On July 23rd 2018, the first Town Hall Meeting organized by Recruit Holdings' Sustainability Promotion Department was held at the cafeteria on the 41st floor of the company headquarters. The Town Hall Meeting is intended for the corporate officers and group company employees to discuss various themes in a casual setting. Ayano Senaha, Corporate Executive Officer in charge of sustainability, joined the Town Hall Meeting together with about 50 employees from different group companies. With many of the participants meeting for the first time, the distribution of seasonal tarts and other sweets worked as a great ice-breaker. Participants began sharing opinions very actively, and by the end time, some of them were saying that there wasn't enough time to discuss. There were also some members in remote locations who joined the meeting online.
Meeting agenda
Moderators: Kazuo Tase, Aya Ito (partners of Sustainability Promotion Department)
1. Overview of Town Hall Meeting
2. 3 guiding principles and 5 material matters of sustainability at Recruit
3. Global trends on SDGs(*)
4. Athletes training for the Paralympic games while working at Recruit Group
5. Working styles at Sustainability Promotion Department
6. Today's sweets
7. Group discussions on sustainability, focusing on 5 material matters (Inspire new ways of working, Celebrate diversity and inclusion, Close the opportunity gap, Respect human rights, Conserve the environment)
8. Sharing discussion outcomes by each group, Q&A
9. Wrap-up
*SDGs stands for Sustainable Development Goals, which were declared in the "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 25th to 27th September 2015.
In the meeting, actively discussed topics included the benefits and utilization of remote work, utilization of paternity leave, promoting diversity, and new ways of working that respect individuality as well as capitalize on individual strengths. The feedback questionnaire following the Town Hall Meeting revealed that 96% of the participants were willing to join again next time, and about 90% responded that they gained a better understanding of sustainability.
We truly appreciate the feedback that helps us further engage in discussions with employees -- one of our stakeholder groups -- and continue feedback to management.
This article is based on information available at the time of publication.