Calbee Fundamentally Reforms HR System for the First Time in Approx. 17 Years, Introducing New System to Promote Diverse Contributions and Growth from April 2026
Calbee will fundamentally reform its HR system for the first time in approximately 17 years, starting April 2026. The new system aims to promote diverse talent contributions and growth, achieving employee engagement and corporate growth through a revised compensation structure and enhanced evaluation system based on expected roles.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 1, 2026 at 16:47
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 22, 2026 at 00:55 (488h 7m after Collected)
Calbee, Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and CEO: Makoto Ebara) will introduce a new human resources system from April 2026 to encourage employee challenges and creativity and strengthen an environment where diverse talents can thrive, based on its human resources vision of "All Employees Thrive." This fundamental system revision is the first in approximately 17 years since 2009.
## Background of the Revision
The Calbee Group has set "All Employees Thrive" as its human resources vision, aiming for an organization where "diverse talents leverage their strengths, contributing to the organization and society, and feeling happiness and pride through their own growth." Each employee is encouraged to proactively demonstrate their abilities.
Meanwhile, due to the maturation of the domestic market and population decline, customer needs are diversifying. To achieve the management strategies of strengthening profitability in domestic businesses, expanding into global markets, and pioneering new business areas, the human resources system also requires further evolution.
While the current system, introduced in 2009, has supported performance improvement through an emphasis on results, it has also shown aspects that make it difficult to demonstrate challenges and creativity, and issues related to a seniority-based compensation structure. Addressing these challenges, Calbee began examining a new system in April 2024. Through over 100 hearings at 20 locations nationwide, including headquarters, factories, and branches, the system was reconstructed by incorporating feedback from the field.
The new human resources system sets "Promoting Diverse Contributions and Growth" as its basic policy and clarifies two desired talent profiles. One is talent that accumulates steady efforts, ingenuity, and improvements, passing on value to the future. The other is talent that challenges new possibilities without being bound by existing frameworks, pioneering the future. By allowing such talents to leverage their strengths, respect each other with a spirit of altruism, and collaborate, Calbee aims for sustainable growth.
## Key Revision Points
- **Integration of systems for regular employees and indefinite-term contract employees into a single grade system**
The grading systems, which were previously separate for regular employees and indefinite-term contract employees (currently approximately 1,300 employees), will be integrated. Grades will be based on expected roles, realizing treatment commensurate with roles and contributions.
- **External competitive compensation structure and level**
The ratio of base salary will be increased by up to approximately 15% compared to before, contributing to employee financial stability and strengthening recruitment competitiveness.
- **Strengthening evaluation of teamwork and process in addition to results**
Daily actions, processes, and contributions will be carefully evaluated through three systems: "Achievement Evaluation," "Behavioral Evaluation," and "Contribution Evaluation." By introducing a "Multi-faceted Absolute Evaluation" that incorporates the characteristics of both relative and absolute evaluations, Calbee aims to align evaluation standards, ensure fairness, and define individual development directions. Furthermore, the company will newly introduce its unique "MAP Sheet" which visualizes the organization's raison d'être and key themes, allowing each individual to recognize their role in the organization and deepen the meaning of their goals through dialogue with their superiors, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of spontaneous action and growth.
- **Comment from Noriko Ryugo, Head of HR Strategy, Human Resources and General Affairs Department**
The essence of a human resources system lies in its operation. And the main actors of operation are the front lines. To design a system with operation in mind, we gathered feedback from the field and held repeated dialogues at headquarters, factories, and branches nationwide from the initial stages of consideration. There were numerous course corrections, but we believe this was an indispensable process to enhance the effectiveness and acceptance of the system. We will not seek perfection too much, but maintain a stance of "making things better," and will steadily promote the realization of "All Employees Thrive" through further evolution of the system and its operation in the future.
## About Calbee Group
## Background of the Revision
The Calbee Group has set "All Employees Thrive" as its human resources vision, aiming for an organization where "diverse talents leverage their strengths, contributing to the organization and society, and feeling happiness and pride through their own growth." Each employee is encouraged to proactively demonstrate their abilities.
Meanwhile, due to the maturation of the domestic market and population decline, customer needs are diversifying. To achieve the management strategies of strengthening profitability in domestic businesses, expanding into global markets, and pioneering new business areas, the human resources system also requires further evolution.
While the current system, introduced in 2009, has supported performance improvement through an emphasis on results, it has also shown aspects that make it difficult to demonstrate challenges and creativity, and issues related to a seniority-based compensation structure. Addressing these challenges, Calbee began examining a new system in April 2024. Through over 100 hearings at 20 locations nationwide, including headquarters, factories, and branches, the system was reconstructed by incorporating feedback from the field.
The new human resources system sets "Promoting Diverse Contributions and Growth" as its basic policy and clarifies two desired talent profiles. One is talent that accumulates steady efforts, ingenuity, and improvements, passing on value to the future. The other is talent that challenges new possibilities without being bound by existing frameworks, pioneering the future. By allowing such talents to leverage their strengths, respect each other with a spirit of altruism, and collaborate, Calbee aims for sustainable growth.
## Key Revision Points
- **Integration of systems for regular employees and indefinite-term contract employees into a single grade system**
The grading systems, which were previously separate for regular employees and indefinite-term contract employees (currently approximately 1,300 employees), will be integrated. Grades will be based on expected roles, realizing treatment commensurate with roles and contributions.
- **External competitive compensation structure and level**
The ratio of base salary will be increased by up to approximately 15% compared to before, contributing to employee financial stability and strengthening recruitment competitiveness.
- **Strengthening evaluation of teamwork and process in addition to results**
Daily actions, processes, and contributions will be carefully evaluated through three systems: "Achievement Evaluation," "Behavioral Evaluation," and "Contribution Evaluation." By introducing a "Multi-faceted Absolute Evaluation" that incorporates the characteristics of both relative and absolute evaluations, Calbee aims to align evaluation standards, ensure fairness, and define individual development directions. Furthermore, the company will newly introduce its unique "MAP Sheet" which visualizes the organization's raison d'être and key themes, allowing each individual to recognize their role in the organization and deepen the meaning of their goals through dialogue with their superiors, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of spontaneous action and growth.
- **Comment from Noriko Ryugo, Head of HR Strategy, Human Resources and General Affairs Department**
The essence of a human resources system lies in its operation. And the main actors of operation are the front lines. To design a system with operation in mind, we gathered feedback from the field and held repeated dialogues at headquarters, factories, and branches nationwide from the initial stages of consideration. There were numerous course corrections, but we believe this was an indispensable process to enhance the effectiveness and acceptance of the system. We will not seek perfection too much, but maintain a stance of "making things better," and will steadily promote the realization of "All Employees Thrive" through further evolution of the system and its operation in the future.
## About Calbee Group