Dentsu : to Introduce New Programs for Working Environment Reforms

In 2017, Dentsu Inc. in Japan implemented more than 50 measures for our Working Environment Reforms, including the streamlining of workflows and improvement of office environments. Thanks to these efforts, we have observed a number of positive results. As announced in the latest progress report published on February 13 of this year, we successfully reduced total work hours per employee to 2,031 hours, a decrease of 135 hours from the previous year. At the same time, we are fully aware that stronger determination and additional development of programs specifically designed to improve the current situation are required to establish a working environment that helps boost the confidence in each employee about his/her personal growth.
In 2018, we will continue to execute the programs that were successful in 2017 and introduce additional measures, including three key programs, to advance the reforms and accelerate the growth of individual employees.

Three key programs for 2018:
1.　Trial introduction of 'Input Holiday' ―a monthly no-work day to encourage employees to take 'input' for their 'output'
An 'Input Holiday', a monthly company-wide no-work day, will start from this June on a trial basis. This is outside the statutory-based paid holidays and is set on a Wednesday or Friday of the second or third week of every month. For 2018, the following days have been designated: June 8 (F), July 11 (W), August 8 (W), September 21 (F), October 10 (W), November 9 (F), and December 12 (W).
Employees are encouraged to take in 'input' that is considered to have a positive influence on their 'output,' including doing something beneficial for their health or spending time on self-development. The Company aims to promote a notion that healthy employees with adequate rest is good for employees themselves, their families, our clients, and Dentsu. We will continue to study the effectiveness of holiday programs, including this one, to develop the most appropriate holiday system.

2.　Introduction of 'Vitality Note'― a tool to visualize employees' everyday condition
'Vitality Note,' an automatic health-check tool, will be fully launched throughout the Company in July. Employees receive objective analysis of their health conditions by instinctively answering a question that pops up automatically each day they first log on to their office PCs. It has been introduced on a trial basis since this April.
The 'Vitality Note' system has been internally developed based on five metrics (PERMA) used in the field of positive psychology, an advanced study that helps people to attain their well-being. The system is beneficial to both employees and management because employees can learn their health conditions and managers can grasp the condition of an entire team, leading to the creation of a healthier work environment.

3.　Learning opportunity of more than 100 hours a year per employee to help them grow
We have been developing various training programs for employees who have different capabilities and career plans based on our philosophy of emphasizing 'employees' growth is the source of the Company's growth.' To further our effort, we will develop programs that focus on the growth of individual employees.
We are currently developing a wide variety of programs with bold ideas and a scale never seen before. The programs will be gradually implemented from October, aiming to offer more than 100 hours over one year of learning opportunity per employee.

Other programs to be implemented:
- CoE (Center of Excellence) Services: Helping employees focus on core operations by freeing them from non-core operations and allocating them to specialists
- Digitalization of work flow: Comprehensive management of on-going jobs utilizing a cloud system
- Work-from-home, flextime, and rest interval systems
- Additional improvement of office environment (including IT)
- Review of HR systems

Going forward, we will continue to execute our reform programs steadily, focusing on full compliance with labor regulations, the reduction of long working hours, and the physical and mental health of our employees.

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