still areas where these ideas might not have been fully realized. As well, there’s abelief that the staffing industry itself has the potential to generate even greater results and value. We have been contemplating the essence of
this inherent value for the past two decades.
For instance, in the WILL GROUP, our mission states that we are an agent of change that brings positive change to individuals andorganizations. However, I believe that not every one of our thousands of employees is consistently thinking and implementing this mission
with their hearts and minds fully engaged. That’s precisely why I consider igniting that spark to be the most critical theme in my role as
President.
I acknowledge that business is like being in the knockout round of a tournament, where failure can lead to an abrupt end. However, myapproach to leadership is different. Rather than focusing on short-term gains, I aim to lead the company with a vision that spans 10 or even 20
years into the future. In parallel, we will kickstart a succession plan within the current fiscal year. My goal is to prepare the company forsustained success, not only for the next generation but for generations to come, even after my retirement.

In recent years, the rapidly changing external environment has had asignificant impact on the WILL GROUP’s business operations. Manycompanies are currently grappling with the challenge of labor
shortages. At the same time, we believe that there’s a growing
mismatch between jobs and the workforce due to the rapid
implementation of technology in society. For instance, in the past, we
employed workers on varying work shifts to achieve 24/7 coveragein call centers and factories. However, technology has led to thereplacement of human operators in call centers with chatbots thatcan operate 24/7 and robots have taken the place of factory
workers, in certain roles. The rise of technology is leading to theemergence of jobs where human involvement adds less value. We
also face a range of social issues, such as regional, age, wage, andemployment disparities. Given these challenges, we must strive to
become a company that can endure in this evolving landscape.

18

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

The WILL GROUP’s strengths and the creation of
our desired business ecosystem
In the highly competitive field of human resources, where differentiation can be challenging, the WILL GROUP has identified the management
abilities of field supporters (on-site managers) as one of our strengths.
For example, when a client needs 100 employees for their workplace, it’s rare for a single staffing agency to send out all 100 individuals.
Instead, multiple staffing agencies will provide the necessary people. However, issues with staff members can arise every day, making it
difficult for a client to contact every staffing agency separately. This is where our field supporter becomes invaluable: as the go-to person
for consulting and coordinating within the workplace. The field supporter becomes the most reliable partner on-site and, as a result, the firstpoint of contact for assistance. This has led to an increase in demand for WILL GROUP services, making us the preferred choice for clients.
The WILL GROUP’s ability to take this approach stems from our employees and field supporters emphasizing teambuilding and fostering
positive relationships within the workplace. They place great importance on creating a comfortable and welcoming workplace that is morethan just a place to work; they strive to make it a place that facilitates interaction and where employees can truly belong. By prioritizing thequality of relationships and human connections, we have built a proactive, reliable outsourcing organization, earning high praise from ourclients.
Our ability to accomplish these objectives has been a result of our dedication to the recruitment process. During our selection process, weseek out individuals with a strong sense of emotional intelligence capable of keenly understanding others’ needs. These individuals, in return,
foster a deep commitment to the WILL GROUP and a genuine fondness for our clients, enabling them to deliver peak performance on-site.
We see this as a key strength.
We are also committed to creating mechanisms in the workforce that add value. For instance, we aspire to create a framework whereindividuals have the qualifications and career paths that are in demand within their environment and can consistently make choices about
their future direction based on their own preferences and intentions.

19

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

I believe that temporary employment will increasingly become an appealing work option in the future. In the past, being a long-term
employee at a well-known company was the more easily recognized and valued path. However, today’s work landscape has varied forms,
including freelancing, and simply belonging to a company is no longer the sole measure for making an evaluation.
Unlike the traditional model, which highly prized long-term employment, today’s emphasis is on the level of personal freedom and theability to make choices. Temporary employment, in this context, offers security against unemployment as long as the staffing agency
continues to employ people even after their contract with the host company ends.
Compared with permanent roles, temporary employment provides greater flexibility with fewer compromises for life events and location.
However, one limitation of temporary work is that what might appear to be career development does not always translate into genuine
career growth.
Traditionally, distinct roles, like administrative and sales positions, had limited flexibility for transitioning between different job categories.
I believe that when considering the career development of temporary staff, it’s essential to focus on the depth of their career. Depth, inthis context, refers to the importance of gaining the types of skills that are in demand.
Someone who has been doing light work with a two-hour quality inspection task and then transitions to an administrative role without
upgrading their skills isn’t experiencing career development; it’s merely changing jobs. This is because the individual might lack thenecessary elements that will be in demand in the future, resulting in a lack of depth in their career.
In my view, career development occurs when individuals, driven by their interests and suitability for a particular role, are able to enter thatrole and then progress within it, where their contributions are genuinely valued. This essentially means transitioning from roles with limited
depth to positions that offer greater expertise and opportunities. For instance, someone who previously worked in quality control at a foodfactory can acquire programming skills and embark on a career as an engineer, unbounded by constraints on their location. Similarly, aformer call center operator can earn specialized certifications and step into a highly specialized role, such as a construction site project
manager. The existing model where only companies benefit from the staffing industry has reached its limitations. To foster industry
growth, it’s imperative that temporary staff can earn income in proportion to their hard work.
Some investors have labeled us as a conglomerate. Until a few years ago, I shared this concern about the diversification of our job
categories. Today, as I look at the WILL GROUP, I see an even wider range of job categories. However, this diversity is what allows us toachieve what I consider real career development. The WILL GROUP’s strength lies in our ability to cover the broad job categories, both
specialized and non specialized. This unique combination enables us to create a career path ecosystem in the business world, as we
discussed earlier.
In the future, our goal is to keep growing this ecosystem and, ultimately, to introduce a method for placing individuals in the companies
they want to work for. We hope to see scenarios where individuals transition to careers in fields that require depth, commonly thought tobe inaccessible for those with minimal experience. Witnessing these changes is something we look forward to. I believe that individuals
advancing in their careers and creating a more fluid job market can contribute to resolving societal issues, such as labor shortages and job
mismatches.

Creating a society that believes in human possibility
We want you to believe in the possibilities with us. This is our message to all stakeholders. In comparison with other advanced nations,Japan invests less in human capital, has lower employee engagement, and the data suggests that employees lack motivation, have nointention to change jobs, and are not pursuing more education. I believe this is because Japanese society has not fully embraced thepotential of its people. The question of what we need to do to make society have more faith in human potential is a challenge for our future.
We must change the negative stance where children, when they grow up and enter society, have little hope.
Let’s remain optimistic and confident about overcoming challenges and proactively seek out our passions and aspirations. We arededicated to shaping a society where everyone believes in their potential. Our core value, “Believe in Your Possibility,” drives our businessinspiration. To realize this vision, we are committed to fostering a shift from negativity to positivity. We welcome your suggestions for what
you would like to see from the WILL GROUP. Our employees genuinely value your feedback and the process of addressing it, which helps
us grow. We invite you to have high expectations for the future of the WILL GROUP.

20

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Value Creation Processes
The desired future of the WILL GROUP is to bring positive change to the world. We consider our core value, “Believe in Your Possibility,”
coupled with our strengths—nurturing a culture that embraces challenge, fostering a strong sense of ownership, and promoting
effective teamwork—is the foundation for creating value. We are committed to positively transforming both individuals andorganization. Consequently, we intend to provide value to all stakeholders and to sustainably improve our corporate value by
expanding our management resources, attaining the goals of our Medium-Term Management Plan, and addressing material issues.

Input
Human capital
Number of permanent
employees Japan):Number of permanent
employees (overseas):

Intellectual capital
1,778

Diverse job opportunities
Teambuilding expertise in theworkplace

568

Mechanism for supporting

Number of permanent

autonomous career development

employees on
assignment for nonfixed term staffing

3,866

Mechanism for supporting theacquisition of qualifications

service:
Number of temporary
workers:

17,05921

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Social capital

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Financial capital

Number ofbusiness partners:

3,000

Capital:¥ 2,187 million

Equity-toasset ratio:

52.4％

ROIC

16.6%

Approx.
Number of Group49

companies:

11

Number ofcountries where we
operate:OutputFinancial value
Revenue:
Operatingprofit:Total payout
ratio:

Nonfinancial value¥ 143,932 million¥ 5,318 million

Well-being score: 66.5pt

31.2%

22

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Human Resources Strategy of the WILL GROUP
Message from the General Manager of the Human
Resources Division
Drawing out the potential of employees and the organization to realize the vision throughindividual empowerment and a strong organization
The mission of the WILL GROUP is to bring positive change to individuals and organizations. We call every employee who is responsible forrealizing that mission an agent of change. Our value to society lies in developing these agents of change and bringing about atransformation in the world through our business activities and we believe that this will lead to realizing our vision.
The WILL GROUP, since being founded, has continued to take on challenges and grow. We will continue to be an organization thatcelebrates challenge and growth. Our corporate culture is based on the value, Believe in your possibility, which supports the spirit of thechallenge and growth that makes up our DNA. To draw out the belief of employees in their own potential, we have established opportunities
for employees to grow by taking on new challenges. These opportunities include an internal recruitment system and free agent system,
bottom-up business development, and awards commending employees for the challenges they have taken on. External opportunities
include the introduction of a sideline work system and actively supporting growth. We also have a culture of celebrating individual
empowerment and hold an awards ceremony recognizing employees who have been empowered by taking on challenges at the annual
WILL GROUP Kick-Off.
We have also conducted well-being surveys since April 2019. These surveys have shown
us that employees with a clear sense of well-being also perform strongly and that the ability
to derive a sense of happiness in the workplace (a workplace atmosphere of trusting
relationships) affects the well-being of employees. In other words, creating a robust
organization with a high level of engagement is essential for individual empowerment. To
maximize individual empowerment, we use surveys to form teams, create a work
environment that provides a strong sense of psychological safety (as an environment
where every person can demonstrate their abilities), operate a team-building program to

Emiko Tsuchiya
General Manager of
Human Resources Division
WILL GROUP, INC.

improve the quality of relationships, and build the organization through dialogues.
This foundation of challenge and growth has enabled the WILL GROUP to achieve continual
progress up to now and we will bring more positive change to the world in the future
through a repeated cycle of challenge and growth to achieve both continuous anddiscontinuous or disruptive growth.

Human Resource Development Policies
For the Group, Improvement in human capital is one of our material issues. Underpinned by our belief that all of our people are the source ofour value creation, so we believe that the growth of every individual leads to the growth of the Group. We support our employees in
obtaining qualifications and provide opportunities for self-education so that they can not only improve their skills, but can also develop
their ability to address their own career options and the strength to transform themselves, in this way promoting their progress andenabling them to achieve their self-directed career development.

23

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Examples of Initiatives
WILL GROUP Kick-Off
We hold the annual WILL GROUP Kick-Off meeting to foster a sense of unity among andincrease the motivation of employees as well as time to reflect on the past, talk about
the future, celebrate one another, and develop a sense of connection beyond their work.
The theme of the KICK OFF in April 2023 was New Will, One Will and the meeting was
packed with special events, such as the management handoff from previous members ofmanagement to new ones and announcing the new Medium-Term Management Plan, in
addition to reflections on past performance and presentations of employee awards.
Roughly 1,500 employees from Japan and overseas gathered in one hall, providing an
opportunity for them to interact on a deeper level as well as to share laughter and sometears.

WILL Summit
The WILL Summit is held twice a year for employees at the general manager level andabove. The purposes of the summit are to allow participants: to take a break from theshort-term viewpoint; to explore multidimensional medium- and long-term perspectives; tolearn from these perspectives; as well as to take time for individual awakening andcommitment to growth and to reflect on what they have tried and learned over the pastyear.
A series of discussions on themes, such as DX, global, start-ups, and the empowerment of
women, help them to dig deeper into the WILL Vision and to develop it further.

Promoting the Empowerment of Women
The Group has a vision of creating a strong brand with high corporate value and becoming No. 1 in the business fields of Working W ,Interesting (enjoyment) (I), Learning L and living L . To realize this vision and bring positive change to the world, it is absolutely
essential to empower all people with their many and varied characteristics, without being caught up on the male and female stereotypes
created by society. The notion of empowerment in this respect refers to a state of progressing toward a future ideal while working
energetically and deriving enjoyment from work. This type of empowerment is what we hope for all employees, regardless of gender.
One program that helps achieve our objectives is career training, which provides
participants with the opportunity to see how they can empower careers best suited tothemselves by gaining an understanding of and developing their strengths and potential.
We also promote the WILL Color project. The purpose of this project is to empower
employees to have colorful careers in the WILL GROUP by communicating information onvarious themes, such as women and careers, balancing work and childcare, and diversity
and communication, as well as holding lunch meetings for employees on childcare leave androundtable discussions for employees who are fathers.

Leadership Program
WILL GROUP Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., which manages our overseas business operations, ispursuing a learning and development L&D strategy to draw out the maximum untapped
potential of overseas subsidiaries and team members. This strategy targets five objectives:
acquiring and retaining key human resources; skills development; building a corporate
culture work experience based on values; raising the presence of subsidiaries in themarket; and increasing the motivation and engagement of team members. This strategy
allows employees to grow and to be empowered, regardless of their role, function, age,region, or other attributes.

24

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

AboutWILL GROUPINTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Employee Roundtable Discussion

Ayaka Tanaka

Junji Ishizaka

Healthcare Career

Sales Division

Hiroaki
Kobayashi

Corporate Support Division

Department

WILLOF CONSTRUCTION, Inc.

Call Center & Office

WILLOF WORK, Inc.

WILLOF WORK, Inc.

New graduate hired in 2016

Design Department

New graduate hired in

WILLOF WORK, Inc.

2006

New graduate hired in 2016

Aya Okamoto

Mid-career employee
hired in 2011

The WILL GROUP has a culture that embraces challenge as well as a workforce with a strong sense of ownership and outstanding
teamwork. Here, four employees, who joined the company in different years and hold varied positions, enthusiastically discuss andshare specific episodes from their experiences. Their discussion covers from the strengths of the WILL GROUP through to thechallenges that need to be addressed to drive corporate and personal growth, as well as the value that the Group provides to society.

The decision to join the Company was influenced by
the shining example of senior employees
TanakaI joined the WILL GROUP as a new graduate in 2016 and have since climbed the ranks to become a branch manager at WILLOF
WORK. What initially attracted me was a company presentation that I went to while jobhunting. It was the enthusiasm of theemployees that left a lasting impression on me. While it might sound like a cliché, it was this spark among the people that
finally convinced me. Every day since then has been fulfilling for me.

Ishizaka

I also joined the WILL GROUP as a new graduate in 2016, the same as Tanaka-san. During my job search, I had a vague desire
to earn a decent income, which led me to interview with real estate and trading companies. The WILL GROUP was a company
that met my criteria as well. During the company presentation, the current chairman, Ikeda-san, emphasized the importanceof working alongside colleagues and the belief that who you work with and what you strive for is more important than yourspecific job. This philosophy left a profound impression on me. Identifying with the company’s mission, vision, and value also
played a pivotal role in my decision to join.

25

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Okamoto

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

I have been with the WILL GROUP for a long time, and my jobhunting journey
mirrored Ishizaka-san’s; it was marked by uncertainty about my precise
career goals and many company briefings. At the WILL GROUP presentation,
Sumi-san, the then head of recruiting, who has since become company
president, captivated me with his charisma as he discussed the Company.
The fact that the staff were willing to talk to me further solidified my view of
the Company as one cherished by employees and that had a positive work
environment.

Kobayashi

Aya Okamoto

Unlike everyone else, I joined the WILL GROUP midcareer. I left the bank I joined as a new graduate and encountered the
WILL GROUP when I registered as a temporary employee. At that time, an employee from the Sapporo branch, who is still
there today, was handling my case. I was genuinely impressed by this person’s approach, treating me not just as a temporary
worker but as a professional. This experience gave me a sense of the company’s dedication. After working as a temporary
staff member for six months, I was approached with an offer to join the Company, and I decided right there. Although I
wasn’t familiar with the Company’s mission, vision, and value before joining, looking back, it was the employees who
embodied these principles that convinced me to join.

A company that values the courage of those who step up and care forteam members
Kobayashi

A hallmark of the WILL GROUP is the emphasis on teamwork and valuing colleagues. This includes not just the full-time
employees but also the temporary staff as well. It’s clear that every employee embraces the "for the staff" spirit.

OkamotoYou are right about the Company spirit and comradery; Everyone genuinely values colleagues and offers opportunities tothowho take the initiative. The WILL GROUP has unique programs, such as the Challenge Open Recruitment program where
employees can apply for openly advertised positions, and the FA System, which empowers individuals to present
themselves to leaders of the departments they’re interested in. The company also emphasizes communication, ensuring thatwhen employees voice their aspirations, it doesn’t go unnoticed. As opportunities come up, they ensure the right individuals
are approached, showing their commitment to guiding employees along their preferred trajectories.

Kobayashi

After consistently expressing my desire to work in education, I was entrusted with employee training in the Sales Promotion
Department.
TanakaSimilarly, after consistently voicing my interest in leadership, I was
appointed as a branch manager. I initially joined the Company due to theemphasis on valuing colleagues. Now, even as I’ve advanced, I remaincommitted to understanding and addressing the perspectives of my teamand the other staff.

Ishizaka

The WILL GROUP recognizes and values the courage of those who take theinitiative. The core value of Believe in Your Possibility underscores theHiroaki Kobayashi

importance of embracing challenges, even if the outcome is uncertain. Thisidea promotes relentless growth, with colleagues supporting one all thetime. This supporting spirit is woven into the Company’s culture.

Both the Company and the individuals are chosen by customers and staff
Ishizaka

In the highly competitive fields of temporary staffing and permanent placements, differentiation can be challenging. However,I believe the WILL GROUP is distinguished by the commitment to the quality of service and the appreciation of people. The
company puts a lot of effort into recruitment and training. To stand out, it’s crucial to maintain honest communication withcustomers, presenting both your strengths and weaknesses, while also cultivating genuine partnerships. Ultimately, I prioritize
solving our customers’ challenges over generating revenue. This idea aligns with the Company’s mission to bring positivechange to individuals and organizations. By engaging in continuing dialogues with our customers and by fostering
relationships that encourage them to seek our guidance during challenging times, we intend to build trust, both at theorganizational and individual levels. I believe this trust will ultimately translate into a competitive advantage for us.

26

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Okamoto

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

I agree. I conduct surveys among our temporary staff, analyze the results and provide feedback, and many of them cite theiraccount managers as a key reason for their fondness of the WILL GROUP. The strong relationships between our accountmanagers and temporary staff seem to be a driving force in being chosen by both our temporary staff and customers.

TanakaAbsolutely, this is a strong advantage for the WILL GROUP. The authentic andcommitted way our employees engage with both customers and temporary
staff not only draws prospective talent to our company but there arecustomers who choose the Will Group because they trust us.

Ishizaka

I encountered a challenging situation during a visit with a customer, but mydetermination won out, earning recognition and praise from my boss. In
moments of uncertainty, my supervisors encourage me to use my preferredsales approach, emphasizing their support and readiness of individuals totake responsibility. This reflects our culture of nurturing independent
thinking, respecting individual intentions, and fostering teamwork.

Kobayashi

Ayaka Tanaka

The appeal of our people significantly adds to the Company’s competitive edge. In my sales role, clients often praise ourstrengths in compliance and dedication to supporting temporary staff. For example, customers frequently look for clarity oncompliance in relation to temporary staffing regulations and suggest collaborative assessments for workflow reforms
involving both temporary staff and customers. Our exceptional commitment to supporting temporary staff includes preshift and post-shift check-ins, alongside attendance management through our in-house system. This level of dedication
sets us apart from many other staffing agencies. These practices are vital for maintaining ethical transactions. At the sametime, we are currently progressing with a standardization project to normalize our processes, as we have traditionally relied
on individual expertise and skills. The agility to implement changes swiftly is another distinctive trait of the Company.

Swiftly addressing challenges for the next phase of growth
Ishizaka

On the other hand, we also face challenges. In recent years, our once-vibrant investment in talent, something that we value
highly, appears to have plateaued. Nevertheless, the WILL GROUP maintains a culture that believes in the potential ofdeveloping talent and offers opportunities to these people. This culture has become ingrained among employees, infusing theCompany with fresh ideas and a passion that drives our collective energy. However, there has been a noticeable shift overtime. In the current mature phase of the Domestic Work segment, there seem to be limited avenues for channeling the energy
required for a growth phase. Personally, I believe this situation has led to the departure of talented individuals who were
eager but found fewer opportunities to make a contribution.

Kobayashi

I feel the same way. I believe that the Company’s growth and changes in work styles have been an influence, but I have also
observed that the employees who joined during the pandemic had fewer opportunities for on-the-job training and employee
interactions compared with before the pandemic. This has led to a sense of unsatisfactory communications, including the
spread of our company culture. While we have regular opportunities for one-on-one meetings and cross-departmental
dialogues, there is room for improvement.

Ishizaka

The WILL GROUP is a place where people come together in pursuit of a common goal, resonate with each other’s energy, andovercome challenges with determination to achieve results. The ability to initiate these actions makes me firmly believe thatour potential exceeds our current perceptions.

27

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

OkamotoMaterial issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

From a female perspective, it has become significantly more favorable to work
compared with the past. However, from my position in a back office
department, I have a certain level of control over my work, and I can utilize
flexible and remote work to balance my family life. But, for instance, I believe
many people feel it is challenging for salespeople to return to the field
immediately after maternity leave. Nevertheless, there are individuals who
aspire to shine on the front line in sales and want to work for the benefit ofboth temporary staff and clients. So, it would be great if, upon returning, every

Junji Ishizaka

employee could have their desired career.
TanakaFrom a female perspective, it has become significantly more favorable to work
compared with the past. However, from my position in a back office
department, I have a certain level of control over my work, and I can utilize
flexible and remote work to balance my family life. But, for instance, I believe
many people feel it is challenging for salespeople to return to the field
immediately after maternity leave. Nevertheless, there are individuals who
aspire to shine on the front line in sales and want to work for the benefit ofboth temporary staff and clients. So, it would be great if, upon returning, every
employee could have their desired career.
From a female standpoint, there’s another aspect to consider: the presence offemale executives. While positions such as team leaders and branch managers
have seen a gradual increase in women, roles like area managers anddepartment heads still have relatively few women. The Company has been
implementing several initiatives as well, such as adding females to therecruitment pool, increasing employee retention, and providing career andOkamotoMoreover, the divisional system based on job roles and the market has strengths and weaknesses. When the Company was
smaller, we were all on one floor, and it was easy to recognize everyone. However, now that we have multiple offices indifferent locations and remote work is also a part of the equation it is challenging to share information and create synergies forthe strengths of our divisional system. We would like to address these challenges sooner rather than later for the Company’s
continued growth.

28

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Expanding employment choices: Creating value as the WILL GROUP
OkamotoIn the ongoing discussion about business divisions, the WILL GROUP as a corporation operates across several businesssectors, including construction, nursing care, sales, call centers, and manufacturing. It’s not only about building a successfulcareer within each segment; many of our temporary staff also aspire to gain experience in job across different fields. For
instance, some temporary staff working in call centers could mistakenly see the WILL GROUP primarily as a company
specializing in call centers. This misperception could limit both employees and temporary staff for fully realizing theirpotential. To address this issue, starting from April 2023, we launched an initiative for career changes and for gaining diverse
experiences. While the outcome is undecided, there are instances where individuals who previously worked in sales havesuccessfully transitioned to infrastructure engineers without prior experience and are now working hard.

Ishizaka

As we already offer a wide range of career options, I agree with Okamoto-san that it’s essential to raise awareness about thevarious ways of working and continue to provide opportunities for individuals to explore them. I think it’s important to begin
with the idea that there are many job options available and then create an environment where, for instance, in a construction
company, employees can acquire qualifications and advance their careers with specialized knowledge. Achieving this will also
increase the Company’s value.

Kobayashi

In the past, staffing companies were primarily valued for their role in talent acquisition and retention. However, with the social
background of awareness of the SDGs and increasing diversity, it is now difficult to be valued for that reason alone. In mydivision, we have started a collaborative venture with a government agency commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Labourand Welfare. Our aim is to offer employment support and career development services to individuals who are not registered as
temporary workers. Our focus is on aiding the social reintegration of individuals who could encounter employment barriers
due to gaps in their work history, even if they have substantial skills and experience.

TanakaI work in the nursing care field, and when individuals who were previously in caregiving roles return to work after maternity or
childcare leave, I offer not only caregiving positions to those who have concerns about physical demands and childcare
responsibilities but also introduce opportunities in call centers or administrative roles. While our company might not havegenerated significant synergies through the divisional system, at the operational level, we have been providing support forcareer changes for some time now.

Ishizaka

Tanaka-san and I used to work together at the Atsugi branch, he was working in the nursing care business segment and I wasworking with manufacturing companies. He would reach out to me, discussing temporary staff members in the nursing carefield and their individual preferences and conditions, often suggesting that a transition to a role in manufacturing might be abetter fit. From that time, I always admired how he was broadening the career choices available to temporary staff.

29

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Our vision beyond “Believe in Your Possibility”
OkamotoI recently moved to a department that focuses on creating group synergy, and I am eager to further explore careerdevelopment for temporary staff. As individuals enter their 30s and 40s, they often have concerns about their future, which isless common for people during their 20s. Some people end up regretting missed opportunities to become permanent
employees. Therefore, we intend to develop a system where staff can start thinking about their future and career paths froma young age. To accomplish this goal, we are initially focusing on improving the career counseling skills of our representatives.

Kobayashi

To improve company value moving forward, it is widely recognized that it is no possible to rely solely on traditional staffing
business models. I am currently leading an initiative in employment support services and a knowledge standardization project.
Looking ahead, we will continue to develop and offer new services and value.

Tanaka

The WILL GROUP has a system called Raise, where employees can plan and propose new businesses. I also submitted a
proposal with the goal of creating initiatives that would provide working parents with a better work-life balance. While myproposal was not chosen, I am determined to narrow my focus and make another try.

Ishizaka

The WILL GROUP is growing internationally, yet our recognition in Japan remains limited. I would like to be involved in workthat rejuvenates Japan. With our mission of bringing positive change to individuals and organizations, I believe that byharnessing synergies with industry and a range of business sectors, we can create a more positive Japan. Achieving this kindof growth as a company should boost employee well-being and increase the value of the Company. Let’s join together toinstill positivity in both the Company and society.

30

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Material issues

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Material Issues of the WILL GROUP
We will address job mismatches, bridging the gap in skills between our customers’ requirements and our staff’s abilities, all aligned with thepolicy outlined in our Medium-Term Management Plan: Maximizing and Optimizing Career Paths to Transform Workers into Experts. For
these reasons, we will prioritize improving human capital, a commitment we have held since our founding. We will also respond to thesocial demand for combatting climate change as we establish a robust governance system. We anticipate that these initiatives will improve
the well-being of our Group’s employees, ultimately contributing to the growth of our corporate value.

Material Issues

Ideal State
Ensure the well-being of everyone who works for the WILL GROUP
Indicators

Results FY2023

Well-being score

Improvements in well-being

66.5ptWorkplace well-being score

TargetNo specific targets are set, as
well-being is seen as theWork experience

50.9%Work evaluation

61.1%

Self-determination at work

57.6%

cumulative outcome of allactivities and is expected toincrease as a result ofvarious means.

31

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Material issues

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Ideal State

Material Issues

Be able to provide tailored growth programs for each employee and support their acquisition of
specialized skills
Maximize and optimize employees’ career paths to achieve the highest possible lifetime value (LTV
Indicators

Results FY2023

TargetNumber of permanent employees on
assignment for non-fixed term

3,866

More than double in FY2023

staffing service
Resolving job mismatches

Number of career advancements(Related SDGs)

from fixed-term to permanent98

500 per year

positions Growth support score
Assignment for permanent
employees on assignment for

45.9%
Increase every year

non-fixed term staffing service
Temporary workers

34.9%

Number of people providing
support for acquiring qualifications
Average duration of employment

Material Issues

1,374
739.8 days

To be determined
Increase every year

Ideal State
Establish an operational system for developing and continually reviewing ways to minimize
damage from climate change, while enabling fast business recovery

Strengthening disaster
resilience (Related SDGs)

Indicators

Results FY2023

Target-Formulation of BCP

1,565.2t-CO2

GHG emissions
Workplace safety preparedness score

32

61.3%

Formulation of BCP
Reduce by 20% compared to FY2020
To be determined

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Material issues

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Ideal State

Material Issues

Provide an environment where diverse talents are respected regardless of gender, nationality,
disability, or age and offer equal opportunities, enabling every person to reach their full potential
Embody our core values by passing down and transforming corporate culture (DNA
Ensure that every employee has a strong sense of ownership of the company, their team, andtheir work, leading to high levels of employee engagement
Indicators

Results FY2023

TargetJob satisfaction score

52.9%

60% or more

Growth satisfaction score

57.8%

60% or more
Have as approximately equal to the

30.4%

Percentage of female managers

percentage of permanent female
employees 42.1% in FY2023
Have as approximately equal to thePercentage of mid-career managers

77.1%

percentage of permanent mid-career
employees 73.3% in FY2023

Improved humanHave as approximately equal to thecapital (Related SDGs)
Percentage of non-Japanese managers

40.0%

percentage of permanent non-Japaneseemployees 24.2% in FY2023

Employment rate of people

2.3%

with disabilities
Percentage of applicants for promotion
Wage gap between male andfemale employees

Equal to or above thestatutory employment rate

42.5%

60.0%

73.5%

To be determined

Happiness in the workplace
A culture of safety and peaceof mindA workplace atmosphere

71.7%

72.3%

built on mutual trustMore than the same month last year

An atmosphere that

72.1%

encourages challenges
Workplace60.6%

recommendation rate

33

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Material issues

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Ideal State

Material Issues

Ensure effective oversight and supervision for swift decision-making and businessexecution, promoting transparency and integrity in management
Indicators

Results FY2023

Enhancing the effectiveness of-

the Board of Directors

Building a strong
governance structure(Related SDGs)

TargetRegularly implement
effective evaluations

Percentage of outside directors

60.0%

30% or more

Percentage of female directors

20.0%

30% or more

Separation of management

Strengthen the supervisoryand oversight-

Number of serious information leaks

0

0

0

0

0

0

Number of harassment cases
leading to disciplinary dismissal

capabilities of the Board of Directors

Number of cases of misconduct(bribery, corruption, fraud,accounting fraud)
Compliance training attendance rate
Number of serious

72.5%
0

workplace accidents

100%
0Process for identifying and reviewing material issues
The Group identified material issues by interviewing stakeholders, mapping the value chain, and examining social values and the ideal stateof the Company, according to international guidelines such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, the United Nations Global
Compact and SDGs. Then, we reviewed the material issues based on deliberations at the Sustainability Committee and advice fromexternal experts.
We will continue our discussions to meet the challenges and expectations of society as the external environment changes.

34

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Special Roundtable Discussion on Well-being

Yoshiki Ishikawa

Yuichi Sumi

Daiki Toriyabe

Representative Director

President andManager of Human

Well-being for Planet

Representative

Resources Development

Earth Foundation

Director WILL GROUP,

Department, Human

INC.

Resources Division
WILL GROUP, INC.

The WILL GROUP considers improving well-being as a material issue that the Company should address. Many Japanese companies havedesignated well-being as a theme of business activities and we invited Yoshiki Ishikawa, the representative director of Well-being forPlanet Earth Foundation, to discuss the initiatives of the WILL GROUP in the businesses we operate in Japan and overseas, mainly forhuman resource services. He met with our president and the manager of our Human Resources Development Department, who brings
his perspective on the concept of well-being in the WILL GROUP and who pursues researches well-being and daily spreading of wellbeing throughout our company. We will talk about what is currently needed to improve well-being in the W I L L* fields.
*Working, Interesting (enjoyment), Learning, and Living

What well-being means to the WILL GROUP
Sumi

The theme of this discussion is what well-being means to the WILL GROUP.
This word means different things to different people, but I interpret wellbeing as the people in a community being able to feel good naturally.

ToriyabeI also think of it simply as a good state. I think it is important to understandwell-being as an idea over time (on a time axis). People can perform well (welldoing) precisely because they are in a good state (feeling a sense of wellbeing). Performing well over a period of time creates a good future (wellfuture). Well-being is promoted throughout the world, but our Group wants to

Yuichi Sumi

create a well future by consistently achieving well-being and well doing.

35

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Propagating well-being (positivity)
Sumi

The WILL GROUP sees improved well-being, a summation of all kinds of activity, as a material issue that we should address.
Ishikawa-san, how does the content of this initiative strike you from the perspective of someone outside of the Company?

Ishikawa

The WILL GROUP is working toward a shift in work, technology, and global orientation by 2030 to deliver happiness to people
around the world. The target of achieving well-being for one billion people in the final fiscal year is incremental and easy tounderstand.

Sumi

I want to help achieve well-being for all people. Having said that, there are many types of people and what I consider to bewell-being is not for everyone. Some people derive a sense of well-being from taking on challenges while others do not, andsome want only stability. Nevertheless, I want to create opportunities for employees and temporary staff to believe in their own
potential and achieve well-being in the W I L L fields.

Ishikawa

A research study found that when a person is in a state of well-being, it has a ripple effect on their family, friends, and even on
their friends’ friends. One billion people no longer sounds like a dream when these ripple effects are also considered. People
live in networks and these networks spread both the good and the bad. If we are going to spread something, it would be goodthat that was a positive sense of well-being.

Sumi

That is true. We are also conscious of these ripple effects. While interpersonal relationships with the people around you in theworkplace are important, there are cases when temporary staff cannot fit into the workplace. The WILL GROUP places
importance on having temporary staff work over the long term, and we strive to build a team at the client’s location through a
hybrid staffing system where a field supporter (local manager) is stationed at the same workplace. The field supporter spends
break times with temporary staff and supports them in their work, particularly in the initial stage of an assignment. The goal
here is to support temporary staff as they build up their confidence as well as good interpersonal relationships in theworkplace, leading to better performance.

Ishikawa

That is a good initiative. I have surveyed the work styles of temporary staff in the past. In response to a question on what
impacted the well-being of temporary staff in that survey, the response selected most often was how temporary staff
interacted with their supervisors.

Toriyabe

When I first joined the Company, I also worked as a field supporter at a major consumer electronics retail store, along withtemporary staff. Looking back on that time, my work style also affected the temporary staff from other companies. There weretimes when the opinions of temporary staff did not reach the floor manager and an employee stepped in as a field supporter tocommunicate their opinions. I think that the value of hybrid staffing is being able to makes these types of change.

Sumi

Toriyabe-san is a pioneer of this ripple effect. He was the first within the WILL GROUP to use the word well-being.

Toriyabe

I first used well-being in a proposal to Chairman Ikeda, who was the company president at the time. However, myunderstanding then was that well-being would probably be the focus of organizational and human resource development in
the future. In 2018, an event was held featuring Martin Seligman, the originator of the theory of positive psychology which had
a profound impact on our corporate mission. and his talk entitled "the mission of positive psychology is to create a wold ofwell-being", resonated with me. The next year, we increased activities to raise awareness of well-being within the entire
Company.

Sumi

While the word positive had been used in the Company before that time, it was not clearly defined. I also attended this eventand thought, “Isn’t the positivity we place importance on also well-being?” However, we were unable to convert that idea intobusiness value and I wondered at the time how to convey this interpretation as a concept. Toriyabe-san has worked to spreadthe concept of well-being within the Company by holding a number of workshops where participants first understand theconcept of well-being and then ask themselves what well-being means to them and in their work.

Ishikawa

So, it was well-being that the WILL GROUP worked on up to now. Well-being is evaluated in new personnel programs andbusiness development, but the things we have worked on for many years are also often re-evaluated from the perspective of
well-being. It becomes easier to understand well-being when seen from the perspective of whose well-being: for employees inhuman resources, or stakeholders from the viewpoint of management, or customers in business.

36

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Toriyabe

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

I feel the same as Ishikawa-san about the perspective of whose. The Human
Resources Development Department encourages employees to place priority
on their own well-being. That is because being an originator has a morepositive ripple effect on those around us than trying to change others. I also
first prioritize my own well-being in my personal relationships. And I think wellbeing in relationships is important. In my case, this includes relationships withcolleagues in the Company, as well as relationships with my wife and within my

Daiki Toriyabe

family. You could say that it is a world within a radius of five meters, but it isnonetheless important. I think this is the essential foundation for sustainable
well-being. If employees can continue to be aware of and prioritize well-being
in their own relationships, the cumulative positive impact will be greater thatthen sum of all the factors.

Commonalities between human capital management and well-being
ToriyabeI am digressing, but human capital management has become more important in recent years. The WILL GROUP is placing
importance on people and I also think that mutual respect also contains elements that lead to well-being.

Ishikawa

Kunio Ito, the director of the Hitotsubashi CFO Education and Research Center at Hitotsubashi University began using the term
human capital management in the Human Capital Management Consortium and it has been used globally in the context ofdiversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) for around 10 years. In the case of a company, human capital management means
valuing the well-being of women, mid-career hires, workers from overseas, and others in a vulnerable position... In Japan,
diversity is the factor that is most emphasized and discussions on this topic tend to center on increasing the number of womenin management, but diversity essentially refers to improving the well-being and engagement of everyone, regardless of theirgender.

Sumi

Companies should value human resources even if they do not use the expression human capital. This is the case in Japan aswell. While lifetime employment is no longer the norm today, a company can sometimes play to its interdependent strengths
with its employees. Overseas, human resources are more mobile than in Japan, people resign if a company does not pay
attention to employee engagement, onboarding (initial training), and evaluations. Human capital management also implies
thinking progressively and continually about whether the company and employees have potential and whether the company isconsciously managing that potential when looking toward the future. However, during my conversations with stakeholders,
they seem to be more interested in KPIs and performance rather than on ESG and SDGs, which I feel strange about.

Ishikawa

The stakeholder could be looking at this using a different time scale. Those
who are looking at this from the short-term view are more concerned withdifferences in results from the KPIs and the plan. However, the more people
focus on the long term, the more they are concerned about well-being andsustainability. This is especially true for investors and analysts, who are moreinterested with indicators like sales and profit that can be used to compare
multiple companies, than in the individual initiatives of each company.
Having said that, well-being will likely become a typical indicator in a few

Yoshiki Ishikawa

years.
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) in the US has now added employee well-being(health and wellness) as an item on their global ESG survey. S&P has now
surveyed more than 20 million employees about company well-being. It is
becoming harder for companies with a low well-being (wellness) score to
attract recruits. The Impact Management Platform, which is an international
initiative, maintains that impact should be the focus when investing and has
just incorporated well-being into the definition of impact.

37

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Improving job satisfaction for temporary staff
Sumi

The temporary staff of the WILL GROUP are divided into two groups: those that feel good about their work style and those thatfeel a sense of unease while working. Those who feel good have another main focus they are working on. People who can work
hours that suit them within while raising children and people who are working as temps while pursuing their own dreams areexamples. On the other hand, there are people who are working while feeling a sense of unease over whether they can continue
working as a temp in the future. The WILL GROUP is making sure that both types of temporary staff can get a sense ofsatisfaction from their work.

Ishikawa

Human resource services are also affected by changes in the external environment.

Sumi

That is true. Labor shortages and technological advancements are accelerating changes in the balance between supply anddemand. There is a trend toward automating light work in sales, call centers, and manufacturing plants and other work that canbe performed by inexperienced temporary staff, in particular. We want to provide feel good options to these people as well.
While it ultimately comes down to individual choice, many people do not know what they want to do and what type of worksuits them, and it is difficult to make an intentional choice.

Ishikawa

I frequently hear comments about not knowing the corporate atmosphere and what kind of person their supervisor is.

Sumi

People cannot choose from a large number of options when they have so many unanswered questions, so we are gradually
increasing in the number of options that would make someone feel good from one or two to three or four. The WILL GROUP
applies this approach at multinational corporations and is expanding this nationwide in Japan and overseas. Not many of ourcompetitors at our size have so many occupational types and will grow the careers of temporary staff vertically as well as
horizontally. One example of this is developing a career in corporate marketing by starting in sales and progressing tomarketing and sales. Because people who work in call centers can respond politely and efficiently while using a system, they
develop into talent capable of technical support, help desk support, and RPA (robotic process automation). People who work at
manufacturing plants can advance his/her career from someone who performs light work to a skilled engineer. We haveestablished a system that enables us to talk with temporary staff about what they want to do in the future. Preparing a career
path and having well-being are the sources of the WILL GROUP’s competitive advantage.

Ishikawa

As you said, Sumi-san, thinking about the skills, careers, and lifestyles of temporary staff supports well-being and welldoingover the long term as well as job satisfaction. There is currently stiff competition for job applicants and matching alsofrequently falls short, but the WILL GROUP initiative should be a differentiating factor from other companies.

38

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Coaching is an effective way to achieve well-being.
Sumi

Toriyabe-san is actually working on initiatives to achieve well-being and he will tell us about them.

Toriyabe

We first focus on relationships for well-being within the WILL GROUP. We feel that learning how to coach is an effective way to
improve relationships. I have also learned how to coach and continue to see how coaching helps to improve well-being. That is
because deviling into the question, “How do I want to live?” is at the core of coaching. It is also because coaching offers up
much knowledge and many skills for creating better relationships. Acquiring coaching skills enables me to provide optimal
service while maintaining the perspective of how the temporary staff might like to live. This approach also leads to better job
satisfaction and well-being for the employees themselves, and it will improve corporate value if several thousand employees
update their skills in this way.

Ishikawa

Have some people commented on how coaching changed their lives?

Toriyabe

Many have. This includes people who are energized daily by learning new things, people who are now able to sketch out their
future, and people who became happy after being placed in their current environment... As you said in the beginning,
President Sumi, well-being means different things to different people, but many people become able to develop their own
well-being through coaching.

Sumi

I feel that providing opportunities to dialogue with many people is another effective way, in addition to coaching.

ToriyabeEngaging in a dialogue enables us to believe in one another’s potential, to work together to draw out that potential, andcontinue to learn how to create together. I believe a good future can be realized in this way. I want to bring positive changes toindividuals and the organization through coaching and link to the future the well-being achieved through dialogues withstakeholders.

Sumi

I will continue to work to improve well-being in the WILL GROUP and expand this throughout Japan and to the entire world.

39

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Review of WILL-being 2023, the MediumTerm Management Plan
General Overview
Compared with the beginning of the previous Medium-Term Management Plan in March 2020, we have seen consistent growth in bothrevenue and operating profit. Although revenue growth was supported by favorable exchange rates, operating profit fell slightly short ofour target due to slowness in the Domestic Working business segment.
In the context of our key strategies I to III —to utilize a portfolio shift to improve profitability, utilize a digital shift to improve productivity,and search for the next strategic investment domain —we faced some delays in implementing the plan that required strategic adjustments,
leading to some unmet objectives. However, in the case of the key strategy IV, our financial strategy, we achieved significant results with apercentage of equity attributable to owners of parent to total assets of 26.6% and a total dividend payout of 31.2%.

40

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Key strategies

Human Resources
Strategy

Details

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Assessment
Strategic investment domain
Construction: Unsatisfactory Although thenumber of new hires steadily increased, we are
one year behind our original plan)
Nursing care: Poor We changed our strategy for

Growth occurred in thepermanent placement area,
what we call perm, and in

Unsatisfactory

temporary staffing for highly

performance despite adjustments to prior fiscal
year financial results)

specialized fields. We will
Utilize a
portfolio shift
StrategyⅠ

to improve
profitability

temporary-to-permanent placements
during the period due to lower-than-expected
growth in hiring)HR support for startups: Good Favorable

focus on the areas of nursing
care, construction
management engineers, andProfit maximization area

HR support for startups.

Domestic Working business segment: Poor The

Indicators

number of people on assignment decreased amida higher number of COVID 19 cases, fewer

Strategic investment:

orders from existing clients and fewer people
being recruited. The operating margin also
weakened due to a decline in the gross margin.)

Revenue growth rate
Profit maximization:
Operating margin
Unsatisfactory

Overseas Working business segment: Good
Although the sharp increase in demand forpermanent placements post-COVID has run its
course, the base steadily increased, even after
excluding impact of forex

Despite continued improvement in thefunctionality of the WILLOF smartphone app
Utilize aStrategyⅡdigital shift
to improve(signing up online, etc.) and integrated core

Improve productivity percapita through a digital shift DX

Poor

productivity

systems (temporary staffing management) for
construction engineers into existing systems,
these moves have not yet led to higher
productivity per person
In May 2022, even though the Japanese market
reopened for technical interns and specified
skilled workers from overseas, services foroverseas residents in Japan fell below our

Expand services for nonUtilize a
StrategyⅢdigital shift
to improve
productivity

expectations

Japanese workers in Japan

In services for IT personnel, both temporary

Expand services for IT personnel
Poor

In HR Tech, explore
opportunities in industry sectors

staffing and permanent placement grew steadily
In March 2023, we withdrew from some existing
HR Tech products (an app for management ofrelated to our main businessvisa and lifestyle support services for people fromoverseas). Product development is underway forservices in the construction management
engineer field, etc.

Percentage of equity attributable

Ratio of equity attributable to owners of parent

to owners of parent: 20% or

was 26.6% at the end of FY2023

higherStrategyⅣ

Financial

ROIC

strategy

capital at around 10%

20% or higher (cost ofGood

Total annual dividend payout

ROIC was 16.6%, falling short of the target due tothe unmet goal for operating profit
Total annual dividend payout (return) for(return): 30% or higher

FY2023 31.2%

41

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Revenue and Operating Profit by Business Segment

Ongoing Challenges for the New Medium-Term Management Plan
The persistent challenges to be addressed in the new Medium-Term Management Plan include the operating margin, which remains
stagnant in the 3% range due to a challenging hiring environment in the core sectors of the Domestic Working business segment (sales,
call centers, and factories), a strategic shift in the temp-to-hire placement model in the nursing care sector, and a focus on financial
stability that has resulted in a suspension of new M&As.

Challenges
CommonStagnant operating margin, hovering around the 3% markFY2020 3.4% to FY2023 3.7%
In the construction management engineer areas, hiring is not progressing as expected and we are
one year behind our plan.
The hiring environment is slowing in the focus areas of the Domestic Working business segment:

Domestic Working Businesssegment

sales, call centers, and factories.
Due to the strategic shift in the placement of people hired in the temp-to-hire category in nursing
care, our growth drivers have declined.
The hiring environment in Japan is expected to slow even more.
By focusing on financial stability and not conducting M&As, growth has slowed over the past three years.

Overseas Working Business
Segment

Acceleration of growth in the Overseas Working business segment.

42

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

WILL-being 2026, the Next Medium-Term
Management Plan
Changes in the External Environment
The external environment surrounding the WILL GROUP is constantly changing, encompassing politics, economics, society, technology, andother areas. We particularly recognize that technological innovation is driving changes in the labor market that will significantly impact businessmodels in the HR (staffing) industry.

The Issues Facing Society
Roles that do not require human intervention are increasing, such as manufacturing done by robots and administrative work done by AI.
At the same time, there is an increasing mismatch in the job market, with a shortage of skilled employees capable of leading technologicalchange and who are suited to working in business. This gap is growing between the required skills and the available skills. To address
this mismatch in the job market, the WILL GROUP is committed to maximizing and optimizing the career paths that transform workers intoexperts.

43

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Sustainability
Initiatives

Business Portfolio

WILL-being 2026, the Next Medium-Term Management Plan
Basic Policies
For the Group to grow sustainably, it is important to stimulate growth in the stagnant Domestic Working business segment. Therefore,
this medium-term plan sets out renewed growth of the Domestic Working business segment as the basic policy with aggressive upfront
investments for the renewed growth and a change in the Company’s profit structure during the plan’s term, in this way establishing afoundation for dramatic growth in the future.

Management Indicators
FY2023

Targets

FY2026FY2023→(Plan)FY2026

Revenue (Billions of yen)
*New M&As not included

143.9

170.0

CAGR +6%

Operating profit (Billions of yen)
(Operating margin)

5.31

6.50

CAGR+7%

3.7%

3.8%

+0.1pt)

1,000

2,000

+1,000

71%

73%

+2pt

2,450

4,700

+2,250

Number of foreign talent supported through the Foreign Talent Management
Service(Domestic W [excluding the construction management engineer domain])

1,750

6,800

+5,050

Permanent placement revenue composition
Overseas W

14%

17%

+3pt

Number of permanent employees on assignment for non-fixed term
staffing service/year(Construction management engineer domain)
Retention rate
(Construction management engineer

KPI

Number of permanent employees on assignment for non-fixed term staffing
service(Domestic W [excluding the construction management engineer

Key Strategies
In the new Medium-Term Management Plan, we have identified four key strategies for achieving our management goals: Strategy I,
realizing more growth and monetizing the construction management engineer area; Strategy II, renewed growth in the Domestic Working
business segment (excluding construction management engineers); Strategy III, stable growth in the Overseas Working business segment.
Double the recruitment of people with noStrategy
Ⅰ

Realize more growth and monetization in theexperience, including new graduates

construction management engineer area

1,000 people (FY2023) → 2,000 people (FY2026)
Point 1: Double the number of permanent employees
on assignment for non-fixed term staffing service
2,450 people (FY2023) →4,700 people (FY2026)

Domestic Working
Business Segment

Renewed growth in the Domestic Working business
StrategyⅡsegment (excluding construction management
engineers)

Point 2: Triple the number of foreign talent
supported through the Foreign TalentManagement Service.
1,750 people (FY2023) → 6,800 people (FY2026)
Point 3: Implement brand promotions

Overseas Working
Business Segment

Renewed growth in the Domestic Working business
StrategyⅢsegment (excluding

construction management

Improve the stability of existing business segments

engineers)

44

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Cash Allocation Policy
We are prioritizing funds for increasing SG&A expenses for investments in organic growth and M&As. If surplus cash is available,
we will consider acquiring treasury shares, based on our financial results.

Shareholder Return Policy
In the first and second years of the current Medium-Term Management Plan, we expect profits to decline compared with fiscal 2023. As aresult, we have changed our shareholder return policy included within the plan. Now, we are using a progressive dividend approach, aiming
to increase or maintain the percentage for dividends without any reductions, in principle. We are also aiming for an annual dividend payoutof 30% or higher.

45

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Strategic Investment Areas
Construction Management Engineer
Business Activities
We provide services such as the temporary staffing and permanent placement ofaccredited construction management engineers in the domestic construction industry—
primarily serving major general contractors and subcontracting companies—to address thelabor shortage. For temporary staffing, we provide both experienced professionals and new
graduates with no prior experience in technical roles. We also operate a construction
management job-seeking navigator

Japanese version only), Japan’s largest job search

website specializing in construction management engineers, and a new-generation
construction information media called Seko no Kamisama

Japanese version only)(literally, the god of construction) which approaches the challenges faced by construction
management engineers from two perspectives: learning from failure and technology.

Numerical Data

SWOT Analysis

46

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Future Direction
We intend to double the number of employees, many with no prior experience, both new graduates and mid-career hires, to 2,000 in fiscal
year ending March 2026, relative to fiscal year ended March 2023. To achieve this goal, we will implement new initiatives, increase ourrecruitment channels, and strengthen collaborations with partner companies as part of our proactive hiring. At the same time, we will
establish follow-up teams, increase opportunities for ongoing training, and improve the quality of our contacts to increase touchpoints
and achieve better employee retention rates.

HR for Startups
We provide support services for growth industries, including new ventures and start-up
companies, with a focus on human resources HR . Our specific support includes HR
support services with a focus on permanent placement. We also use our start-up database
STARTUP DB(Japanese version only)) to facilitate collaboration among major

companies, government agencies, local authorities, and start-ups through open innovation
services.
Please note that this business is under for Startups, Inc. ,our listed subsidiary. For moredetails, please visit their corporate website.

47

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Profit Maximization Areas
Overseas
Business Activities
This business segment primarily offers HR services, including temporary staffing andpermanent placement, with a focus on Singapore and Australia. Our temporary staffing
services mainly serve government and municipal agencies, which are less influenced
by economic fluctuations. For permanent placements, we operate across a wide range
of industries, including finance and ICT (information and communications technology).

Numeric Data

Countries We Operate In

48

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Future Direction
The demand for placing temporary staff post-COVID 19 has run its course, so we will capitalize on new opportunities that did not exist
before the pandemic by increasing our workforce of consultants. Our aims are to raise the percentage of revenue coming frompermanent placement sales by 3% in fiscal 2026, compared with fiscal 2023, and to improve our operating margin. To create sturdy
foundations not susceptible to economic fluctuations, we will continue to expand our temporary staffing services in areas such as
government and municipalities. At the same time, we will develop a retention plan for sustainable growth as well as a succession planfor the founders and second-generation managers of local subsidiaries being succeeded by the third generation.

49

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Nursing Care Support
Business Activities
This business segment provides services to companies operating nursing care facilities bycontributing to their stable operation, including temporary nursing and temp-to-hire staff,
as well as permanent placement. We also operate the WILLOF Care Academy, a school for
nursing care qualifications that handles initial and advanced training for caregivers that isdesigned to augment worker skills and provide career support.

Numeric Data

SWOT Analysis

Future Direction
We will strengthen the specified skilled foreign talent field by focusing on providing Foreign Talent Management Services, since
expanding the acceptance of skilled workers from overseas is essential for addressing the overall labor shortage in the nursing careindustry, and where significant market growth is expected. At the same time, we will develop our WILLOF Care Academy—operating
at six locations: Shinjuku, Yokohama, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kitakyushu, and Fukuoka—as in-house training centers, by establishingsatellite campuses within client facilities. This expansion is intended to boost the ease of acquiring certification not only for our clients’
employees, including temporary staff and overseas workers, but also for the staff of other corporate facilities in the area, ultimately
increasing the recognition of our service brand and our evaluation within the market.

50

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Sales Outsourcing
Business Activities
This business segment focuses primarily on supporting the market growth of customers’
products and services in retail electronics stores, clothing stores, and similar businesses,
as well as planning and operating campaigns for major IT-related companies. For our sales
support services for retail electronics stores, we focus on mobile devices such as
smartphones. Our temporary staff are deployed to work in certain areas, such as
customer service, product explanations, application processing, management of sales
staff, and the collection and reporting of sales information. We also provide permanent
placement, business outsourcing, and promotional services for sales events andcampaigns.

Numeric Data

SWOT Analysis

Future Direction
We will focus on expanding our sales support and our presence in the clothing industry. For sales support, we will streamline ourdrives for using social media and referral-based hiring through dedicated projects to strengthen our ability to supply human resources.
We will also improve our management strategies, boosting operational efficiency and ensuring uniform excellence. In the clothing
industry, we intend to increase our visibility in physical stores and enhance the operations of our sales agency. Further, we are
venturing into innovative areas, including marketing and sales agency services that leverage the potential of the metaverse.

51

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Call Center Outsourcing
Business Activities
In this business segment, our services are aimed at fostering trust between customers andtheir customers in companies operating call centers or for providing telemarketing services.
We also provide temporary staff and permanent placement for administrators in offices andother settings. Within the call center segment, our primarily focus is on telecommunications
companies, business process outsourcing BPO providers, and financial institutions. We
provide temporary staffing and permanent placement for a range of tasks, including
distributing information, logistics, after-sales services, and consultations, as well as
handling and resolving customer’s inquiries and complaints. Further, we own and operate
our own call centers in multiple locations Kochi, Koriyama, Yamagata, and Kanazawa
Cities), where we also handle customer telemarketing services on behalf of our clients.

Numeric Data

SWOT Analysis

Future Direction
We will focus on growing our presence in the financial industry and on business outsourcing while developing services in new areas. In thefinancial industry, we will provide support for obtaining financial qualifications such as licenses and certifications for sales representatives
and financial planners, while strengthening our support for improving the skills of temporary staff. For business outsourcing, we willconduct training for our nationwide employees, standardizing our outsourced sales operations to enable cross-selling, not only for
temporary staff but also for outsourced personnel. For new business areas, we will develop monetizable services from contributions suchas the YUMEIKU preliminary training service and the comprehensive information portal site for call centers called Konne Navi.

52

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Factory Outsourcing
Business Activities
For this business segment we provide services for boosting our clients' productivity for
manufacturing processes in industries such as food, electrical equipment, electronic
devices, transportation equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and metals. Our expertiseis in offering technical solutions and talent management know-how. We focus on relatively
recession-resistant areas, with a particular emphasis on the food manufacturing industry.
Our services cover temporary staffing, permanent placement, and business outsourcing for,among others, production, inspection, quality control, sorting, and packaging. We also offer
support and management outsourcing services for the anticipated increase in the future forworkers from overseas.

Numeric Data

SWOT Analysis

Future Direction
To boost revenue through the Foreign Talent Management Services, we will ramp up the number of sales consultants to increase orders
and strengthen alliances with local corporations, schools, and other organizations for more local recruitment. To expand businessfor permanentemployees on assignment for non-fixed term staffing service, we will apply the recruitment expertise we have developed in
the construction management engineer and sales outsourcing areas to outsourcing for factories.

53

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Exploratory Areas
The exploratory areas refer to businesses that might become pillars of the WILL GROUP in the future. These businesses are positioned asa group where specific performance indicators are already established and investments are being considered. As our next strategic
investment areas, we are exploring businesses related to our existing operations, focusing on those with high operating margins. Our goal
here is to achieve growth in the future for consolidated operating margins.
In the past, we supplied a range of services including overseas labor management systems, HR tech products focused on lifestyle support,
and IT consulting. However, we made the decision to withdraw from areas where growth was not promising.
Currently, we are focusing on expanding our services to areas with real potential for market
growth and synergies with our existing businesses. This includes IT personnel services,such as the temporary staffing and permanent placement of system engineers, services foroverseas workers in Japan, including technical interns and specified skilled workers, as well
as direct recruiting services in the construction management engineer field. In the
exploratory segment, we are not only focusing on organic growth but also considering
growth through investments, such as investing though M&As, with a strong emphasis onalignment with maximizing and optimizing career paths to transform workers into experts.

54

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

AboutWILL GROUPINTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Environment
Environmental policies
To sustainably and safely protect the global environment, through reductions in energy use, the Group will proactively take theinitiative for addressing climate change, the reuse of resources, and conserving biodiversity.

Targets
The Group has established a target to reduce total CO2 emissions by 20% by the fiscal year ending March 31, 2031, compared with thefiscal year ended March 31, 2020.
This applies to not only the CO2 emitted from offices, but also the CO2 from employee’s business activities and throughout the service’s
entire lifecycle. Our wide-ranging initiatives will help prevent global warming, while we are working with clients, business partners, andemployees.

Trends in CO2 emissions
Based on the Green Value Chain Platform from the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, we
calculate CO2 emissions at WILL GROUP, INC. and wholly owned subsidiaries in Japan.
Starting with the disclosure for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, we have reviewed the companies corresponding to Scopes 1 and 2
and items to be included in the calculation, and we added Scope 3.
The emission sources applicable to each scope are as follows.
Scope 1CO2 emissions from direct use of gas and gasoline

Scope 2CO2 emissions through the use of electricity

Scope 3CO2 emissions of Category 6 Business Travel) and Category 7 Employee Commuting)

Initiatives in response to the Task Force on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures TCFD recommendations
The Will Group has expressed the support for the TCFD recommendations and joined the TCFD Consortium in January 2023.
For details on the four core disclosure items recommended by the TCFD-governance, strategy, risk management, andmetrics and targets-please refer to the Initiatives for the Environment section of our website.

55

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Society
Human rights policy
The Will Group has set improvement in well-being as a material issue for us to address. We believe that for everyone associated with
the Group to experience well-being—physically, mentally, and socially—respecting human rights is paramount. This commitment
means we uphold the rights of all people, regardless of attributes such as gender, nationality, age, and disability, as we help to create asustainable society.

1. Respect for international standards
The Group is committed to supporting and upholding international standards concerning human rights, including but not limited to theInternational Bill of Human Rights, Children’s Rights and Business Principles, ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work,and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We are dedicated to preventing or mitigating any adverse impact on humanrights, including discrimination, violence, sexual harassment, and power harassment, for all stakeholders affected by our business activities.

2. Elimination of discrimination*
The Group is committed to avoiding any actions that discriminate or violate human rights based on factors such as gender, age, disability,
nationality, race, gender identity, or religion. We are dedicated to creating an inclusive and comfortable workplace for everyone. To
achieve this goal, we will proactively address, resolve, and prevent human rights issues through employee training and the establishmentof a hotline.
* Discrimination encompasses the unequal treatment of individuals in employment, promotion, compensation, and training, which results in unequal opportunities based on factors
unrelated to their skills, aptitude, or performance. These factors may include race, ethnicity, nationality, place of origin, skin color, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion,
political beliefs, union membership, and marital status. Discrimination can also occur through disparities in opportunities or treatment arising from health and pregnancy examinations.

3. Company policies related to freedom to form labor unions and support ofcollective bargaining rights
The Group adheres to local laws and respects employees’ rights to form labor unions in accordance with applicable laws andregulations. This includes the freedom to choose whether or not to join such unions and engage in collective bargaining. The Group iscommitted to non-discrimination against employees based on their exercise of these rights.

4. Appropriate compensation
The Group will verify that compensation exceeds the minimum wage, as mandated by national and local laws and regulations, to preventany violations of labor hour regulations.

56

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Diverse work styles
To maximize the abilities of every employee, we provide programs for work style options.
We have established a flextime system, a reduced working day/hour system, working from
home, a side-job program, and various leave programs to allow employees to choose theirworkstyle based on their life events and life stages, such as marriage, childbirth, childcare,and nursing care. The Group aims to improve the well-being of every employee throughsupport that enhances the working W , interesting I , learning L , and living L ofevery employee. This is achieved by allowing them to choose a style of working that fits
their lifestyle.
Moreover, we offer several work style options not only for our full-time employees but also
for our temporary staff, particularly those working in sales support and at call centers. We
have implemented a work from home system for temporary staff working at outsourced
and contracted sites. As a result, we have seen positive effects, such as an improvement in
retention rates. Looking ahead we will continue to increase the availability of workplaces
and positions where diverse workstyle options can be chosen.

YUMEIKU HOPE project for social reintegration
Based on our desire to create work opportunities for all, we have been striving to eliminate
anxieties over communication and have created opportunities for finding work throughworkshops. Our sights are set on individuals who need support reintegrating into society,particularly those who lack confidence when it comes to communicating with others andthose who are hesitant to take that first step in dealing with society. Moreover, leveraging
our position as a corporate group providing HR services, not only do we support people reentering society, we also believe we have much to offer for providing support for future
employment by giving back to society the knowledge and expertise we have accumulated
over the years.
The YUMEIKU HOPE project is a social contribution program that was started incooperation with support organizations certified by the Ministry of Health, Labour andWelfare of Japan, such as Local Youth Support Station for helping those dealing with
anxieties over employment. Many of these employment support organizations help todeepen ties with communities and contribute to the revitalization of communities.

WILL Heart Association
This voluntary organization, whose members are drawn from the employees of the WILLGROUP, plans and operates donation and support activities for children. It was foundedin the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The Association various initiatives
include extracurricular activities and educational support to create opportunities forchildren to become excited about their future.

Teaching about failure
The association holds extracurricular lessons so employees of the Group can share
anecdotes of their own failures to these children and discuss what they learned from thatexperience. This program prompts children to think about their futures and provides
opportunities for our employees to gain a sense of their own growth. This program
emerged from our desire to give the children hints and tips, however small, on how toapproach life.

57

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Career Support Group
This program is for university students concerned about their future career paths and who
are trying to determine career options and identify interests. Group employees serve forroughly one month, holding get to know yourself lessons involving coursework anddialogue with the aim of having students reflect on their past and present, while looking
toward their futures.

sonaeru: supporting children in times of disaster
Following disasters in Japan, we conduct volunteer activities to provide emotional andeducational support to children in affected areas where assistance might not be readily
available. The Group offers human resources, vehicles, and facilities, partnering withNPOs and local organizations to give support for up to three months.

and WILL matching gift system
In August 2022, the Group established a new matching gift system premised on our desire
to become an agent that brings positive change to individuals and organizations, evenoutside our own operations and business. The Group solicits and matches financial
donations from employees when a natural disaster occurs and provides the funds to local
governments and organizations. Acting in this way, expresses the feelings of bothindividuals and the Group. The name reflects the desire of the WILL GROUP to closely alignwith people and communities, while also showing our intention of having the WILL to work
for a better future for individuals and society.

WILLOF Foundation
For nearly 25 years, the WILL GROUP has been dedicated to HR services. During this time,
we noticed that many individuals choose temporary employment to align with their
aspirations. As an HR service provider advocating for diverse workstyles, supportingthese individuals is especially important to us among all the people we assist. The WILLOF
Foundation is committed to empowering temporary employees with the will to take on achallenge as they pursue their dreams and personal objectives. We intend to help create asociety where many dreams and goals are achieved, where the attainment of personal
growth inspires others, and where positivity fuels fresh action.

Day To Do Good Volunteer Day)
At WILL GROUP Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., which oversees the Group’s overseas operations,
one key value is Being human, always. Just like our domestic operations, beyond businessand commercial activities, this company’s social contribution has a positive impact on
local communities, the environment, and people worldwide who need assistance. In 2023,
over 350 employees dedicated more than 1,000 hours to volunteer activities, resulting in
donations exceeding US$13,000, contributions of goods valued at over US$3,500, andproviding more than 1,000 meals.

58

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

AboutWILL GROUPINTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Corporate GovernanceCorporate Governance Highlights

Board of Directors
No. of meetings held
in FY2023

No. of member

In addition to regular monthly meetings of the Board of Directors, extraordinary

17 times

meetings are held as necessary and when appropriate.

Inside Directors

8Outside Directors

2

Audit &
Members3

Chairperson

Supervisory Board

President andRepresentative Director

3

Audit & Supervisory Board
In addition to regular monthly meetings of the Audit & Supervisory Board, extraordinary
No. of meetings held
in FY2023

No. of members

meetings are held as necessary and when appropriate. Under this system the three

15 times

Audit & Supervisory Board Members also attend meetings of the Board of Directors, sothat important decision-making is being audited at all times.

Outside Audit & Supervisory Board
Members Including a full-time member)

33

Chairperson
Full-time Outside Audit &Supervisory Board Member

Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee deliberates on matters related to the training and

No. of meetings held
in FY2023

No. of members

8

2 times

Inside Directors

2

development of successors as part of the succession planning for the CEO, andmatters related to the appointment and dismissal of Directors.

Outside Directors

Audit &
Supervisory Board
Members3

3

59

Chairperson
Outside Director

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Remuneration Committee
Delegated by the Board of Directors, the Remuneration Committee deliberates andNo. of meetings held in
FY2023

4 timesNo. of members

Outside Directors

33Compliance Committee

No. of meetings held
in FY2023

confirms the evaluations and remuneration amounts of individual Directors within thescope of the remuneration system and maximum amount of remuneration decided by thegeneral meeting of shareholders and the Board of Directors.

Chairperson
Outside Director

Sustainability Committee

No. of meetings held

12 times

1 timein FY2023

Group Management Committee

No. of meetings held
in FY2023

12 times

The Compliance Committee, chaired by the

The Sustainability Committee, chaired by

The Group Management Committee, led byRepresentative Director and consisting of

the President and Representative Director,

the Directors and executive officers of thethe Group’s Directors and employees

is composed of the Company’s Inside

Group, discusses important matters such as

selected from within the Company, confirms

Directors and the directors of its main

analysis of the recent businessthe level of compliance with laws anddomestic subsidiaries as committee

environment and performance trends, andregulations and conducts related education

members. The Sustainability Committee

medium- to long-term business strategies.

as necessary. Each Director or executive

discusses, evaluates, and formulates

officer works to raise awareness ofactivity policies and action plans relating tocompliance by ensuring that all

sustainability and monitors the promotion

departments under their control areof KPI for material issues.

thoroughly aware of compliance.

60

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

AboutWILL GROUPINTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Changes in Corporate Governance
The Company is working to further improve corporate governance to ensure transparent, sound management. In 2016, we adopted asystem of two representative directors with a board of directors where one-third or more of the directors are outside directors. A female
outside director was elected in 2020 and the Sustainability Committee was established in 2022, establishing a system that can respondquickly and flexibly to changes in the business environment.
See Basic views

and Corporate governance systemon our corporate website for more information on corporate governance of the

WILL GROUP.

Major deliberations and reports at Board of Directors meetings FY2023
Category

Major deliverations and reports
Approval of quarterly financial report Deliberations
on the medium-term management plan

Business strategy

Deliberations on M&As
Deliberations on human resources strategy
Report on business execution
Deliberations on improving the effectiveness of the Board of Directors
Approval of officers and compensation

Governance

Deliberations on strengthening corporate governance
Deliberations on pursuing sustainability
Report on internal audit results
Approval of policy on shareholder returns

Capital policy

Deliberations on financing
Deliberations on capital investments

See Ensuring the effectiveness of the Board of Directors and Audit & Supervisory Board
Directors

FY2023and Effectiveness Evaluation of the Board of

on our corporate website.

61

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Skill matrix for Directors and Audit & Supervisory Board Members
In order to execute its role efficiently and effectively, and to implement the supervision of business execution, the Board of Directors of theCompany consists of two internal directors who are intimately familiar with the business of the Group, three independent outside directors
who have deep insights and extensive experience in specialist areas, such as corporate management, finance, accounting, global business,
IT, and DX, and three outside Audit & Supervisory Board members. Having identified the skills that each Director should have in order toachieve the goals of the medium-term management plan, the nomination committee first deliberates on the candidates for Director with theaim of achieving a balance of knowledge, experience, and abilities for the Board of Directors as a whole, as well as diversity, based on
which the Board of Directors makes a decision.
Attributes

Operational Experience / Knowledge, etc.

Advisory Committee

Expertise

Experience
Position
Name

GenderDistinctiveness Male●
Female○in theCorporate

Company’s

Management

Business

HR, Labor,
GlobalFinance /Experience Accounting

and

Human
Resources

Legal / Risk

IT /Nomination Remuneration

Management Technology Committee

Committee

Qualifications

Development

Industry

Chairman and
Director

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

Ryosuke Ikeda
President andRepresentative
Director
Yuichi Sumi
MBA, PhD(Professional

OutsideDirector

Accounting),
●

○

●

●

●

◎

●

◎

Chie Ikegawa

small andmedium-sizedenterpriseconsultant

OutsideDirector
Kunihiro

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

○

●

●

●

●

●

●

●

Koshizuka
OutsideDirector
MasatoTakahashi
Full-time
Outside Audit &Supervisory
Board Member

Certified public
●

●

●

●

accountant,licensed tax

Shizukaaccountant

SawadaCertified public
accountant,

Outside Audit &Supervisory
Board Member

certified public
●

●

●

●

●

●

●

accountant of
the State of New

Kenji OmukaiYork, licensed
tax accountant

Outside Audit &Supervisory
Board Member

●

●

●

Katsumi●●Attorney,certified fraud
examiner

Nakamura◎ indicates chairman of theadvisory committees.

62

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Board Members
Chairman and Director

Ryosuke Ikeda
shareholder ratio

18.33%

Years served

17 yearsPositive change I’d like to bring about at the WILL GROUP

Improvement of execution and supervisory function of management for achieving
sustainable growth
Ryosuke Ikeda has been contributing to the growth of WILL GROUP as the Representative Director for
17 years since being founded in 2006. He recently stepped down as Representative Director andassumed the position of Chairman and Director. Shifting from executive leadership to a supervisoryrole, he intends to realize more sustainable growth, working to build a governance system withbalanced offensive and defensive strengths.

Career summary
Apr. 1992

Joined Takaoka Accounting Firm

Sept. 1995

Joined ABLE INC.

Oct. 1997

Joined Big Aid Co., Ltd.

Feb. 2000

Representative Director of SAINT MEDIA, INC. (currently WILLOF WORK, Inc.)

Apr. 2006

President and Representative Director of Will Holdings, Inc. (currently

Sept. 2011

Representative Director of Ikeda Planning Office Co., Ltd. (current position)

Feb. 2014

Director of WILL GROUP Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd.

Aug. 2014

Director of Scientec Consulting Pte. Ltd.

Feb. 2016

Director of Oriental Aviation International Pte. Ltd.

June. 2016

the Company)

Chairman and Representative Director of the Company Directorof SAINT MEDIA, INC. (currently WILLOF WORK,Inc.)

Jan. 2017

Director of Ethos Corporation Pty Ltd.

Jan. 2018

Director of DFP Recruitment Holdings Pty Ltd.

Aug. 2019

Outside Director of SHIKIGAKU. Co., Ltd.

Jan. 2020

Outside Director of Graphico, Inc. (current position)

June.2022

Chairman and Director of the Company (current position)

63

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

President andRepresentative Director

Yuichi Sumi
Shareholding ratio

0.13%

Years served

1 yearPositive change I’d like to bring about at the WILL GROUP

Maximization of options to work positively, for a society where people canbelieve in their potential
After gaining experience in sales at a major subsidiary of the Group, and serving as head of the
Human Resources Department for the overall domestic Group, in April 2021, Yuichi Sumi was
appointed as President and Representative Director of WILLOF CONSTRUCTION, Inc. Possessing
a wealth of knowledge related to the human resources industry, he contributes to expand thebusiness domains of the Group through strong leadership.

Career summary
Apr. 2003

Joined SAINT MEDIA, INC. (currently WILLOF WORK, Inc.)

Apr. 2006

Joined Will Holdings, Inc. (currently the Company)

Apr. 2009

Joined SAINT MEDIA FIELD AGENT, INC. (currently WILLOF WORK, Inc.)

Apr. 2014

General Manager of Sales Division of SAINT MEDIA FIELD

Apr. 2016

Director of SAINT MEDIA FIELD AGENT, INC. (currently WILLOF FACTORY, Inc.)

July.2018

Executive Officer, General Manager of Human Resources Division of theJune.2019

Director of SAINT MEDIA, INC. (currently WILLOF WORK, Inc.)

Apr. 2021

Representative Director of WILLOF CONSTRUCTION, Inc.

June.2022

Director of the Company (current position)

AGENT, INC.(currently WILLOF WORK, Inc.)

Company

Director of WILLOF WORK, Inc. (current position)
Apr. 2023

Director of WILLOF CONSTRUCTION, Inc. (current position)
Director of WILL GROUP Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (current position)

June.2023

President and Representative Director of WILL GROUP (current position)

64

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Outside Director

Chie Ikegawa
Years served

3 years

Positive change I’d like to bring about at the WILL GROUP

Truly global corporate management with steps-ahead foresight
After entering the finance division of P&G Japan Limited, Chie Ikegawa served as CFO at Japanesesubsidiaries of multiple leading US corporations, where she assisted in decision-making regarding
global corporate management, accounting, financial and tax affairs and on improving corporate
value. Currently, she is working as an advisor to support the strengthening of corporate
management systems in Japanese corporations and as a part-time lecturer at Keio Business School.

Career summary
Apr. 1989

Joined Procter & Gamble Far East, Inc. (currently P&G Japan Limited)

Oct. 2006

Joined McDonald’s Company

Feb. 2010

Director & CFO, General Manager of Finance Management Division ofOct. 2011

Outside Auditor of NEC Personal Computers, Ltd.

Jan. 2014

Executive Officer, General Manager of Business Administration andDec. 2018

Vice President of Commercial Finance, Business Administration Division of

May.2019

Representative Director of Strat Consulting Co., Ltd. (current position)

Nov. 2019

Outside Director of Meiko Network Japan Co., Ltd.

June.2020

Outside Director of the Company (current position)

Japan), Ltd.

Lenovo Japan Co., Ltd. (currently Lenovo Japan Limited)

Finance Division of Kellogg Japan G.K.

Seiyu G.K. (now Seiyu Co., Ltd.)65

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Outside Director

Kunihiro Koshizuka
Years served

1 yearPositive change I’d like to bring about at the WILL GROUP

To become a leading company suited for the new era, a large company
supporting revival in the Japanese economy
Kunihiro Koshizuka served as Director and CTO of Konica Minolta Inc., and has been engaged in DX
promotion and new business creation, large-scale overseas M&As, management of technology,
strategy formulation, etc. After retiring as Director in 2019, he has been contributing to theformulation and promotion of technological strategies at that company as a Senior TechnicalAdvisor. He has served as chairman/owner of an industry-academia AI development project andhas contributed to formulating and promoting technology strategies

Career summary
Apr. 1981

Joined Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd. (now Konica Minolta, Inc.)

Apr. 2012

Executive Officer and General Manager, Technology Strategy Division

Apr. 2013

Apr. 2014

Apr. 2015

June.2015

Apr. 2016of Konica Minolta, Inc.
Executive Officer and General Manager, Technology Strategy
Division, Corporate R&D Headquarters of Konica Minolta, Inc.
Senior Executive Officer and General Manager, Corporate R&D Headquartersof Konica Minolta, Inc.
Senior Executive Officer and General Manager, Business
Development Headquarters of Konica Minolta, Inc.
Director, Senior Executive Officer and General Manager,
Business Development Headquarters of Konica Minolta, Inc.
Director and Senior Executive Officer and General Manager, Business
Development Headquarters, and CTO of Konica Minolta, Inc.

June.2019

Senior Technical Advisor of Konica Minolta, Inc.

May.2020

Outside Director of AEON MALL Co., Ltd. (current position)

June.2021

External Director of Tokyu Construction Co., Ltd. (current position)

June.2022

Outside Director of the Company (current position)

June.2022

Outside Director of F.C.C. Co., Ltd. (current position)

66

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Human Resources
Strategy

Value
Creation Story

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Outside Director

Masato Takahashi
Years served

1 yearPositive change I’d like to bring about at the WILL GROUP

To contribute to the evolution of WILL GROUP by leveraging management andDX experience at a social infrastructure company
Masato Takahashi served as person in charge of establishing internet-oriented departments at
Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd., and was engaged in information and human relations. Since 2007, hehas promoted DX as the person in charge of EC and related businesses at Rakuten, Inc., and has
been contributing to its enormous corporate growth.

Career summary
Apr. 1982

Joined Recruit Co., Ltd. (now Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.)

Sept. 2007

Joined Rakuten, Inc. (now Rakuten Group, Inc.)

Oct. 2011

Managing Executive Officer of Rakuten, Inc.

June.2013

Outside Director of LIFULL Co., Ltd.

June.2018

Outside Director of Fringe81, Inc. (now Unipos Inc.) (current position)

Mar. 2021

External Director of adish Co., Ltd. (current position)

June.2022

Outside Director of the Company (current position)

May.2023

Outside Director of property technologies Inc. (current position)

67

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Full-time Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member

Shizuka Sawada
Years served

7 years

Positive change I’d like to bring about at the WILL GROUP

Transformation into an organization capable of sound, sustainable growthequipped with both offensive and defensive capabilities
After working as a CPA at a large audit corporation, Shizuka Sawada has served as a corporate
auditor at listed companies and companies preparing for IPO for more than 15 years. She isutilizing her abundant auditing experience and specialist knowledge to contribute to thegovernance system through effective auditing as an Audit & Supervisory Board Member.

Career summary
Oct. 1997

Joined Asahi & Co. (currently KPMG AZSA LLC

Apr. 2001

Registered as a certified public accountant

Jan. 2004

Established Shizuka Sawada CPA Office as President (current position)

July 2006

Auditor of SunBridge Partners

July.2011

Registered as a certified public tax accountant

Mar. 2012

Auditor of Cross Marketing Inc. (currently Cross Marketing Group Inc.)

Dec. 2012

Auditor of Minnano Wedding Co., Ltd.

June.2016

Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member of WILL GROUP, INC.

Jan. 2017

Full-time Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member of WILL GROUP, INC.

June.2017

Auditor of SAINT MEDIA, INC. (currently WILLOF WORK, Inc.) (current position)
Auditor of NET jinzai bank, Inc. (currently for Startups, Inc.)

June.2018

Auditor of CreativeBank Inc.

June.2020

Auditor of WILLOF CONSTRUCTION, Inc. (current position)

May.2023

Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member of TSI HOLDINGS CO., LTD.

68

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member

Kenji Omukai
Years served

2 years

Positive change I’d like to bring about at the WILL GROUP

To strike a balance between global growth and GRC
Kenji Omukai has worked for a major US Japanese accounting corporation performing
accounting audits and internal control audits as a CPA (accredited in Japan and New YorkState). He has also worked for a US NASDAQ-listed consulting firm where he supported global
corporations in financial accounting and GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) and, as
Director, led business growth.

Career summary
Oct. 1992

Joined Ota Showa Audit Corporation (currently Ernst& Young ShinNihon LLC Tokyo Office

Apr. 1996

Registered as a certified public accountant

Mar. 2003

Stationed in Ernst & Young LLP, New York Office, U.S.A.

Nov. 2005

Registered as a U.S. certified public accountant in the State of New York

Nov. 2006

Representative, Kenji Omukai Certified Public Accountant Office (current position)
Client Service Director, Resources Global Professionals Japan K.K.

Dec. 2009

Registered as a certified public tax accountant

Nov. 2018

Japan Office Leader, Resources Global Professionals Japan K.K.

June.2021

Senior Client Development Director, Resources Global Professionals Japan K.K.

June.2021

Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member of WILL GROUP,
INC. (current position)

69

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member

Katsumi Nakamura
Years served

2 years

Positive change I’d like to bring about at the WILL GROUP

To build a WILL GROUP-specific governance system striking a balance
between offense and defense
After working for business operating companies and a political think tank, Katsumi Nakamura has
been involved in crisis management, noncompliance investigations, compliance, internal control
and CSR at a small law firm. For a variety of listed corporate groups, he contributes to crisis
management through third-party committee investigations, and governance reform aimed atstrengthening the effectiveness of the Board of Directors.

Career summary
Apr. 1993
Apr. 1997

Apr. 1999

Oct. 2006

Jan. 2012

Aug. 2020

June.2021

Joined All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
Dispatched to International Exchange Office, the Institute of Fiscal
and Monetary Policy, the Ministry of Finance
Legal and Insurance Division, All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.
Registered as an attorney
Joined T.Kunihiro & Co. Attorneys-at-Law
Partner, T.Kunihiro & Co. Attorneys-at-Law (current position)
Outside Director serving as Audit and Supervisory Committee
Member, UMC Electronics Co., Ltd. (current position)
Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member of WILL GROUP,
INC. (current position)

70

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Outside Directors’ Roundtable Discussion

Outside Director
Officer)Independent

Outside Director
Officer)Independent

Outside Director
Officer)Independent

Chie Ikegawa

Kunihiro Koshizuka

Masato Takahashi

After entering the FinanceKunihiro Koshizuka served as

Masato Takahashi was in charge ofDepartment of P&G Japan Limited,

Director and CTO of Konica

establishing Internet-oriented

Chie Ikegawa served as CFO at

Minolta, Inc., and has been working

departments at Recruit Holdings

Japanese subsidiaries of several

in digital transformation

Co., Ltd. and worked in information

leading US companies, where she

and new business creation, large-

and human relations. Since 2007, heworked in global corporate

scale overseas M&As, technology

has promoted business

management, corporate planning,

management, formulating

development and DX as Managing

business planning andmanagement strategy, and other

Executive Officer in charge of coreDX

management, as well as financeareas. Since retiring as Director in

e-commerce and related

and taxation. Currently, she is an

2019, he has been helping to thebusinesses at Rakuten, Inc.,

advisor to support theformulate and promote

contributing to their significant

strengthening of management

technological strategies at thatgrowth. He became an outside

systems in Japanese companies

company as the Senior Technicaldirector for the WILL GROUP in

and is a part-time lecturer at Keio

Advisor and has served asJune 2022.

University Graduate School ofchairman/owner of an industry-Business Administration. She

academia AI development project.

became an outside director for

He became an outside director for

the WILL GROUP in June 2020.

the WILL GROUP in June 2022.

As the WILL GROUP takes on dynamic, new initiatives, the Company has also taken on the revitalization of leadership and theinternal structure, marked by Yuichi Sumi’s appointment as President in June 2023. While youthful energy is pivotal, effective
corporate leadership also relies on the invaluable oversight, advice, and recommendations offered by outside directors who bringextensive knowledge and experience from an objective viewpoint. In this roundtable discussion, three outside directors delve into
the WILL GROUP’s corporate governance and sustainability management.

71

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Sustainability
Initiatives

Business Portfolio

Contributions from the perspective of Outside Director
Ikegawa

I assumed the role of outside director in 2020. Prior to that, I served for many
years as CFO in charge of financial planning and analysis at the Japanesesubsidiaries of global companies. Currently, the WILL GROUP’s overseas
revenue accounts for approximately 40% of the total ¥143.9 billion in revenue,and has entered a phase of global expansion. To achieve this goal for growth,
it is necessary to strengthen management systems through the headquarters,
oversee the operations of global companies, and optimally allocate
management resources to subsidiaries, aimed at improved corporate value. I

Chie Ikegawa

am committed to using my knowledge and experience in contributing to theseobjectives during this growth phase. In addition, the WILL GROUP has been
increasing the number of female executives, and having personally balanced
childcare with my career, I am determined to support female empowerment
and diversity.
Koshizuka

I have experience as a Director and CTO at Konica Minolta, Inc. Generally, governance includes both defensive governance,or overseeing executive responsibilities and ensuring fairness, rationality, and transparency, as well as offensive governanceor driving sustainable growth and increasing corporate value. Both of these are essential for a company, but I specialize more
in offensive governance. This involves how a company adapts and evolves during a transformation. I hope to contribute byleveraging my past experiences and expertise while supporting the WILL GROUP’s emphasis on human capital management.

Takahashi

I spent approximately 15 years at Recruit Co., Ltd. (now Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.), where I gained valuable experience inbusiness restructuring and the launch of new ventures. Later, during my time at Rakuten, Inc. (now Rakuten Group, Inc.), I
contributed to the growth of e-commerce and the creation of new markets, demonstrating the evolution of a challenger or
disruptive company, while generating unprecedented social value. I am confident that the insights and perspectives I haveacquired can significantly contribute to the medium- to long-term improvement of the Company’s corporate value. The
company name, WILL, embodies a commitment to providing services in several business areas, including working
interestingI, learningL, and living

L

W

,

, with the goal of becoming a leading company in each area. While the

WILL GROUP now focuses primarily on the working business segment (both domestic and international), I am eager to assist
in the development of the other areas: interesting, learning, and living. I believe that my experience will be invaluable in theseareas.

The WILL GROUP’s governance structure
Ikegawa

In recent years, there has been much progress in setting corporate governance principles, enabling the rapid improvement oforganizational structures. The WILL GROUP, now listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, is also committed tostrengthening governance. The Board of Directors, central to this work, has had more and more discussions on realizing
business strategies and improving the stock performance since the appointment of Mr. Koshizuka and Mr. Takahashi as new
outside directors in 2022.

Koshizuka

The WILL GROUP’s Board of Directors is known for being candid, a reflection of the open culture. I have enormous respect for
the employees’ deep dedication, especially for achieving short-term management strategies. However, I see the discussions
within the Board of Directors on how to concretize and realize medium- to long-term management strategies as a key theme
for the future. The new Medium-Term Management Plan

WILL-being 2026

that began in April 2023 has allowed us as

outside directors to openly express our opinions at Board meetings because the executive team, including the President,
took the time to thoroughly explain the plan. With the change in the role of the Board of Directors from an advisory board to amonitoring board, I look forward to deepening discussions from the perspective of an outside director.

72

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Takahashi

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

Indeed, the WILL-being 2026 plan has been extensively discussed. Comparedwith the previous Medium-Term Management Plan, this new plan appears morerefined and easier to understand. As Koshizuka-san mentioned, the next steps
involve not only formulating strategies but also effectively implementing themand adapting flexibly to new circumstances. This is where outside directors
like us come into play; we provide oversight. The WILL GROUP has many
opportunities for outside directors to gain a more in-depth understanding of

Masato Takahashi

what the Company is currently doing. Further, the governance structure
encourages our active participation. To understand the Company, it’svaluable not only to observe from an external viewpoint but also to gain
insights from within. I have had the chance to conduct one-on-one meetings
with the Company’s top executives at an early stage, allowing me to delve
into their visions for the business.

Ikegawa

In recent years, the role of outside directors in corporate governance has evolved. In the past, it was common to seek
specialized opinions from outside lawyers. However, today, there is an expectation for outside directors to collaborate inshaping medium- to long-term strategies and contribute to corporate value. The WILL GROUP has also adopted a
corporate governance structure that aligns with these expectations.

Succession planning and HR development
Ikegawa

One of the WILL GROUP’s strengths is the profound attachment that employees have to the Company, where individual
growth is closely linked with the Company’s growth. Although the previous management team was performing well, they
were looking to pass the baton on to a younger generation earlier, carefully conducted the selection of the next president andthe directors. Instead of choosing from the pool of long-term employees who already had an in-depth understanding of theCompany and each other, they took a more objective approach by seeking out external directors and consultants. As outside
directors, we also participated in the selection process, when appropriate, using both quantitative and qualitative
assessments, under the lead of the general manager of the Human Resources Division.
The Nomination Committee incorporated the perspectives of the outside directors, leading to the appointment of the current
President. Observing President Sumi’s leadership, after his appointment, during events such as the WILL Summit (a biannual
study session for executives at the department head level and above) and the Group Kickoff, which was held face to face forthe first time in four years, we are confident that this selection resonates with everyone.

Koshizuka

As Ms. Ikegawa mentioned, the previous management team was brave to takeon leadership transitions at that point. While rejuvenating a company is easy tosay, practical execution is a challenge that only a few companies ever manage
effectively. The WILL GROUP has nearly 15 top executives, and all of them are
growing with ownership in line with the Vision. This underscores theCompany’s skill in spotting talent, exemplified by Mr. Sumi’s selection as
President from this capable group. However, with a significant number ofyounger executives in leadership positions, some are still developing their

Kunihiro Koshizuka

perspectives and skills. In my role, I talk directly with individuals, helping tofoster their growth. For example, I interact with executives and their immediate
subordinates, prompting them to assess if their close collaborators are doing
their job with perspectives as broad as their own. If improvements are
identified at the lower levels, I encourage executives to instill the same
perspective-elevating and motivating principles that they’ve experienced
within the Company. This approach for collaborative development has strong
potential for growth among our executives and their teams, a commitment that
we support. Currently, the WILL GROUP is in a mature phase with slowing
growth, prompting us to constantly support the development of younger
talent, while pursuing a two-stage rocket strategy for sustainable growth.

73

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023

INTEGRATED REPORT 2023

Takahashi

About
WILL GROUP

Value
Creation Story

Human Resources
Strategy

Material issues

Medium-Term
Management Plan

Business Portfolio

Sustainability
Initiatives

The WILL GROUP, being in the HR field, highly values its own human resources. The selection process for the new president
shows this dedication to excellence, particularly in the HR field. This commitment is evident in the two-year-long selection
process, guided by objective criteria and a strong consensus. Moreover, this commitment extends beyond the President to theentire rejuvenated leadership team, all of whom shoulder significant responsibility and have ownership. Looking ahead, thecentral question is whether the organization can foster discussions that transcend individual areas of expertise and promote ashared corporate ethos. Elevating the perspective of the WILL GROUP collectively is a challenge for us. This ongoing initiative
involves not only the executive leadership but also managers and every other employee across the organization. Drawing frommy 35 years of professional experience, which includes interactions with nearly 100 companies, ranging from large
corporations to startups, the WILL GROUP stands out as unique. Even the younger executives demonstrate impressive
responsiveness, creating an engaging environment with strong expectations. I am closely monitoring the company’s progressin fulfilling the mission as a change agent group that brings positive change for individuals and organizations.

Ikegawa

At the WILL GROUP, employee loyalty is high, whether these people are new graduates or experienced workers. This loyalty
often coincides with a shared commitment to the Company’s growth, resulting in personal growth. In the context of the WILLGROUP’s global future, as mentioned earlier, leaders of overseas subsidiaries display not only loyalty to the Company but also astrong focus on personal development. Japanese companies have unique qualities, and I would like to see the WILL GROUP
promote cultural exchanges by inviting overseas leaders to Japan, blending Japanese and international cultures to drive further
growth.

Message to shareholders and investors
Ikegawa

The three of us bring extensive experience from varied involvement within large, established corporations, including as outside
officers, consultants, and advisors. At the same time, the WILL GROUP is positioned for substantial growth. We have eagerly
observed the strong commitment and high level of ownership displayed by both internal directors and employees in pursuinggoals. Looking ahead, we hope that this commitment continues, propelling the WILL GROUP toward substantial growth like thatof a venture company, as the Company aims to have a global impact. We firmly believe in the WILL GROUP’s potential toachieve this ambition, with much energy being devoted to improving the corporate value. We invite you to share in our
optimism for the future.

Koshizuka

The WILL GROUP is dedicated to making an impact on society. The Company generously supports individuals who have limited
professional experience, aiding their transition into society and their development into specialists, while giving emotional
support. The WILL GROUP’s Mission, Vision, and Value are deeply integrated within the organization, and there is a profoundunderstanding of the needs of society. The Company follows a purpose-driven management approach. I look forward toseeing the WILL GROUP effectively communicating these attributes to investors and shareholders to improve theirunderstanding.

Takahashi

We are eagerly anticipating growth under the revitalized leadership team, driven by dynamic initiatives, and we acknowledge
that shareholders have strong expectations for growth. The WILL GROUP’s proactive approach to taking on challenges andhaving in-depth discussions is admirable. To become a dominant force in the staffing industry, we encourage the Company totake on bold, innovative initiatives. As outside directors, we are here to provide both strong support and constructive criticism,
when necessary. To our valued shareholders and investors, it would be appreciated if you could take a medium-to long-term
perspective when you value WILL GROUP, as the Company takes on these varied challenges to enhance corporate value.

74

WILL GROUP INTGRATED REPORT 2023