Talent Development
Basic Approach
Human resources are a source of value creation for the Group. Therefore, we are committed to creating an environment that maximizes the potential of each employee and supports their growth and encourages them to take on new challenges. At the same time, we are accelerating our strategic investment in human capital to pass on the knowledge and expertise we have cultivated and to foster sustainable organizational strength in this era of change.
Group Code of Conduct (extract)
5-2. Realize the potential of each employee
- We will respect the diversity of individuals and create an environment in which each employee can demonstrate his or her full potential.
- We will strive to fairly provide opportunities for employee development as needed and as appropriate.
- We will strive to expand ourselves and each other’s abilities and demonstrate our full potential.
Promotion System
The Human Resources and General Affairs Division plans and promotes cross-company personnel-related policies. In particular, they are working to cultivate the talent that will support the expansion of global business and strengthen management. Every year, we conduct rank-based training for all levels of employees, from new hires to management, to enable them to systematically learn the necessary knowledge and skills. The creation of yearly plans is led by the Human Resources Strategy Department. A variety of training modules are conducted by inviting lecturers from both within and outside the company according to the content.
Major Initiatives
To effectively facilitate the development of human resources, we are deploying systematic and focused measures. In addition to rank-based training, we conduct selective training to develop executive candidates and global human resources. Beginning in fiscal 2021, we began an e-learning prerequisite program for acquiring business skills and knowledge as a requirement for recommending candidates for management positions. In addition to methodically developing candidates for management positions, the program is intended to encourage autonomous learning. Additionally, we reformed our learning management system in fiscal 2022 to work toward enhancing online training throughout the entire Group, including global subsidiaries. Starting in fiscal 2025, we have been working to systematize training for executives and management by incorporating MBA-based courses on strategy, finance, and organizational theory into the training program for newly appointed general managers.
Group human resource management
The Daifuku Group defines positions that have a significant impact on management as key positions and is committed to developing successors to fill them from a medium- to long-term perspective. To systematically secure and develop leadership talent that will support future business growth and transformation, we continuously evaluate how well successor candidates are in place, looking at both a within-two-years horizon and a three-years-and-beyond horizon. To accelerate this initiative, the Group Human Resources Committee, established in fiscal 2024, regularly monitors the progress of successor candidate development and is working to design strategic personnel assignments and development plans.
Rate of sufficiency of number of prospective successors for key positionsKPI
| FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate of sufficiency of number of prospective successors for key positions | 68% | 73% | 72% |
Career development support system
In order to support the long-term career development of our employees, we launched an internal job posting system in fiscal 2023 in addition to the career planning we have been implementing previously (self-reporting system). In this internal job posting system, we publicly announce within the company the human resource needs for specific purposes, and employees can apply for these positions independently.
Overview of training and main training programs
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- *N and K: management-level positions
New Business Leader Program
This training program is designed to cultivate globally minded executive candidates at an early stage. The curriculum is similar to that of a business school and is designed to foster a systematic understanding of business administration. In addition, through group work with members of other business units, participants develop a wide range of insight and strengthen their ability to strategically implement their ideas. A total of 19 training sessions were held in fiscal 2025, with 11 participants.
Women’s Leadership Development Program
This program is designed for the early-stage development of women who will become active as leaders. The training lasts approximately six months and is designed to help potential female leaders acquire leadership skills and clarify their career visions. We also provide training for the supervisors of participants on career development for female employees. There were 8 participants in fiscal 2025, bringing the cumulative total of participants in this program to 26.
Global Business Trainee Course
We develop participants who enroll in this course as candidates to become global human resources. The course is open to department nominees who have the potential for long-term business trips or assignments outside of Japan and who are capable of handling business outside of Japan, as well as self-nominees who wish to be stationed outside of Japan in their future career development. After enrolling in this course, participants will attend training in language and global business, and those who complete the course will receive assistance to improve their language proficiency.
Global Leadership Training
As part of our efforts to strengthen the development of global human resources, which has become a challenge with the globalization of our business, we conduct global leadership training for local subsidiary executives and executive candidates who are expected to take on the future management positions in the Group. The purpose of the program is to understand the Group’s management philosophy and policies, to understand the roles and responsibilities of leaders, and to create Group synergy through personnel exchange, mutual learning, and mutual understanding. In fiscal 2025, 13 employees from our overseas subsidiaries participated in the program, bringing the total number of participants since the program's inception to 128. In addition to the overseas subsidiary employees, three Japanese employees who were about to take up overseas postings also attended some of the training sessions.
Trainee Program
We have a Language Trainee Program that allows employees to study language at universities and other institutions in other countries after completing training in Japan. We also have a Daifuku Japan Trainee Program in which employees from our global subsidiaries work in Japan for a period of a few months to a few years and receive a variety of training, mainly on-the-job training.
Goal management system and evaluation
Three times a year, at the beginning, middle, and end of the term, each employee engages in dialogue with their supervisor regarding the goals set at the beginning of the term, and the supervisor evaluates the employee based on that dialogue. In the interim dialogue, the progress of goals is checked and future career development is discussed. Additionally, the personnel handling system was revised in fiscal 2023 to clarify the expected actions and roles for each qualification grade, and an evaluation system consisting of action evaluation, role evaluation, and performance evaluation was put into operation.
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Handing down techniques and skills
To maintain and improve the skills and techniques required for production, we have established a technical skills certification system for welding and assembly techniques, and we administer testing twice annually. As of December 31, 2025, there were 225 qualified staff members.
Number of qualified staff members (as of December 31, 2025)
| Level 1 (basic) | Level 2 (intermediate) | Level 3 (advanced) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welding Proficiency Test | 30 people | 7 people | 14 people |
| Assembly Proficiency Test | 139 people | 9 person | 26 people |
Support for qualifications
Internal regulations stipulate qualifications that employees are encouraged to acquire, and incentives are provided to all employees (including non-regular employees) who acquire these qualifications. In addition, the Learning Support System using e-learning was launched in fiscal 2021 as a system to support employees' autonomous studies. The system allows employees to receive company subsidies for the costs of taking language and business-related programs, and starting in fiscal 2026, employees can receive these subsidies as one of the options in the newly introduced cafeteria plan.