Initiatives for human rights
The Asset Management Company has established a human rights policy based on the Mitsui Fudosan Group Human Rights Policy and the Mitsui Fudosan Group Sustainable Procurement Standards of Mitsui Fudosan. MFLP-REIT and the Asset Management Company support and respect international norms regarding human rights, such as the core labor standards set out in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (freedom of association, recognition of the right to collective bargaining, elimination of forced labor, abolition of child labor, and elimination of discrimination) in light of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Bill of Human Rights. In addition, the Sustainable Procurement Policy established by the Asset Management Company incorporates respect for human rights into the selection and evaluation standards used to choose the content of work and business partners for the portfolio value chain.
Based on the above, the Asset Management Company has defined the initiatives for respect of human rights in the Compliance Manual as described in the table below and is working to instill its policy on respecting human rights in all employees.
| Details | Policy and initiatives |
|---|---|
| Prohibition of discrimination and harassment |
The Asset Management Company shall prohibit discrimination or unfair treatment based on nationality, social status, race, belief, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, education, marriage status, employment type or any other reason not related to business roles. In addition, no harassment in any form is allowed in the workplace. |
| Policy to prevent child labor or forced labor |
The Asset Management Company shall not permit child labor or forced labor. The Asset Management Company has never used child or forced labor. To ensure that none is used in the future, the Asset Management Company complies thoroughly with the laws and regulations of each country. |
| Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining |
The Asset Management Company shall support and respect the freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
|
| Policy supporting rights to a minimum wage and living wage |
The Asset Management Company conducts labor management while abiding by the labor laws and regulations. In terms of wages, the Asset Management Company has adopted a basic policy of following the rules on minimum wages. |
There were no serious violations of labor-related laws and regulations during the period from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
DEI (Diversity,Equity, and Inclusion) of the Asset Management Company
The Asset Management Company will strive to build an organization that recognizes diversity,equity, and inclusion.
Specifically, in accordance with the management philosophy of the Mitsui Fudosan Group of “coexist in harmony with society and achieve a sustainable society,” in response to the dramatically changing needs of society, we are working to realize new value creation based on work style reforms, with the management ranks overseeing the diversity of employees, working to build an organization in which human resources of diverse values, talents, and lifestyles can realize their full individual potential and comfortable workplace.
Based on the above, the Asset Management Company has defined the "DEI Promotion Policy". Under this policy, the Asset Management Company has set KPIs as shown in the table below and promote DEI initiatives.
| Item | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | KPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number of officers and employees（Note 1） | 24 | 25 | 24 | - |
| (Number of seconded employees accepted) | 10 | 10 | 10 | - |
| (Number of direct employees) | 14 | 15 | 14 | - |
| Male: 7 Female: 7 | Male: 8 Female: 7 | Male: 8 Female: 6 | - | |
| Percentage of female employees* | 50% | 47％ | 43％ | - |
| Percentage of female managers | 0% | 0% | 0% | 40% by FY2030 |
| Percentage of female directors | 0% | 0% | 0% | - |
| Average employment period*（Note 2） | 2.2 years | 3.0 years | 3.6 years | - |
| Rate of used portion of paid vacation*（Note 3） | 56% | 75％ | 89％ | 70% |
| Rate of employees taking 10 or more days of paid vacation*（Note 3） | 44% | 86% | 100% | 100% |
| Rate of health checks received | 100% | 100% | 100% | - |
| Employment of people with disabilities | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Number of new hires* | 5 | 1 | 2 | - |
| Number of retired employees* | 0 | 1 | 2 | - |
| Employee turnover rate in the fiscal year* | 0% | 7% | 14% | - |
| Rate of employees participation in training on DEI | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
（Note 1）Indication of “officers and employees” means the total officers and employees including direct employees and seconded employees mentioned above.
An asterisk (*) indicates data for direct employees, including contract employees.
（Note 2）The average employment period is the average of figures calculated by dividing the total number of days enrolled as an employee up to each day by 365, as the number of days in one year.
（Note 3）Calculated using data on enrolled employees as of the fiscal year-end, but excluding those mid-career hires who joined during the fiscal year.
- Training by viewing a DVD that promotes understanding of human rights and diversity (promoting active participation of women, employment of senior employees, training on LGBT issues)
- Training on DEI
Initiatives for human resource development
The Asset Management Company is taking steps to secure and develop specialists with high-level expertise in real estate finance and potential leaders who have the management ability to increase the productivity of the organization. Furthermore, it aims to develop human resources who will contribute to society and to increasing corporate earnings, aiming not only to build knowledge, comprehension, and communication skills through short-term education and training, but also the ability to grasp the big picture of a situation or incident from a broad perspective and envisage the future course of events.
1 Support for acquiring qualifications
1-(1) Support for acquisition and maintenance of specialized qualifications
The Asset Management Company supports all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) in their efforts to obtain degree programs and certifications, such as ARES (Association for Real Estate Securitization) Certified Master, and all officers and employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) may utilize a system whereby such expenses are borne by the Asset Management Company. Furthermore, to encourage the acquisition of difficult certifications, a certification allowance is paid to all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) who hold certifications in Japan as a real estate appraiser, lawyer, tax accountant, or certified public accountant.
The number of employees with specialized certificates is as shown below (including seconded employees accepted).
| Qualification | Number of employees with qualifications |
|---|---|
| ARES (Association for Real Estate Securitization) Certified Master |
9 |
| Real estate transaction agent | 18 |
| Real estate appraiser | 1 |
| First-class architect | 1 |
| Real Estate Consulting Master | 1 |
| Certificate-holder Member of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan |
1 |
| Eco Test (Certification Test for Environmental Specialists) |
6 |
| Care fitter | 1 |
| US CPA | 1 |
（Note 1）As of March 31, 2023.
（Note 2）Includes personnel who have passed the credentialing exam but are not yet credentialed.
| Fiscal year | Number of cases using the qualification support system |
Officers and employees using the system |
Amount of support funds (excl. tax) |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | ５ | ５（21％） | ¥248,888 |
| FY2021 | 14 | 11（46%） | ¥517,243 |
| FY2022 | 25 | 16（63%） | ¥1,076,249 |
1-(2) Others
Since MFLP-REIT conducts public offerings in overseas markets, we make efforts to improve the English language abilities of all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) of the Asset Management Company in order to develop human resources able to operate globally, and have also established an English conversation school course fee support system.
2 Various training programs
One of the pillars of the Asset Management Company’s human resource development efforts is the various training programs listed below under “2-(1) to 2-(3).” In FY2023, the Asset Management Company has revised its training system.
| Training for all officers and employees | Selective training programs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance training | Job-specific development training | Level-specific and leadership training | Individual skill training | Department-specific skills training | |
| Executives |
|
|
Training for executives |
Business skills、IT skills、English
|
Corporate planning, Human resources, General affairs, Legal, General accounting, Finance, Sales, Marketing, Production
|
| Top management | Training for top management |
||||
| Middle management | Training for middle management |
||||
| New employees | Training for new employees |
||||
| Fiscal year |
Training expenses |
Training expenses per person |
Total hours | Total hours per person | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | |||||
| Compliance training | ¥618,000 | ¥25,750 | 174 hours | 7 hours and 15 minutes |
|
| Specialized field training | ¥930,000 | ¥38,750 | 144 hours | 6 hours | |
| Level-specific and leadership training, Individual skill training, Department-specific skills training |
¥427,200 | ¥17,800 | 324 hours and 24 minutes |
13 hours and 31 minutes |
|
| Total | ¥1,975,200 | ¥82,300 | 642 hours and 24 minutes |
26 hours and 46 minutes |
|
| FY2022 | |||||
| Compliance training | ¥768,000 | ¥32,000 | 174 hours | 7 hours and 15 minutes |
|
| Specialized field training | ¥900,000 | ¥37,762 | 390 hours and 47 minutes |
16 hours and 23 minutes |
|
| Level-specific and leadership training, Individual skill training, Department-specific skills training |
¥475,200 | ¥19,938 | 312 hours and 53 minutes |
13 hours and 7 minutes |
|
| Total | ¥2,143,200 | ¥89,700 | 877 hours and 40 minutes |
36 hours and 46 minutes |
（Note）After close examination of the date, the figure for 2022 have been renewed and adjusted.
2-(1) Compliance training
We strive to enhance not only individual capabilities but also organizational capabilities by implementing compliance training programs for all officers and employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.).
- Training on fundamentals of securities monitoring
- Training on overview of FSA’s supervisory guidelines flor investment business
- Training on general theory of compliance
- Training on conflicts of interest
2-(2) Job-specific development training
For the purpose of periodically updating fundamental knowledge necessary for asset management of all officers and employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.), we regularly conduct training programs led by external lecturers to study the circumstances of the economic environment and real estate market and the REIT market, etc.
- Real Estate Market Training
We regularly invite several external lecturers to provide training on real estate market trends.10 training sessions were held for all employees in FY2022. - ESG Training
We invite several external lecturers to provide training on ESG-related situations and issues to be addressed by MFLP-REIT and the Asset Management Company. In FY2022, training on DEI and TNFD (Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosure) was conducted, and all employees participated in both trainings.
2-(3) Level-specific and leadership training, Individual skill training, Department-specific skills training
We provide a system that enables all officers and employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) to choose from around 1,700 level- and field-specific courses offered by external specialist institutions per year. Level-specific and leadership training, Individual skill training and Department-specific skill training is taken by the relevant officers and employees depending on their level, skill, situation, and department. The primary objective is to provide an environment that assists the development of executive candidates by improving their management and leadership skills and encourages the active development of a career vision by each employee.
3 Periodic career interviews
At the Asset Management Company, regular career interviews are held for direct employees (including contract employees) with directors at least once every six months. By providing employees with opportunities to discuss their own career development, feedback on their performance, and requests to the company, we encourage employees to increase their motivation and broaden their skill sets.
4 Performance appraisal
For performance appraisals, we hold a start-of-year interview (goal setting), interim interview (progress check and advice), and end-of-year interview (appraisal feedback) for direct employees (excluding contract employees), as part of building a transparent goal-setting and appraisal feedback system that ensures mutual understanding of intentions between supervisors and subordinates.
5 Personnel appraisal and Compensation
Direct employees (excluding contract employees) are interviewed by their supervisors at least once every six months using a behavioral appraisal sheet tailored to their position each year and are promoted and their base compensation is renewed once a year according to the appraisal. The behavioral appraisal is an objective, numerical assessment of how well the employee has demonstrated the behavioral characteristics required for the job grade and is reflected in the amount of the employee's compensation.
6 Goal Setting and Compensation
Direct employees (excluding contract employees) hold goal-setting meetings with their supervisors in April and October of each year, using a goal-setting sheet.
Twice a year, in September and March, performance against the set goals is evaluated at the end-of-term interviews (feedback of evaluation results). The performance appraisal is based on an objective, numerical assessment of the degree of achievement of individual performance goals directly related to divisional goals, and the amount of the employee's contingent remuneration is reflected according to the degree of achievement.
| Fiscal year | Ratio of interviews held (direct employees) |
|---|---|
| FY2021 | 100% (14 out of 14 employees) |
| FY2022 | 100% (14 out of 14 employees) |
Talent pipeline development strategy
The Asset Management Company has established a recruitment plan for the image of human resources required for each department and the necessary timeframe, in line with the business execution structure of the medium- to long-term business plan and has built a system that enables the timely and appropriate assignment of human resources. For example, we are increasing the number of Operations Team members as the scale of assets under management increases, Investment Team member to gather information on a wide range of properties, not limited to those from our sponsors, and members to expand our investor base and address ESG issues. Therefore, the Asset Management Company make maximum use of the talent pool of recruiters for mid-career hiring, such as multiple staffing agencies, and constantly provide information on future hiring plans to recruiters, so that we can attract highly specialized personnel and hire the people we need in the execution of the asset management company's operations. Similarly, the Asset Management Company accepts secondees from our sponsor, Mitsui Fudosan, in line with its strategic workforce plan and utilizes them as a pool of highly specialized personnel with diverse backgrounds. For mid-career hires, the Asset Management Company promote various skill development programs through the aforementioned education and training programs. In addition, the Asset Management Company has a full benefit program and is promoting the establishment of comfortable working environments to enable employees to continue working with confidence. We are also promoting efforts to increase work efficiency by encouraging long-term employment and increasing the motivation of employees.
At the same time, we are making use of the secondees‘ expert capabilities to make qualitative improvements in operational expertise, aiming to realize advanced asset management operations.
Employees in managerial positions seconded from Mitsui Fudosan possess expert know-how as well as organization management skills, thus they have contributed to asset management and vitalization of the Asset Management Company.
- Mitsui Fudosan: 8
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation: 1
- Reiwakaikeisha Tax Corporation: 1
Reference: Career Programs of Mitsui Fudosan, Human Resources Management/ESG Report 2023
At the Asset Management Company, the Board of Directors and General Meeting of Shareholders oversee the appointments of officers. Other managerial appointments are determined by the President & CEO. When making changes to personnel appointments, an appropriate management candidate is selected from among direct employees and the Mitsui Fudosan human resource pipeline, and the change is planned to ensure smooth continuation of business and duties.
Furthermore, Mitsui Fudosan regularly conducts new graduate recruitment, and the Asset Management Company also accepts secondments of young employees with less than 10 years of experience at Mitsui Fudosan who have completed human resource development training programs at Mitsui Fudosan.
For detailed information on recruitment of new graduates, please refer to Human Resources Management described in ESG Report 2023 of Mitsui Fudosan as stated above.
Creation of working environments conducive to work and work-life balance
Human resources are recognized as the most important asset of the Asset Management Company, which not only meets the legal standards for health and safety, such as work-life balance, employee health, labor management, and risk management, but also works to create working environments where all employees can continue to work with confidence through the various initiatives described later. In addition, the Asset Management Company introduce Activity Based Working through office renewal to further improve the level of comfort for working environment.
(1) Employee engagement survey
In FY2020, the Asset Management Company started conducting an employee satisfaction survey to ascertain the current status and hopes of all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) for use in improving the working environment. Since then, the Asset Management Company has confirmed employee satisfaction regarding the degree of fulfillment of their current assignments and satisfaction with their work environment at least once a year. (On a five-point satisfaction scale, the average score was 3.97 in FY2020 and 3.54 in FY2021 and 3.53 in FY2022). Based on the results of this survey, the Asset Management Company is striving to build better working environments.
- Introduction of electronic approval system
- Implementation of office renewal
- Introduction of health appliance
(2) Structure for collecting requests and grievances of employees
During interviews with directors, all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) are provided with an opportunity to air their various hopes for the Asset Management Company and to confirm their own career options.
In addition, the Asset Management Company has established internal and external contact points for consultation based on the internal consultation and whistleblowing regulations. The system enables all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) to anonymously report organizational or individual behavior that violates laws and regulations (behavior that violates or is suspected of violating laws, corporate ethics, and internal rules such as the compliance manual) or harassment to the Chief Compliance Officer (or for matters concerning the Chief Compliance Officer, the President & CEO) or an external law office. The same regulations protect whistleblowers and prohibit any disadvantage to whistleblowers, including retaliatory measures by the Asset Management Company such as dismissal. The regulations also oblige the Asset Management Company to determine and take appropriate measures regarding the reported matters.
(3) Introduction of cumulative investment unit investment program
The Asset Management Company has introduced a “cumulative investment unit investment program” targeting all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) of the Asset Management Company, through which they can acquire investment units of MFLP-REIT. Officers, etc. of the Asset Management Company who have been seconded from Mitsui Fudosan, our sponsor, can also use their company’s “cumulative investment unit investment program” to acquire investment units in MFLP-REIT. It is anticipated that this system will result in all officers and employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) being more focused on improving the performance of MFLP-REIT, and that this in turn will contribute to the continuous growth of MFLP-REIT and enhancement of unitholder value. Furthermore, the Asset Management Company provides financial incentives to all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) utilizing the program in an endeavor to further enhance their benefit and welfare programs.
(4) Benefit and welfare
The various benefit and welfare (incentive) programs listed below have been established to create a working environment in which all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) can continue to work in comfort and with peace of mind.
- Defined contribution pension plan
- Pre- and post-natal leave system
- Childcare leave
- Nursing care leave
- Child nursing leave
- childcare allowance
- Congratulation and condolence leave/money
- Term-end bonuses
- Flex-time system
- Remote work system
- Loan of PC and printer for working from home
- Shared-office expenses borne by the company
- Loan of smartphone
- Subsidization of fees for club activities
- Cafeteria plan
- Award of prizes and bonuses under a reward system
(5) Office Renewal
The Asset Management Company’s was renovated with employee comfort in mind. The Asset Management Company created a comfortable work environment for employees by incorporating plenty of plants in the office, installing aroma diffusers, and paying attention to lighting and sound environment. In addition, a TEL booth and solo seats have been arranger as a concentration area, more meeting space has been enhanced, and DXing has been enhanced by adding monitors for videoconferencing, etc. In the library space, an office bookstore (subscription for self-help and business books) has been introduced to provide employees with opportunities to come into contact with books of various genres.
Promotion of Health Management
Human resources are recognized as the most important asset of the Management Company. We will not only comply with the legal standards for health and safety, such as work-life balance, health of employees, labor management, and risk management, but also work to create working environments where all employees can continue to work with confidence through the various initiatives described later. Specifically, the Asset Management Company has joined the Mitsui Health Insurance Association and provides various assistance systems such as subsidies for influenza, external subsidies for smoking ban and other vaccinations as well as health screening fees, encourage to undergo periodic health checkups and physical examinations (the medical examination rate in FY2022 was 100%), to all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.). In addition, balance balls and elevating tables have been introduced in conjunction with office renovations to promote physical exercise due to desk work. Health management measures are being implemented such as the use of health apps to promote exercise and improve diet.
Also, the Asset Management Company support the maintenance and promotion of employees' health through follow-up services such as invitations to undergo reexamination by industrial physicians. Officers, etc. who have been seconded from Mitsui Fudosan also benefit from similar subsidy systems, and initiatives for the health of all officers and employees are implemented. In addition, in cooperation with an industrial physician, the Asset Management Company has established a consultation point where all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) can consult about both mental and physical health. Furthermore, to ensure the safety of workplaces, the Asset Management Company conducts onsite checks by an industrial physician.
The Asset Management Company strives to care for the mental health of all employees (including both regular and contract employees, etc.) by conducting stress checks for all officers and employees (seconded employees are subject to the system of the assigning company) and holding mental health seminars performed by external instructors (the participation rate in FY2022 was 100%). In addition, as events to promote health, the Asset Management Company participate in walking team competitions (the participation rate was 100%) also provide subsidies for the use of health-related facilities and sports facilities as part of our welfare program. As a result of these activities, we obtained "authorization of silver" for healthy excellent company in November 2023 and the 2023 Certified Health & Productivity Management Outstanding Organizations (under the SME category) in Mach 2023.
