Promoting Global Talent Management across the Worldwide Group

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced its introduction of “SAP SuccessFactors, a global talent management system capable of centrally managing the group’s talent information, in April 2024.

SAP SuccessFactors is a system specialized for human capital management that can centrally manage organizational information and human capital data such as experience and skills across the entire group, and support succession planning and career development. The system makes it easy to search for candidate employee for each key position, and helps establish a group-wide succession system to put the right people in the right place and fill key positions. In addition, it allows searching positions for which the candidate is suited, and the understanding of the skills required for the position to which the candidate aspires, promoting autonomous career development among employees. SAP SuccessFactors currently captures human capital information on about 5,400 employees in MOL head office and group companies, and will be expanded in the future.

MOL has established a “Human Capital Vision” and an action plan, “HC Action 1.0,” setting out its approach to human capital policy in support of its “BLUE ACTION 2035” management plan, which was established in 2023, and is proactively investing in human capital In particular, as it expands its business on a global scale, it is important to visualize and assign people to the right positions across the entire group, beyond regional and divisional units, and to develop and secure management employee who can unite this human capital and lead reforms, as the requirement of human capital is becoming more diverse and sophisticated.

Under these circumstances, MOL Group clarified requirements such as skills and experience required for key positions, and conducted skill assessments focusing on candidate human capital, and also started an “open job application system” mainly at the head office, to give employees the opportunity to take the initiative in shaping their own careers. SAP SuccessFactors will also serve as an infrastructure to support such movement and accelerate the promotion of the group’s overall human capital policy.

Aims and Prospects of Introducing SAP SuccessFactors

Hiromichi Takezaki, MOL Managing Executive Officer and Chief Human Resource Officer, talks about the background and intent behind the introduction of SAP SuccessFactors , as well as future plans.

Hiromichi Takezaki, MOL Managing Executive Officer and Chief Human Resource Officer

Necessity of human capital policy to realize “the right people in the right place” across the global group

As our company aims to grow as "a variety of social infrastructure businesses in addition to traditional shipping businesses" and develop more globally, I feel that the interest in and importance of human capital is definitely on the rise within the company. We have been developing our business globally, for example, until now we have been implementing our own employee policies locally and independently by region and business unit, but looking at it from the perspective of the global group as a whole, we could find other places where each of our employees could play a more active role. In order to promote "Diversity, Equity & Inclusion", which is a basic principle of the Human Capital Vision, and to leverage it for further growth, it is necessary to advance the right people in the right place throughout the MOL Group.

Developing “Human Capital Vision” and initiatives to place the right people in the right place

To achieve the “BLUE ACTION 2035” group management plan, we have established the “Human Capital Vision,” which represents our basic approach to cross-sectional human capital policies, and the “HC Action 1.0” as its measures. We have recently defined about 160 important positions that drive the growth of the MOL Group worldwide, as “MGKP (MOL Group Key Positions)”, to visualize what kind of jobs and roles these positions involve, and what skills are required. At the same time, by defining a “skill matrix”, we have clarified the standards. These initiatives serve as a starting point for promoting the right people in the right place throughout the group.

Introducing SAP SuccessFactors as a basis to visualize positions and skills

To promote the right people in the right place, it is essential to visualize the skills and experience of each employee, and SAP SuccessFactors , which we have just introduced, is the very foundation of this process. Although we have started by limiting the system to a certain level of employees in our company, we are accumulating basic data such as employee names and affiliations, as well as work experience and expertise, allowing us to understand the skill level of each individual. By setting the aforementioned MGKP and creating a skill matrix, and making employee skill levels visible, the company can utilize these to facilitate personnel changes that realize the right people in the right place. And as individuals, employees also can utilize these to understand the gap between the position they want to aim for in the future and their current skills and aim to improve their skills initiatively.

Aiming to promptly expand the scope of coverage to the entire group and realize “right people in the right place.”

Currently, information on about 5,400 group employees is being imported into SAP SuccessFactors , but we will expand the scope of coverage to include the entire group in the future. In addition, we plan to expand the scope of position definition, which is currently limited to MGKP only, and to operate it in the future. Furthermore, while we have only taken the first step at this point, we also aim to make as many employees as possible aware of examples of how the right people in the right place is realized based on the introduction of this system, and to use this system.