Chugai Pharmaceutical has set forth a new growth strategy, “TOP I 2030” in its bid to become a top global innovator. In the belief that our people are the driving force that will help us realize this strategy, we have established a human resources management policy. Two members of the Human Resources Management Department involved in human resources development talked to us about the human resources development programs designed to “envision individuals, enhance individuals, and enable excellence of individuals” and about their passion for those programs.

(Interviewees: Ozaki, To)

 

**Reproduced from Chugai Pharmaceutical’s official Talentbook website (https://www.talent-book.jp/chugai-pharm) Article details and employee positions are current as of August 2024

“With Chugai, we can expect the best.” Five reforms in our aim to become a global top innovator

From a leading pharmaceutical company in Japan to a company that drives innovation in the healthcare industry—With the aim of becoming an innovator that will achieve advanced and sustainable patient-centric healthcare, Chugai Pharmaceutical formulated a new growth strategy, “TOP I 2030” (2030 Top Innovator end goals) in 2021.

This strategy presents our Top Innovator end goals, namely “expectations from patients all over the world,” “attracting talent and players from around the world,” and “role model for the world.”

The Human Resources Management Department’s Ozaki explains the Top Innovator end goals in the following terms.

Ozaki: Patients around the world will expect that “Chugai will surely create new treatments,” players in the healthcare industry globally will think they can create something new by partnering with Chugai, and Chugai will become a global role model as a leader in resolving social issues. That is our vision of what it means to be a Top Innovator.

The two pillars of our growth strategy for achieving these Top Innovator end goals are “Global first-class drug discovery” and “Futuristic business model.”

In the first pillar, “Global first-class drug discovery,” we will strive to further improve our drug discovery capabilities by expanding and building technology platforms to materialize unique drug discovery ideas, leveraging digital technologies, and strengthening collaborations with leading global players.

In the second pillar, “Futuristic business model,” we will aim for the dramatic improvement of productivity across the entire value chain and the expansion of patient/product value through the restructuring of processes and value creation models that leverage digital technologies. We will pursue the maximization of the value of pharmaceuticals through PHC solutions.

Ozaki: In order to realize the two pillars of “TOP I 2030”, we have set forth five reforms along the value chains of “Drug Discovery,” “Development,” “Pharmaceutical Technology,” and “Value Delivery”, as well as the “Foundation for Growth” to underpin them.

The first of these is “Drug Discovery.” We will aim for the expansion of existing technology platforms and establishment of new technology platforms, as well as the acceleration of innovation opportunities, by strengthening collaboration with leading global players. The next is “Development.” We have set forth the goals of maximizing project value and achieving efficient clinical development operations. The next reform is “Pharmaceutical Technologies.” In this reform, we are seeking to realize the establishment of world-class pharmaceutical technologies and a high level of competitiveness in all aspects of quality, speed, and cost, as well as to establish supply systems that ensure both stable supply and high quality.

Further, in “Value Delivery,” we are pursuing personalized medical care with the creation of unique evidence, as well as the maximization of customer value with the establishment of innovative digital-based customer engagement models.

These reforms, which are aligned with the value chains, are underpinned by the fifth goal, “Foundation for Growth.” As well as setting forth a human resource management policy, digital vision, and quality vision, we aim to enhance our sustainability platform and maximize the value of pharmaceuticals through PHC solutions.

Human resources are at the core of the Foundation for Growth. Each individual employee works autonomously on their own career development

The core of the Foundation for Growth, which could be described as our foundation for aiming toward our Top Innovator end goals, is “human resources.” Here at Chugai Pharmaceutical, considering our people to be the source of innovation, we have established a human resources management policy. The three key themes set forth in that policy are “Envision individuals,” “Enhance individuals,” and “Enable excellence of individuals.”

Ozaki: For the company to change, each and every individual must also change. To achieve this, we believe that they need to envision an image of their future selves, linking it to the Top Innovator end goals, take on challenges while enhancing their specializations and competencies for realizing that vision, and achieving excellence by exercising their own capabilities to the fullest extent.

 

What is important is that each and every employee engages in their own career development with a sense of ownership. For this reason, in human resources development, we have begun building systems that will provide thorough support for our people as they continue to enhance themselves, with the aims of fostering a culture of self-directed learning and growth through mutual study.

 

To, who plans and proposes self-directed learning in the development team alongside Ozaki, expressed her own determination.

 

To: After first envisioning their image of their future selves, it is important that individuals put into their own words what strengths they will develop and choose methods for enhancing themselves. By offering a variety of options for developing those strengths, including training and e-learning programs, we hope to build systems that will enable individuals to excel.

These themes that focus on the “individual” resonate strongly with Ozaki, who has been with the company for over 30 years, and he, too, feels inspired by them.

 

Ozaki: When we first joined the company, the focus was primarily on “for the benefit of the organization.” However, for our people with expertise and skills to compete and strive for greater heights, the strength of the individual is essential. I, too, have felt that I need to enhance my own expertise in human resources development.

To, who joined the company in 2023 after a career in HR, was surprised by the depth of talent at Chugai Pharmaceutical.

 

To: In recent years, ownership of career development has been gradually shifting from companies to individuals across society as a whole, but at Chugai Pharmaceutical, individual employees already have high degrees of expertise. Given the great depth of talent here, I felt that this company has high potential for realizing such a shift.

Having said that, various forms of support will undoubtedly be needed. For example, some people may require support in verbalizing their strengths, or they might need a guide to help them elevate their expertise. I, too, am excited by the prospect of exploring my own career in HR as I fulfill those roles.

Aiming to realize both the company’s vision and the individual aspirations of the employees while staying true to the fundamental beliefs

While we all share a common vision in the Top Innovator end goals, naturally, each individual has their own image of what they want to become. The mission of the development team is to build an environment that offers what employees want to learn, while also aligning the company’s and individuals’ goals.

 

Ozaki: As a team, we discussed what we meant by self-directed learning and what kinds of conditions were needed to achieve that. In doing so, the competencies required for the Top Innovator end goals came into view to a certain extent.

However, for the company to expand its business into the PHC solutions field, what kinds of knowledge and skills will it need in its people? And what do our employees want now? We need to accurately identify the gap between these two things when responding to employees’ needs.

In the course of considering training programs based on company policies and employee feedback obtained by interviewing the various departments and surveying employees, Fuji says that she encountered anew the strength of Chugai Pharmaceutical’s passion.

 

To: There are many employees who identify strongly with the company’s vision and mission. Their passion to act “for the benefit of the patient” is strong and profound. That is why I believe that we can overcome challenges through teamwork.

For this reason, in our discussions, the Human Resources Management Department pursues the question of what we can do to encourage the active participation of those employees. That is part of the appeal of my role, and I feel that I have been able to do my job while experiencing the alignment between the company’s strategies set for the benefit of patients and our human resources management strategy.

Providing opportunities for proactive learning in various forms, such as online study and in-house English conversation groups

To foster a culture of self-directed learning and growth through mutual study, with reference to the Lominger model (*), the Human Resources Management Department has adopted a policy of 60% workplace learning (OJT), 30% transfer/assignment/promotion, and 10% structured learning (Off-JT) in its promotion of diverse learning opportunities and self-directed career development.

 

* Model for human resources development advocated by American leadership research institute, Lominger. It is also known as the 70/20/10 model. Under this model, a ratio of 70% workplace experience, 20% working with others, and 10% training is considered the ideal balance of HR development elements.

 

Ozaki’s and To’s job is to build training frameworks for all employees. There are primarily three areas involved.

 

To: The first area is programs based on role awareness and competency reinforcement. We conduct separate programs for different roles and grades, such as manager/executive employees and new employees, as well as practical training to reinforce specific skills through experience outside the company. To emphasize employees’ ownership of their own training, we also offer training programs through an open application process.

The second area is programs to reinforce expertise that are run by the individual departments. In the digital technology area, we have a specialized educational framework called the “Chugai Digital Academy,” and we also have programs tailored to different jobs, such as training for MRs, and programs for medical doctors.

The third area is self improvement. With the objective of supporting career autonomy, we operate “I Learning” a learning platform designed for employees to conduct their own learning. This platform includes programs for acquiring a variety of business skills, such as communication skills, technical skills, and English language skills. There is also the Self Innovation Program (SIP), which provides a certain level of company assistance for employees to engage in learning for self improvement.

 

Ozaki: I have actually taken correspondence courses myself using SIP, and I also set up an English conversation group with other members that joined the company at the same time as me. The English conversation group has particular appeal in that, as colleagues, we can improve each other.

 

To: With programs that emphasize individual ownership of learning and study groups in which employees learn from each other, employees are able to learn in a proactive way.

 

All for the benefit of the patient—Aiming for an environment in which the knowledge and skills needed to overcome difficulties can be enhanced

Ozaki and Fuji talked about their aspiration to further strengthen training programs for the realization of the Top Innovator end goals, while listening to the needs of employees. They expressed a desire to provide a full range of training programs for the acquisition of the wide range of knowledge and skills that the company will need to enter and develop business domains beyond drug discovery.

 

Ozaki: As well as the expertise needed for global first-class drug discovery and for building a futuristic business model that includes PHC solutions, to advance the business globally and succeed there, our employees will also need communication skills and other portable skills that will enable them to understand the values of diverse countries and adapt to a multicultural environment.

There are likely employees who are struggling with how to define the direction of their own careers, so we want to offer programs that go one or two steps further to assist such employees.

 

To: We need to determine which human resources with what kinds of skills we will need to develop to drive the business forward. In this respect, I hope to further enhance the alignment of our programs with the company’s strategies.

 

Ozaki: The company has many employees with advanced expertise, so synergies are bound to emerge by these employees teaching each other and sharing their skills with others. I want to embrace the challenge of leveraging the “I Learning” platform to develop systems for that kind of thing.

 

Looking even further ahead, they added that they hoped to engage in development over the long term and build an environment that will enable each individual to excel.

 

To: They say that knowing in ourselves that we have made our own decisions can lead to an increase in overall well-being. The work of development appeals to me because it allows me to help people make those decisions, and I always keep in mind that, in HR, we are in a position of supporting self-determination.

I intend to work hard to ensure that employees see Chugai as a company that has plenty of learning opportunities to help them move in the direction that they aspire to.

 

Ozaki: Human resources development takes time, and the bar that we need to reach continues to grow higher. While first aiming for 2030, I intend to take on the challenge of initiatives that look further ahead to 2035 and 2040. We will explore measures that will make employees in the future think, ‘I’m glad I worked on those measures back then.’

There are many difficulties to be faced in the realization of our intentions, namely for all our reforms to be for the benefit of the patient and for the benefit of global healthcare and people’s health. However, we are building an environment in which the knowledge and skills needed to overcome those difficulties can be acquired, so we look forward to embracing that challenge together with like-minded people.