Social
Customer-First
Setting loan limits suited to customers’ circumstances
While complying with various laws and regulations, including the Money Lending Business Act, it is our number one priority to establish a line of credit that allows customers to repay their loans without any difficulties. Loan amounts are determined based on our “automated credit system” developed in-house, as well as the judgment of the manager over an individual’s case.
A system that makes it easy for customers to get advice when they need it
Depending on a customer’s situation, we offer a wide range of financial services to help ease their financial worries, including advice on borrowing, repayment, and other money-related matters, referrals to specialist agencies, financial assessment support, and more.
Striving to improve service through a customer-first mentality
Since our inception, we have endeavored to improve our customer service by providing services that thoroughly take the customer’s point of view into account, such as by providing “app loans” that allow customers to complete the entire process from applying to receiving the loan all on their smartphone, payment acceptance services at convenience stores, and more. In FY2022, we began strengthening our CX efforts and promoting effective CS/CX activities throughout the company based on our basic policy of “aiming to earn and improve customer loyalty by thoroughly pursuing CX.
From customer satisfaction to activities that create moving experiences for customers
As part of our efforts to improve our services pursuing a customer-first mentality, we have been publishing ideas and initiatives that lead to improved CS/CX, as well as customer feedback, in our online internal newsletter since January 2015. Regarding the proposals made by employees that incorporate customer feedback, we work to improve our services by considering how improvements could be made in cooperation with relevant departments, and by sharing the opinions of customers on a daily basis throughout the entire company, including the management team, we are able to understand what customers are feeling right now, consider how to best serve them, and act in a timely manner working to exceed their expectations.
CSR Activities
Financial and Economic Education
We are working to improve financial literacy for the students, who will be in charge of the future, local residents, and corporate employees so that they can acquire proper knowledge regarding money and make appropriate decisions.
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University Seminars
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High School Seminars
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Interactive Live Seminars
Communicating with Society
Student Sustainability Adviser
In working to solve various social issues, we have adopted a “Student Sustainability Adviser (SSA)” system, in which we exchange opinions with current students in order to incorporate new perspectives from outside the company without being bound by conventional viewpoints. We engage in various discussions with young SSAs who are highly interested in social issues and have flexible ideas and perspectives.
Pro Bono
The SMBC Group carries out the SMBC Group Pro Bono Work Project to support NPOs and other organizations working to solve social issues. As a member of the Group, we have introduced a system that allows employees to utilize a portion of their working hours to engage in these activities. *Pro Bono is derived from the Latin term “Pro Bono Publico,” and are volunteer activities in which members of society take advantage of the skills and experience they have developed through work in areas such as sales, planning, development, marketing, and public relations to provide support from a business perspective that NPOs often lack.
Donation Activities
Mirai Support Scholarship
In order to contribute to the development of a sustainable society by supporting the university students who will lead the future, we began offering the Mirai Support grant-type scholarship in FY2024. In addition to providing financial support, we also provide financial literacy support to recipients by offering educational programs that incorporate our expertise in financial and economic education.
Yakusoku-no-Mori matching gift program
We have established an in-house donation system called Yakusoku-no-Mori* as a way for employees to think about and participate in social contributions more personally. Through this program, we provide support for children’s welfare facilities (Japan National Council of Children’s Homes), children’s self-reliant living assistance services (The National Council of Youth Independent Assistance Homes), and projects to raise hearing dogs (Japan Hearing Dogs for Deaf People).
We have also set up donation-oriented vending machines within the company that use a portion of the proceeds to support The Japan Hearing Dogs for Deaf People as part of our ongoing support activities.
*A matching gift program in which employees decide where and how much to donate each month
Donations made through Yakusoku-no-Mori (FY2023)
Project | Cumulative Total |
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Subsidy programs for children’s welfare facilities | 1,659,540 yen |
Children’s self-reliant living assistance services | 1,373,940 yen |
Projects to raise and train hearing dogs | 1,772,752 yen |
Introduction of the TABLE FOR TWO program
TABLE FOR TWO (TFT) is a social contribution program made in 20-yen increments that we introduced at the employee cafeteria in our head office building. Each time an employee adds an extra 20 yen on top of their purchase made at the employee cafeteria, that amount pays for one school lunch, which will be donated to children in developing countries through the NPO TABLE FOR TWO International. The TFT program has been introduced in each SMBC Group company.
Sponsorship Activities
Educational and cultural activities
The Promise Essay Contest (sponsored by The Sankei Shimbun), started in 1996 based on the concept of taking another look at the importance of human relationships and life in modern society in order to rediscover the importance of promises, was held for the 28th time in FY2023. Submissions are received from a wide range of age groups every year, but in recent years there has been an uptick in the number of submissions from junior and senior high school students through schools as participants, with the contest becoming widely used in educational settings as part of Japanese language education and writing instruction. A new social media category was added from the 27th contest, and “short essays” are also now being accepted in line with the times.
Sports and events
In an effort to revitalize local communities through event sponsorships and sports promotion aiming to support the youth who will be forging the future, we sponsor table tennis tournaments, Kawasaki Frontale, and various sports events where young Japanese athletes have shown remarkable success in recent years.
Coexisting with Local Communities
At both our head office and our various sites, we actively engage with the local communities, listening to their needs and working together with them to promote initiatives aimed at revitalizing the local area.
Workplace Environment
Wellbeing
System for promoting health and productivity management
In order to maintain and improve the health of our employees and their families, all of whom support our business operations, we established the health and productivity declaration on October 1, 2019. On the same day, we appointed the President and Representative Director as the Chief Health Officer in order to promote and ensure the implementation of the health and productivity management. We will continue to promote health and productivity management in order to remain a company that is trusted by all stakeholders.
Health and productivity declaration
SMBC Consumer Finance is committed to “health and productivity management,” to enable every employee to continue working energetically in good physical and mental health and deliver customer-oriented services for the realization of its vision for the future: We aim to become a highly trustworthy global consumer finance company. SMBC Consumer Finance also declares that it is working closely with its health insurance society to actively encourage employees and their families to take the initiative and maintain and improve their own health.
October 1, 2019 Chief Health Officer: President and Representative Director
Selection of a Chief Health Officer
In order to maintain and improve the health of our employees and their families, all of whom support our business operations, we established the Health and productivity declaration on October 1, 2019. In addition, in order to further promote health and productivity management, a Chief Health Officer was selected on the same day.
System for promoting health and productivity management
We have assigned members of the Human Resources&General Affairs Department to four sites: the Head Office (Tokyo), Toyocho (Tokyo), Kyobashi (Osaka), and Gofukumachi (Fukuoka), to take charge of the health and productivity management of employees, established a health office at each site and appointed occupational health staff such as occupational health physicians and public health nurses. Our Safety and Health Committee, Human Resources&General Affairs Department, occupational health staff, and health insurance society are collaborating with each other and working alongside the Chief Health Officer and Health Officer to implement health and productivity management.
*As part of our diversity promotion activities, engagement ambassadors, who are appointed in each department, are in charge of promoting measures related to health and productivity management.
Health and productivity management meetings
The Chief Health Officer, Health Officer, occupational health staff, the health insurance society, the General Manager of the Human Resources&General Affairs Department, and the Human Resources&General Affairs Department secretariat hold health and productivity management meetings to identify issues concerning employees’ health and to determine health & productivity management KPIs, policy initiatives, and measures.
Health and productivity management strategy map
Direction of health and productivity management promotion
Based on a foundation of wellbeing, we aim to be a company where employees can work with enthusiasm and energy. • We will ensure that our employees are in good physical, mental, and social health
Health and productivity management strategy map
This map shows the ultimate goal we wish to achieve through health and productivity management and our health investments (major initiatives).
Key indicators and initiatives
Initiative goals
❶ Key indicators
Ultimate health and productivity-related target indicators (KGI)
Target indicators for health-related initiatives (KPI)
*Regular health checkup rate of 100% (during the period specified by the company)
Employee performance metrics
[Measurement method for each indicator]
Absenteeism: Average number of leave days taken in a year due to personal injury or illness for all employees based on the personnel management system (*)
Presenteeism: Average of all employees based on SPQ (University of Tokyo Single-Item Presenteeism Question)
Work engagement: Average overall score for all employees in the Atrae, Inc. “wevox” engagement survey
*FY2023 results are as of September 30, 2023
❷ Major initiatives
We conducted a survey on awareness regarding health and productivity management (February 2022)* to confirm employees’ state of awareness. We are taking the following measures to promote the health of our employees and raise their health and productivity awareness.
(*When asked “Do you know about our initiatives for ‘health and productivity management’?, 25.1% of respondents answered “I know very little”)
Efforts to improve employee satisfaction
We are taking steps to not only to improve customer satisfaction, but also to create a workplace environment with a high employee satisfaction level. We are also striving to achieve a work-life balance for employees by supporting them in balancing the two, through measures such as introducing region-specific jobs, the ability to choose to work shorter working hours, providing information to employees taking maternity leave and childcare leave, and holding support seminars for those returning to work. For employees who wish to focus on self-improvement, we have also introduced correspondence courses to help them improve their skills and acquire qualifications, such as Chief of Money Lending Operations. We are also enhancing the quantity and quality of our welfare program menu, such as by introducing a cafeteria plan*1, in which employees can use the welfare program in step with changes in their lifestyles. To strengthen the EAP*2 system, we are developing a range of activities, including responses to leaves of absence and returning to work, the planning and promotion of mental health education, the enhancement of cooperation with occupational physicians and health staff, the establishment of health offices, and the holding of Safety and Health Committee meetings.
*1 Cafeteria plan: A welfare program by which points are granted to eligible employees each year that allows them to select predetermined menu items within the range of points granted
*2 EAP: Employee Assistance Program
Occupational health and safety initiatives
In order to maintain a work environment in which each employee is able to work energetically in good physical and mental health, we have established “safety and health regulations,” and we are working to maintain and improve a comfortable and safe work environment, thereby maintaining the health of employees and preventing occupational accidents.
Details of initiatives
❶ Framework
The head office and each site hold monthly Safety and Health Committee meetings to ensure workplace health and safety and to promote a comfortable work environment. The Safety and Health Committee is comprised of occupational physicians, health managers, and employees selected to act as representatives for workers. They discuss and consider measures to prevent occupational accidents, maintain a hygienic work environment, and ensure the health of employees so that everyone can work safely and with peace of mind.
❷ Agenda of the Safety and Health Committee
Discussions are held according to the issues faced at each business site.
FY2022 Safety and Health Committee meeting agendas (Toyosu Head Office)
❸ Health and safety-related data
Recognized as a “White 500 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organization (Large Enterprise Category)”
In March 2024, SMBC Consumer Finance Co., Ltd. was recognized as a “White 500 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organization (Large Enterprise Category)” by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan and the Nippon Kenko Kaigi.
Recognized as a Sports Yell Company
We have been recognized as a “Sports Yell Company” by the Japan Sports Agency as a company that actively promotes sports activities to improve the health of its employees.
Efforts to cooperate, exist, and prosper together with business partners
We participate in the “Declaration of Partnership Building,” working to build relationships that promote cooperation, coexistence, and co-prosperity with our business partners. We will also work to support the health of our business partners by jointly organizing health and productivity measures.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)
Message from the President
“The Two ‘Samas’ and Diversity & Inclusion”
I’ve always held two Japanese phrases that contain the word “sama” in high regard: “Otagaisama (the same goes for me)” and “Okagesama (thanks to you).”We have a wide variety of people working at our company. All of us have our own strengths and weaknesses, and none of us are perfect. One person’s strength can complement someone else’s weakness. By complementing each other, we can create something that is more than the sum of its parts. Everyone’s personalities are also different. Having a diverse range of personalities work together creates a strong team that in turn creates better results and makes us a better company. Diversity is indispensable not only as a source of growth in general, but also for us to achieve sustainable growth. That’s why we all cover for each other, encourage each other, praise each other, and work together while embracing diversity. It’s also important to make sure your gratitude isn’t just kept inside of you, but expressed through your words and actions. If someone or something someone does is foreign to you, that same sentiment will be reflected back at you if you put yourself in their shoes. In order to understand each other, we must first appreciate both each other and diversity through ‘otagaisama’, and express our feelings of gratitude through ‘okagesama’. I believe this is what diversity and inclusion is all about, and I am convinced that when a diverse range of employees accept each other, new innovations are created, contributing to the sustainable growth and development of both society and business.
Terumasa Takahashi, President and Representative Director, Chief Executive Officer, SMBC Consumer Finance
Creating awareness of DE&I
Assigning Engagement Ambassadors
We assign Engagement Ambassadors to each department, working to change employees’ attitudes regarding diversity and creating opportunities for them to thrive.
Unconscious bias training
We have prepared e-learning courses on the subject of unconscious biases, which is an important topic in workplaces where employees have a diverse range of values, attributes, and lifestyles. These courses are available to take at any time.
Supporting the active participation of a diverse range of human resources
Support for the career advancement of women
Around half of our employees are women, and promoting the career advancement of women is an important theme that is essential to diversity and inclusion at SMBC Consumer Finance. We are focusing on systems that help women balance work and life, making it easier for them to continue working, and are striving to develop an environment that allows us to provide them with long-term career support. We are also implementing management development initiatives such as enhanced training programs to encourage managers to challenge themselves to achieve further personal growth.
Career training for women
We provide training programs to help women overcome the issues they face specifically at each stage of their career, from fresh young employees to the management level.
Support for a work-life balance
To accommodate the various lifestyles of our employees, we have systems in place to support a work-life balance tailored to the individual circumstances of each employee, such as childcare and nursing care commitments.
Holding of work-life balance seminars
Every year, we hold a Work-Life Balance Seminar to support employees who are balancing work and childcare. The seminar program is intended to allay various concerns about balancing work and childcare, and includes explanations of the personnel systems available, useful information for finding nursery schools for children, and case studies introducing the work styles of more senior employees. The seminars are attended not only by employees who are currently pregnant or on childcare leave, but also by those who are considering having a child in the future. As the number of male employees taking child care leave increases, seminar participation by male employees is also on the rise.
Initiatives to encourage male employees to take part in child care
The Human Resources&General Affairs Department sends information about our systems to support work-life balance along with a congratulatory message to both male employees who have recently become fathers and their line managers. By providing support to male employees who are involved in child care, we are working to create an environment in which employees can choose a workstyle that fits in with their lifestyle.
Key systems to support work-life balance
- Childcare leave system:Employees can take a leave of up to 18 months, which exceeds the statutory leave of 12 months.
- Short working hour system:Employees with elementary school-aged children or younger can take advantage of a shorter working hour system, choosing to work between five and seven hours per day (actual working time, with time added in 30-minute increments).
- Nursing care leave system:Employees can take leave of up to 155 days, which exceeds the statutory leave of 93 days.
- Personnel change grace period system:Employees are allowed a grace period for any personnel transfers involving relocation on the grounds of child care or nursing care.
- Region-specific job system:Employees can choose to work in a specific region for the foreseeable future due to their private circumstances (having or raising a child).
Supporting the active participation of elderly human resources
We hold training for elderly employees who have reached a certain age to allay concerns about re-employment past mandatory retirement age and to increase their own understanding of their new role. The training program gets participants to think about their careers after re-employment past mandatory retirement age through consideration of how to work moving forward, discussions with senior employees, and messages from senior management. The active participation of elderly workers has huge potential upsides for both society and for SMBC Consumer Finance, and is becoming increasingly important. We are continuing to work on support measures such as training and reviewing systems, aiming to create a workplace environment where elderly employees can continue working with vitality.
Realization of a diverse range of working styles
Telework
On April 1, 2020, we introduced teleworking (excluding business operations which involve handling customer information), with the dual aims of “realizing diversity through the creation of a workplace environment that allows employees to choose their work style” and “improving productivity.” We encourage our employees to work remotely, not only at their own homes but also at satellite offices, which we subsidize the cost of.
Elimination of long working hours
We aim to improve employees’ work-life balance through measures designed to eliminate long working hours, such as months when we enforce no overtime days and the adoption of RPA based on BPR activities to increase business efficiency.
Relaxation of the dress code
To realize a more comfortable working environment, we have a relaxed dress code and employees can dress as they wish, provided they are presentable and that they take the time, place, and occasion into consideration.
SMBC Group initiatives
SMBC Group DE&I Statement
The SMBC Group, including SMBC Consumer Finance, promotes measures to enable the active participation and growth of human resources from a diverse range of backgrounds, and is creating a workplace environment in which each employee can feel comfortable and motivated to work.
SMBC Group Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Statement
Message from the SMBC Group CEO
Respect for human rights
We have established a Statement on Human Rights as a premise for our various efforts to respect human rights.
Human resource development
Development framework
To support employees' Self-Directed career development and active challenge and learning, we have an education policy and promote knowledge and skill development.
Training policies
- Providing ongoing training for the career advancement of a diverse range of employees