Policy/Approach
Women comprise approx. 70% of the workers providing the Prestige International Group’s services. Driven by the belief that women’s active participation is essential for our further growth, we have initiated the activities of WEPRO (Woman Excite Project) from FY2024.3, we will enhance our activities as WEPRO for all employees, regardless of gender, by adding five new meanings, aiming for further development. We will listen to the voices of all employees, address issues through the review of human resources systems and human resource development methods, and work on creating an organizational culture and a rewarding work environment.
| We are proactive. |
| We are productive. |
| We are progressive. |
| We are prosperity. |
| We are proud of something. |
Promotional System
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Indicators and Targets
- Aiming for a 50% Ratio of female managers by FY2024.3
- A company that enables employees to pursue job satisfaction by making the most of their individual abilities, regardless of age or gender
- Promotion of working-style transformation in response to lifestyle
Percentage of Female Employees
Consolidated Data for Prestige International Group Companies
As of March 31, 2023
- * Calculated for all full-time employees.
- * Regarding the rate of men taking childcare leave, we are only targeting our company and domestic consolidated subsidiaries, as we do not compile statistics on the rate of men taking childcare leave at our overseas subsidiaries.
List of Accreditations
- Kurumin Certification
- Eruboshi (2 stars)
- Akita Prefecture Women's Advancement Promoting Company Award
- Toyama Women's Advancement Promoting Company Certification
- G20 EMPOWER Advocate
Initiatives Being Implemented at Each Location
Akita BPO Main Campus
Gathering of Mothers on Parental Leave
A "Gathering of Mothers on Parental Leave" was held for employees on parental leave to provide support in making a positive start toward returning to work.
Prestige International believes it is important to create an environment where mothers can consult with other mothers who have the same concerns and share information before returning to work in order to prevent situations where mothers have difficulty adjusting to the atmosphere in their departments after returning to work, or where they worry that they may inconvenience other employees by working shorter hours, causing them to resign.
Employees who attended the gathering commented that the company created an environment that made it easier to return to work, and the Group will continue holding this event in the future.
The Group introduced a mothers-to-be support system to provide not only care for new mothers before they return to work, but also strengthen support before mothers-to-be go on maternity leave.
Yamagata BPO Park
Food Drive
At Yamagata BPO Park and Yamagata BPO Park Tsuruoka Branch, as one of the base activities of WEPRO, we are also conducting contribution activities rooted in the local community, and have been continuously implementing a food drive since FY2023.3. Specifically, we regularly collect food items from our employees' homes that still have a shelf life but are not planned to be consumed, and donate them to families participating in the local children's cafeteria. The collected food items were handed over to the local NPOs running the local community cafeteria and the food waste reduction team "Liga" active at Tohoku Public University, where graduates join Yamagata BPO Park every year. We will continue to plan and operate activities that can serve as a bridge between not only our employees but also everyone in the local community.
Toyama BPO Town
Childhood Cancer Fundraising
We are conducting a charity fundraising campaign in conjunction with International Childhood Cancer Day on February 15th. This activity began when a child of an employee at Toyama BPO Town was diagnosed with a pediatric brain tumor. The belief was that "If we had known about pediatric cancer from the beginning, the severity of the child's disability might have been less. We want people who have children, and those who are thinking of having children, to know about pediatric cancer." Now, it has become a company-wide activity, filled with the warm sentiments of all our employees.
Examples of Activities
Various Support Systems
Extension of the period for shorter working hours for childcare
(introduced in December 2022)
he eligibility period for shorter working hours childcare, which was until the start of elementary school, has been extended until the 3 grade of elementary school, allowing employees to choose a work style that suits their life plan. At milestones in life, we will increase the options for work styles so that employees can continue to work while maintaining a work-life balance.
L Leave (Introduced in August 2022）
Prestige International changed the name of the “menstrual leave” system for female employees who experience extreme difficulty working due to health issues caused by menstrual periods, and the scope of the system’s application has been expanded. These changes mean that the system can be used to take leave for not only menstrual health problems but also PMS and menopausal disorders, which can affect both men and women.
- * The system has been renamed “L”, taking the first letter of “LADY” and LOH (late onset hypogonadism syndrome = male menopause).
Employee Conversion System (Introduced in April 2021)
This system was newly established to provide support to employees that helps to achieve continuous growth and plays an active role in the workplace over the long-term through the ability to choose different working styles as the lifestyle changes. Employees who are not tied to a particular work location (region-specific) and are eligible for transfer may convert to being a region-specific employee if they wish to work exclusively in their current location or do not which to be transferred again. Furthermore, region-specific employees can also convert when they wish to broaden the scope of their business activities regardless of their work location. Prestige International will continue to review this system with the aim of creating a comfortable work environment for a diversity of human resources.
Director System/Project System (Introduced in February 2021)
A questionnaire survey of Prestige International employees found that 80% of male employees and 70% of female employees wish to play a more active role in the company. Based on these results, as part of initiatives to encourage greater participation, we introduced two systems aimed at creating an environment that makes it easy for employees to accept the challenge of a managerial position with a positive mindset. Through segmentalization of the work performed by managers and the establishment of new roles and responsibilities, these systems aim to create an environment where employees can take advantage of their fields of expertise and demonstrate their strengths.
| Director System |
Employees gradually take on managerial duties within their department in stages. |
| Project System |
Employees learn management skills through projects apart from work within their department. |
New Lifestyle Support System (Introduced in May 2020)
There are various life events that can completely change a person’s lifestyle—marriage, childbirth, or elderly care. In order to provide employees with support that takes their family circumstances into consideration, Prestige International introduced the following four support measures under our New Lifestyle Support System in addition to our existing congratulatory/condolence allowance and leave systems.
- Single Mother/Father Support Allowance
To reduce the stress and anxiety of raising children alone as much as possible, Prestige International provides employees who have become single parents through divorce or bereavement with a lump-sum support payment.
- Elderly Care Support Leave
Because of the increasing aging rate, the number of elderly people needing care is expected to increase. For this reason, employees with family members who have been certified as requiring care at Long-term Care Level 2 or higher are provided with 5 days per year of leave for one person requiring care and 10 days per year for two people or more.
- Mother-to-be Support Leave
During pregnancy, women’s hormonal balance changes in preparation for childbirth. Pregnant women not only become easily exhausted but can also experience difficulty sleeping. For these reasons, female employees who notify the company that they are pregnant receive 5 days of support leave in addition to Outpatient Leave.
- Father-to-be Support Leave
Male employees who notify the company that their spouse is pregnant receive 5 days of support leave.
Despite being introduced only recently, this system is being used by many employees, especially Elderly Care Support Leave. The aging rate is higher in regional areas than in central Tokyo, and the regions where Prestige International’s BPO centers are located have especially high elderly populations. Since the company establishes bases in regional areas, the Group feels that there is a particularly high need for the Elderly Care Support System, and moving forward, the company will continue to listen to the voices of its employees and endeavor to further enhance employee satisfaction.
JOB Return System (Introduced in December 2019)
Prestige International carries out a variety of different initiatives in order to create a comfortable working environment/climate for employees. The Job Return System was introduced for the purpose of providing options that match employees’ diverse life plans, enabling them to reuse the skills and experience acquired at our company.
Eligibility Requirements
- Those who were employed at the company for one year or more before retirement/resignation.
- Those who are in good physical and mental health, and who have no difficulties performing their work.
- Those whose retirement/resignation was due to pregnancy/childbirth, childraising, elderly care, spouse’s work transfer, career advancement, or another reason recognized by the company.
- The circumstances stated in 3. above have been resolved and an environment is in place to enable them to return to work.
As the business activities of the Group continue to expand in the future, securing human resources will be a constant issue. The Group will create a system to take on outstanding human resources without being bound by Japanese employment practices.
Hourly Paid Leave System (Introduced in June 2019)
As Group-wide initiatives, in the past Prestige International created a half-day paid leave system (available to all employees except part-time workers) and systems encouraging employees to take paid leave consecutively. The Group had also undertaken a variety of different initiatives aimed at career development, such as a system for publicizing available posts and job requirements in-house and recruiting applicants from within the Group (Open Position), as a means of supporting the career advancement of employees. In order to provide more flexible working styles and improve employee satisfaction, the Group introduced a system that enables employees to take paid leave in hourly units.
With women comprising more than 70% of Prestige International’s workforce, the Group can respond flexibly to employees’ individual circumstances with employees frequently using hourly paid leave to attend school events or take their children to hospital appointments rather than using up a full day’s paid leave. This system also has the merit of increasing operations uptime.
Endeavoring to further improve employee satisfaction, moving forward, the Group will continue to make adjustments aimed at constructing support systems for diverse working styles and career paths.
Interview with Ms. Yoshida, Director in Charge of Promoting Women's Advancement
Nao Yoshida
Director in Charge of Promoting Women's Advancement, Prestige International Inc.
Director and Executive Officer, Prestige Global Solution inc.
Ms. Yoshida joined Prestige International’s San Francisco branch in the United States in 2000. After gaining experience in positions ranging from call center operator to claims agent, she also took on sales operations in 2005. Her main responsibility is overseas business activities such as international travel insurance BPO business activities and healthcare programs. In 2007, she was the first corporate headquarters’ employee to take maternity/parental leave, and is currently juggling work and home life as a mother of two children.
Greetings
My name is Nao Yoshida, and I will be in charge of promoting women’s advancement from FY2023.3.
I joined Prestige International’s U.S. subsidiary 22 years ago and was the first employee to take maternity/parental leave at corporate headquarters. I am now a mother of two children, and I battle daily with trying to balance work and childcare. I find it very challenging and sobering to wear two hats while being involved in global business activities, but I am determined to create synergy by further boosting my experience and inventiveness, which I have been pouring into the creation of value that exceeds our customers‘ expectations. Taking over the baton from my predecessors, I will do my very best to fulfill this important responsibility.
Future Initiatives
Representatives from each BPO center, including myself, have formed a nine-member team called WEPRO and have begun carrying out initiatives. With enthusiastic WEPRO members playing a central role, the Group will listen to employees’ voices and plan different projects, advocate reviews of the company’s personnel system and human resource development methods, work to resolve issues, foster an organizational climate, and promote the creation of a rewarding work environment, proactively addressing the following three points.
1. Instilling and introducing diversity and inclusion
Previous officers in charge of promoting women‘s advancement achieved results by focusing on the advancement of women. As the next step, without overly focusing on women’s advancement, the Group hopes to create an environment where diverse individuals can be themselves at work so that all employees can play an active role in the workplace. It is precisely because the company specializes in situations where issues can only be solved by people that I am convinced that having an organization composed of diverse individuals leads to the creation of new value.
2. Being familiar role models that are not out of reach
The Group will use a variety of different means to motivate employees who will lead the next generation so that they can aspire to become leaders capable of showing their true selves. Prestige International wants to model a broad array of career patterns, and sharing small success stories will help them to gain self-confidence. Through these activities, the Group would like to work with everyone to help them discover the secret to taking a step forward, leading others, and maintaining passion.
3. Strengthen our communication ability
Working together with the Prestige International Aranmare sporting teams, which symbolize women’s advancement, the Group will pour effort into enhancing the ability to communicate Group initiatives to the outside world and spreading Group activities. In addition, through exchange with companies that promote diversity and inclusion, the Group will continue to engage in dialogue with society and evolve our working styles to accommodate the lifestyle of all our employees, walking hand-in-hand with the local community.