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Human Resource Development/Diversity and Inclusion/Safety and Health/Pride and Loyalty
From the beginning, Toyota has had "Continuous Improvement" and "Respect for People" as its pillars, and as its moral foundation the Toyota Way summarized in the five keywords, "Challenge," "Kaizen," "Genchi Genbutsu," "Respect" and "Teamwork." For employees, Toyota steadily promotes various measures including human resource development and healthcare so that the employees could work with confidence, vigor and enthusiasm. Also, under a labor-management relationship based on mutual trust and mutual responsibility, Toyota respects for employees' diversities such as culture, nationality, race, language, religion, gender, age or view/perspective.
Sharing Values
Stability in the lives of employees, and opportunities for self-realization and growth as well as corporate development are interdependent. They are all founded on mutual trust and respect between labor and management, long-term employment stability and open communication.
Based on this, the Toyota Way 2001 is comprised of the five key terms as shown at right: Challenge, Kaizen, Genchi Genbutsu, Respect and Teamwork under the two main pillars of "Continuous Improvement" and "Respect for People." This has been expanded to Toyota employees worldwide. Furthermore, "300,000 Person Communication Activities" that raised workplace capabilities through communication improvements has been promoted and expanded.
300,000 Communication Activity
Since FY2009, Toyota has promoted 300,000 Communication Activity with an eye toward various activities to foster a sense of unity as Global Toyota and encourage teamwork.
At present, we position 300,000 Communication Activity as a way to develop the foundation for direct communication, and are focusing on the following actions for globalization within Toyota:
- "Promote bilingualization in Toyota" = Activities to improve the English skills of administrative and engineering employees
- "Develop IT infra. for info. sharing" = Activities to globalize the Toyota intranet
- "Form good relationship with overseas local executives" = Effective usage and development of meeting opportunities
Toyota continually advances these activities while listening timely and directly to overseas affiliates and responding to the voice.
Basic Concepts of Human Resource Development
The basis for human resource development is putting the Toyota Way into practice. Toyota is working to develop human resources by seizing times of adversity as opportunities to learn, planning greater enhancement and reinforcement of educational programs based on the five Toyota Way keywords, and on-the-job training (OJT) essential to the progress and succession of building excellent products.
Overview of Education
Toyota implements various education programs according to job description and level so that every employee can gain required expertise and skills, pursue Good Thinking, Good Products and promote Kaizen activities.
Each employee sets a target and tries to achieve the goal by mastering the global-age compatible knowledge and education and thereby acquiring the skills to build up global quality. Through those efforts, we continuously create products and services that exceed customers' expectations. Practical skills are acquired along with knowledge and theories through classroom lectures. These are then confirmed through practice. Toyota always addresses employee education under the "Genchi-genbutsu*" philosophy.
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- Go to the source to find the facts to make correct decisions, build consensus and achieve goals at our best speed.
[Company-Wide Education]
The Educational System of the Toyota Institute
The Toyota Institute (TI), with its mission of "human resource development that puts the Toyota Way into practice," is expanding work methods (know-how for problem solving, mentoring, etc.) into the business units in each country around the world to carry out the Toyota Way, which should be shared among all Toyota personnel throughout the world
[Education to Raise the Quality of Products and Services]
Total Quality Management (TQM)
Implementation of TQM has been promoted based on the philosophies of "Customer First," "Continuous Kaizen" and "Total Participation." In order to raise the awareness of TQM, several measures are taken to promote resolution, provide every employee working in Toyota's global organization with ideas for action to improve product and service quality, motivate people and revitalize the corporate structure.
- Key Approaches in FY2010
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In order to proactively prevent quality problems, a "Basic Reliability Course" was set up for group managers and young engineers in technical divisions after the safety and reliability concept had been thoroughly established among relevant management-level employees. About 1,550 employees attended in order to acquire the understanding as to how the focus reflected on their development and design work.
Furthermore, an initiative was launched to rebuild the training system wholly based on customer perception in association with TI. In the initiative, firstly priority was given to managers taking account of their major roles to play. And SQC and QC circles and "Soikufu" were integrated with other elements required to promote TQM. Additionally, integrated contents have been introduced into training courses for newly assigned Division General Managers and Deputy General Managers, Department General Managers, and Group Managers.
In October 2010, Toyota received the Japan Quality Award Quality Innovation Award from the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers for company-wide efforts, "Ji Kotei-Kanketsu (Built-in quality with ownership)." Thus the efforts were appreciated by an external organization as well.
Also, the 45th All-Toyota TQM Convention, an event to internally share the importance of TQM activities, was held in November, the month of quality. Some 5,000 individuals from affiliates, dealers and the Nihoukai came together to understand more about the meaning of TQM activities, study examples of practices and reconfirmed All Toyota commitment to quality assurance.
[Human Resource Development for Production/Production Engineering Fields]
Promoting Development of Human Resources with Capabilities to Think and Act Proactively
Towards the early development of diverse and highly skilled human resources, the "Pro-WIN" training program was begun in 2007, targeting 4,500 engineers in the production and production engineering fields, which promotes planned and continuous human resource development
- Key Approaches in FY2010
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In addition to the Pro-WIN program, in FY2009 "activities with workplace-derived subjects" were begun for a return to the fundamentals of "enabling proactive thinking and action with Genchi Genbutsu," targeting young administrative employees. Sticking to such disciplines as "Genchi Genbutsu" and "Never give up until completion," the target employees prepare and visualize their planning sheets through communication with their superiors. In this way, workplaces take initiative for further promotion of the activities.
The progress of activities is continuously watched for analysis in order to enhance and strengthen educational program policies.
![[Pro-WIN]](/sustainability/stakeholders/employees/images/pro_win.gif)
[Technical Training]
Educational Programs at the R&D Learning Center
The R&D Learning Center was established in 2006 with the objective of laying the groundwork for developing appealing products and maintaining and improving high Toyota quality (customer first).
- Key Approaches in FY2010
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Toyota systematized all the engineer training courses targeting mid-level engineers (from their third year in the company to newly appointed assistant managers) into 51 courses to cover a total of some 3,000 employees. It has also contributed to educational improvement to maintain the operation of young engineer performance indicators that defines job skill requirements in each engineering field in effort to drive forward the human resource development's PDCA (plan, do, check and act) cycle. Also, so that training curricula might be fully understood in each workplace and the courses systematically utilized, a brochure — "R&D Learning Center Course Guide" — was created for distribution to General Managers of all divisions. It was also put out on the intranet in an attempt to spread the awareness of self-development across the organization.
Toyota Technical Training Institute
In the city of Bangalore in southern India, TKM established the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) in 2007 aiming to contribute to the development of the Indian automobile industry by promoting the training of first-rate technicians on the concept that making cars means human resource development. It has offered educational opportunities to children who could not afford traditional educational methods, with scholarships covering tuition and living expenses, which are broadly made available to the local junior high school graduates in the host state. Not only do the students gain general knowledge and technical skills, they also learn the Toyota Way and the Toyota Production System through hands-on training. In July 2010, the Toyota Production Technical Skills Academy sent its first 63 graduates out into the world and the former president of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalama attended the graduation ceremony to present diplomas to them.
Graduation ceremony
A scene of training
Personnel Exchange Programs for Independence of Overseas Production Affiliates
OT-clab (Overseas Trainee - culture langage business :for young trainees to study at overseas affiliates)
The OT-clab program was launched in 2002 for expatriate candidates to study local cultures, languages and specialized knowledge at overseas affiliates through training by carrying out actual operations. In principle, young employees from their fourth to fifth year in the company are eligible for one-year training. As of the end of April 2011, about 90 trainees are earnestly learning the working procedure, business practices, accurate communication abilities in English and the language of the host country, respectively reporting to local supervisors under the program.
Takayuki Mima in Turkey (from Tsutsumi Plant)
ICT(Intra Company Transferee :for trainees coming in from overseas affiliates)
The Intra Company Transferee (ICT) program seeks to promote the global expansion of the Toyota Way and to develop human resources by having employees of overseas affiliates spend time working in Japan.
ICT members work in Japan for between six months and three years receiving on-the-job training. The goal is to develop excellent human resources. As of the end of April 2011, a total of 394 transferees from 45 business units in 38 countries are working in Japan under the program.
Stephan Herbst Environmental Affairs Division TME