About Benefit One Co., Ltd.
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One-stop provision of employee benefits, health management, education and training services
Through comprehensive support in the area of human resources management, including employee benefit services, healthcare businesses, and incentive businesses, we help companies improve their productivity by enabling work styles that suit diverse lifestyles and values.
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Name and affiliation of the person interviewed
Benefit One Co., Ltd. Human Resources Department Training Team
- Team Leader Ayumi Kobayashi
- Akiko Amemiya
- Yumiko Mihara
From left: Mihara-san, Kobayashi-san, Amemiya-san
Benefit One Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Benefit One) helps create a good working environment for companies through comprehensive support in the field of human resources management, including "employee benefit services." The company has a culture where "everyone can aim for career advancement," and has put in place systems to support diverse working styles and life stages, particularly for women, who account for approximately 75% of the company's employees.
The company's new initiative was to hold seminars and workshops run by BeLiebe (the company that operates EggU) to help employees think about their careers and lives based on their current physical condition and future changes . The idea behind this was to create an opportunity for each employee to confront changes in their own body, so that they could plan their careers and lives in a more planned manner .
I wanted to provide people with "time to stop and think" in their busy days.
With a large number of female employees, one issue they had was the rate of employees attending gynecological examinations . Although the company covers the cost of the examination as part of a health check, only about half of employees attend. "Even though we have a large number of female employees, some may not have high health literacy regarding gynecological diseases. Also, employees who are not directly affected may find it difficult to recognize it as an issue, " they said. To address this issue, they first wanted to educate employees about women's health issues and encourage them to think about their own bodies .
Benefit One has also been proactively developing systems to support employees' life events, such as reduced working hours, work-from-home systems, and child-opening days.
"We have a culture where anyone can advance their career. However, there are still very few opportunities for people to discuss life's challenges, such as childcare, elderly care, and infertility treatment . Everyone's worries are different, and feelings that fluctuate depending on family circumstances and the age of their children cannot be fully addressed by systems alone."
So last year, we conducted a company-wide survey of all employees regarding work-life balance support, which provided an opportunity to understand employees' opinions, needs, and challenges.
So they planned a "career seminar/workshop that focuses on the body." The target audience was not limited to women, but was open to all employees, including men, as they wanted to provide information regardless of gender and lead to mutual understanding .
" By noticing the changes in my body as I age, including my career, child-rearing, and even my plans for my favorite idol activities* (!), and mapping out my future self , I was able to naturally think about what I want to prioritize now and what I want to prepare for . Even just an hour is a time to face the changes in my body that may occur in the future and my own life." (Seminar organizer: Amemiya, Human Resources Department, Benefit One)
In a survey conducted after the seminar, 100% of participants responded that they "wanted to take action." Some participants expressed concern for their health , saying, "I want to start treatment for anemia that I had been neglecting for a long time," while others expressed concerns about their careers, saying, " I used to put off thinking about my life plan, but this gave me an opportunity to think about it," and "I realized that it's important to think about life first, then career ." These comments served as catalysts for behavioral change.
*General activities that support a specific object, such as an idol, character, actor, or artist that you have decided to support.
"Body," "Career," "Life." Think about everything from the perspective of "me"
What was striking about this initiative was that it created an atmosphere where people could naturally talk about how they could use their individuality, including not only whether they have childcare or nursing care responsibilities, but also their hobbies and values, to advance their careers .
"Until now, we have focused on 'healthy management' and 'support for balancing work and family life,' but I feel like we haven't gone as far as to consider 'what kind of professional we want to become.' This seminar and workshop gave us the time to take stock of ourselves and envision our future, which was really great ."
Furthermore, participants were able to interact with members from other departments and positions, which gave them a sense of security that they were not alone and led to the discovery of diverse role models that showed them that it was okay to work in a certain way.
There are things that can only be conveyed by a third party
Currently, we are also planning to hold a "seminar that goes one step further for women" with BeLiebe. The background to this is that we realized that "things that are difficult to convey in-house are easily conveyed when voices come from outside the company."
"I feel that, as a company that provides employee benefits, it is extremely important to support each employee in facing their own life, while also borrowing an outside perspective like BeLiebe does."
Beyond the system, to "change in behavior"
A system is meaningless if it is not used. Benefit One, together with BeLiebe, is tackling the question of how to generate that "action."
" I would like to continue working with BeLiebe to come up with ways to encourage action . I hope to continue supporting employees in ways that go beyond seminars and allow for continuous involvement."
Supporting the body, mind, and career of working people . Benefit One's challenge to address this essence will continue into the future.