Aisin aims to be a company in which all employees respect the individuality of each other and can work with high motivation, making the best use of their individual abilities and personalities, regardless of their nationality, gender, race, sexual orientation (such as LGBT), presence of disability and the like.

The same applies to differences in age. Aisin promotes the empowerment of senior employees who work through its re-employment program.

Raising the motivation of employees by increasing the options for how they work

Kamiya, Head of BR Diversity Promotion Department

Based on the belief that the pursuit of the quality, not the quantity, of work is important for an organization to continuously create innovations, Aisin has been committed to “Work Motivation Reform.” As part of the initiatives of Work Motivation Reform, Aisin set up the BR (business reform) Diversity Promotion Department in April 2021 to accelerate diversity promotion. The BR Diversity Promotion Department provides comprehensive support for the empowerment of diverse human resources, regardless of their gender, disabilities, etc., in all steps from finding needs and challenges to formulating and implementing policies and measures.

The following is a summary of an interview with Ms. Kamiya, the Head of the BR Diversity Promotion Department, on how Aisin promotes the empowerment of senior workers.

Asked about the importance of the senior workforce, Kamiya said, “as the rapid aging of population combined with the declining birthrate is causing a serious labor shortage, it is important to create an environment where all workers can make full use of their abilities even after reaching the mandatory retirement age, or an environment where they can select their style of working based on their respective preferences on how they wish to work, so that they can work with a sense of fulfillment. Our diversity promotion initiative places emphasis on “engagement by all members,” aiming to allow all employees to play active roles irrespective of individual differences. For senior employees, we strongly promote re-employment of workers who have reached the mandatory retirement age, expecting that it will generate diversity in our workforce and eventually lead to creating new value.”

As of April 1, 2021, Aisin has 845 employees working by using the re-employment program. And 100% of the applicants for the program have been re-employed so far. Each year, we see many senior employees who are motivated to utilize their knowledge and experience after reaching the retirement age.

“We want to create a forum to support such motivated seniors, where they are encouraged to autonomously envision their own careers, continue to learn, and improve their own value,” said Kamiya. Aisin’s re-employment program, a component of the forum, is unique in that it offers many workstyle options, such as continuing to work in a position equal to that they held before re-employment, or adjusting their work hours to their lifestyles. By satisfying a variety of requests of employees, the program enables all re-employed workers to play active roles with high motivation. Aisin also provides them with opportunities to think about their careers or acquire new skills, thereby supporting them enhancing their individual work motivation and self-fulfillment.

See here for details of promotion of the empowerment of seniors→Harnessing a Diverse Range of Human Resources

Experience broadens the range of work

Mr. Murakami, 1st Chassis & Vehicle Safety System Engineering Dept.

The following is a summary of a talk with Murakami, of the 1st Chassis & Vehicle Safety System Engineering Dept., who is working through the re-employment program.

Since he joined Aisin with an aspiration to help Aisin become famous with radio waves, Murakami had been engaged in planning and development related to radio waves in various departments. Asked about the reason that he had decided to use the re-employment program, Murakami said, “Getting close to 60, I noticed that I still had my initial aspiration that I wanted to help Aisin become famous with radio waves, and therefore I wished to advance my engagement in planning and development related to radio waves after the retirement age by using the experience and knowledge I have accumulated.” He told his supervisor of his intention and decided to continue to work at Aisin using the re-employment program.

At present, he is mainly engaged in planning and research on sensing technologies for automated driving, using his knowledge of radio waves and experience in planning and development. Besides that, he has been broadening his field of work, by serving as an advisor for products before market launch and participating in academic conferences outside the company. He says that he can continue doing what he wants to do because the program allows him to keep a position equivalent to the one he held before retirement age.

As another measure to promote the empowerment of senior human resources, Aisin provides employees with opportunities to review their career and imagine their life after their retirement from Aisin. Murakami tried a simulation of his life after retirement and imagined how he would live after retirement from Aisin. He said that it was an impressive experience because he had had no opportunities to think about his life and career after retirement.

In response to a question about what he wants to achieve now as he works through the re-employment program, Murakami said, “I have spent a lot of the time of my life for work. I have been supported and inspired by many people around me, which has enabled me to continue to have the aspiration to help Aisin become famous with radio waves. Now I want to help younger people with my experience, thereby repaying some of my debt of gratitude to Aisin.”

Aiming to become a company where all members can play active roles by making full use of their abilities and personalities

“In promoting the empowerment of seniors, it is important to propose diverse ways of working and create opportunities and places for participation. Toward the goal of becoming a company where all employees can play active roles by making full use of their professional abilities and personalities, there are still many things that we have to do, such as providing support for career design and establishing an environment to ensure motivation for work,” said Kamiya.

Aisin will continue to accelerate diversity promotion in order to make all members feel motivated to work regardless of their age, and create new value.