34 Yamaha Corporation Annual Report 2016

Yamaha’s Approach to Human Resources

Yamaha considers human resources to be its most important global scale. Further, the Company is actively promoting initiatives
management resource in supporting corporate growth. As such, to assign local talent to key positions at overseas subsidiaries.
the Company believes that, regardless of age, gender, or nation- As of March 31, 2016, the Yamaha Group had 20,348
ality, leveraging a diverse group of employees with various life- employees worldwide (in addition to 7,990 temporary employees).
styles, including those with time constraints due to raising children
or caregiving, will help reinforce the Company’s competitiveness
and lead to further growth and development. In addition to Number of Employees by Region (As of March 31, 2016)
ensuring fairness in the Company’s hiring processes, Yamaha 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000
makes efforts so that all employees are able to demonstrate their
Japan
abilities and express themselves freely, regardless of race, age, or
gender. At the same time, the Company has established personnel North America
development programs to help employees grow as professionals.
In these ways, Yamaha is working to create a pleasant work envi- Europe
ronment supported by active dialogue with its employees.
Yamaha conducts its business at 51 locations throughout China
32 countries, with overseas sales accounting for 67% of the
Company’s overall sales. As a key policy, Yamaha makes focused Other

efforts to employ global human resources and strengthen its devel-

opment of these human resources so that they may be active on a Number of employees Number of temporary employees (yearly average)

Yamaha’s Human Resources Development

Yamaha has in place a human resources development system that the Yamaha Global Institute and the Yamaha Management Institute,
focuses equally on employee education and training and career which aim to develop global human resources who will act as the
development to create a mutually beneficial relationship between backbone of the Company in the future, as well as the Senior
the employee and the Company. With the underlying goal of Specialist Institute (SSI), which conducts manufacturing manage-
developing human resources that are active on a global scale, ment training for personnel at all Group production plants in Asia.
Yamaha implements training and education programs tailored to At production sites in Japan, the Company has set up the Yamaha
a specific objective in one of the following categories: Stratified Advanced Skill School as well as the Technology Training Center.
Training, Strategic Personnel Development, Position-Specific For Position-Specific Training, Yamaha implements courses
Training, and Self-Development Education. for craftsmanship skill development and quality management,
In Stratified Training, Yamaha carries out training programs international education programs, and core technology training
in accordance with the respective career turning points of each programs (signal processing, sound and vibration, and materials
employee. These programs work to raise the overall level of engineering).
human resources by enhancing the skills of individual employees. In Self-Development Education, Yamaha provides support for
In Strategic Personnel Development, Yamaha offers programs employees’ self-directed studies, including through the Yamaha
designed to cultivate the next generation of core employees through Business School, a correspondence education program.

Conditions of Training Programs Implemented in Fiscal 2016

Annual number of Training hours per Total number of
Frequency
participants employee lecture attendees
2,000
Stratified Training 2–4 times a year 400 15–30 hours a year (most recent 5 years)
Yamaha Global Institute 3 times a year 17 15 days a year 51
Yamaha Management Institute 9 times a year 18 27 days a year 90

SSI (Senior Specialist Institute)

Group Production Plant Management Development program (SKIP) Once a year* 6 80 days a year 26
Manufacturing management training Once in 2 years 6 40 days 38
Global manufacturing management training Once in 2 years 6 24 days a year 14

From–To Program — 20 — 500

Yamaha Advanced Skill School 4 days a month 16 370 hours 700
Technology Training Center 2 days a month 30 180 hours 1,500
Overseas / Language training — 2 6 months 29
Yamaha Business School (correspondence education program) — 250 —
* The last program was held in 2012.
 Management Strategy Growth Foundation Financial Section About Yamaha 35

Going forward, the Yamaha Group will further strengthen its which it operates. Under this aim, the Company promotes the
programs for providing employees with highly specialized job- utilization of its human resources on a global scale. Yamaha will
specific training and education so that they may carry out the establish 200 key positions at each Group company and work to
Yamaha values of being Customer-Oriented and Quality- better understand the core talent of each region. At the same time,
Conscious, which Yamaha places the most importance on the Company will promote consistent evaluations based on
in promoting its business activities, at an even higher level. Groupwide standards that go beyond country or organization as
well as the cross-border deployment of human resources. Also,
Global Human Resources Development as an important strategic theme, the Company will engage in
In light of globalization and the diversification of value systems initiatives to promptly identify and develop candidates for
and lifestyles, Yamaha aims for self-sustaining business activities the key positions of the next generation.
that are deeply rooted in the local communities of each region in

Human Resources Development for Craftsmanship

With the aim of optimizing its production structure, Yamaha is commenced SKIP programs
working to better clarify the functions and roles of each Group to develop core employees at
production plant. At the same time, the Company is making efforts these locations. While initial
to develop human resources capable of craftsmanship that ensures training involved developing
that every product made at Yamaha Group production plants managerial personnel, the
around the world maintains the concept of “Made in Yamaha,” Company has expanded its
the Company’s approach to guaranteeing the consistent quality efforts to also include programs
of its products. to develop local talent at these
Yamaha positions its Group production plants in Japan as locations. To date, 54 employees Grobal Production Plant Management
Development program (SKIP)
locations for manufacturing high-value-added products. As such, from Japan, Indonesia, and
the Company is focusing its efforts on developing technologies China have participated in these programs.
that are competitive in the global market as well as steadily passing With this global manufacturing management training,
on key manufacturing techniques to employees of the younger Yamaha takes participants away from their regular duties for 30
generation. Yamaha positions China and Indonesia as key loca- days per year during a 10-month period and, through practical
tions for the manufacture of products in affordable price ranges, onsite training, aims to have them obtain the necessary skills and
such as pianos, wind instruments, string and percussion instru- knowledge to act as management personnel at manufacturing
ments, and digital musical instruments. The Company dispatches companies.
a large number of engineers and instructors from Japan to provide
support and guidance in order to further improve quality and From–To Program
productivity at these overseas locations. Due to the fact that acoustic
As for the initiatives the Company is taking to develop human musical instrument manufac-
resources who will be responsible for these support activities, turing uses a large amount of
Yamaha is implementing manufacturing management training, natural materials, technicians
which trains management personnel at Group production plants; need to make adjustments by
the Yamaha Advanced Skill School and the Technology Training hand and through sensitivity
Center; which develops human resources who will act as the based on techniques under-
backbone of domestic Group production plants in the next genera- pinned by their individual
tion; and the From–To Program, which passes on core techniques experience. These sensitive From–To Program
for manufacturing musical instruments to the younger generation adjustments are an important
of employees. In addition, Yamaha aims for the effective manage- factor in determining the instrument’s quality. Yamaha regards
ment of Group production plants from a global perspective. To this the transfer of these manufacturing techniques as an important
end, the Company is commencing local talent development management issue. As such, the Company identified its core tech-
programs and manufacturing management training at overseas nologies and techniques and introduces them in the From–To
manufacturing subsidiaries. Program, which started in 1999.
The From–To Program groups expert technicians with their
SSI (Senior Specialist Institute) successors to work together for nearly one year. During this time,
Since the 1990s, the Yamaha Group has been raising its these veteran technicians demonstrate to their successors the specific
percentage of overseas manufacturing. Currently, the Company’s techniques and skills used in the manufacturing process. While the
overseas manufacturing subsidiaries operate at 10 locations From–To Program represents a form of on-the-job training (OJT),
located throughout China, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Given these the Company conducts strict progress management and evaluation
circumstances, the Company recognizes the importance to train to ensure that the necessary techniques are being steadily trans-
supervisors for these overseas Group production plants in order ferred. Over 500 employees have participated in the program
to ensure their effective management. Accordingly, Yamaha has since its introduction.