Avex’s Human Resource Challenge:
Tackling Diverse HR Issues

In recent years, there have been many opportunities to reconsider what the "norm" of working styles is, such as changes to the work environment during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent return to office life. Companies are now required to update their way of thinking regarding employment and career development. In August 2023, Avex executed a group-wide organisational restructuring aimed at achieving its Medium-term Management Plan “avex vision 2027”, as well as realizing its growth strategy and promoting medium- to long-term business expansion. The company has also strengthened their HR system, introducing a “Job-based Human Resource System” in January 2024, followed by the implementation of both an "Internal Job Posting System" and an "Internal Free Agent System" in November, designed to support and promote positive job moves. The goal of this HR strategy is to further enhance employees' career autonomy and employee engagement, says Emi Kimura of Avex Inc., who oversees human resources for the entire group.

Problem Solving in HR
Doesn't Go “Precedent”

The more closely you try to support each employee, the more apparent the diversity of HR issues becomes. Since the business operations of each Avex group company are particularly diverse, it is essential to approach them with a flexible attitude. That is why the HR department is largely divided into two main functions.

One is the headquarter’s HR department which takes a cross-functional view of the company as a whole, and the other is the Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP) Department, which dives deeper into each business operation, working more closely with individual issues. A key feature of Avex’s HR structure is the collaboration between these two functions to achieve optimal solutions.

Kimura "At Avex, I think a lot of people have the impression that sometimes the whole group is doing something together, while at other times, each company acts based on its own unique characteristics, so they feel it’s a bit of both. The same goes for HR, there are times when we need to work together as a whole with great energy, and times when we need to work individually, respecting each company’s originality."

A holistic view and an individual view. She says balancing the two is not so easy.

Kimura "I think that while employees naturally feel a sense of belonging to their individual group companies, they also feel a relatively strong sense of belonging to the Avex Group as a whole. That is why it is so important for us to maintain commonality and fairness in HR management across the group. However, if we push that too far, it could constrain the business activities of each company. On the other hand, if we tailor our approach too much to each company individually, it could lead to perceptions of unfairness."

Avex’s HR team works to address diverse HR challenges while maintaining a delicate balance. "HR is full of irregularities," says Kimura. Since the team always consults together to decide how to handle each "irregularity," there are not many things that could be called a standard solution.

Kimura "We do refer to precedents when making various decisions, but there are many things that cannot simply be done by following them. We discuss the precedents, then discuss how we should handle it this time, and come up with an answer the team can truly believe in. It is a continuous process of accumulation."

To Encourage Each Employee’s
Career Autonomy:
“Job-based Human Resource System”

In January 2024, a new HR system, the "Job-based Human Resource System," was introduced, restructuring the ranking and compensation system.

The Avex Group has about 150 different job positions across various sectors, including music, management, anime and video, digital, and international operations. This "Job-based Human Resource System" takes into account the unique responsibilities of each role and sets individual job grades accordingly. Even within the same job category, compensation is determined based on the job grade, which factors in the complexity of the work and the rarity of the required skills.

Kimura "Since businesses within the group span multiple industries, each with its own competitors, the reward system that applied across the entire company was originally the same for all areas. However, in order for each business to enhance its competitiveness in terms of talent, it became necessary to introduce a reward system tailored to the specific characteristics of each business."

Moreover, she adds that with the introduction of this Job-based Human Resource System, the necessary skills and experience for each job grade, as well as the corresponding compensation, are now visible to all employees. This transparency allows each employee to concretely envision various future career paths, which in turn contributes to encouraging individual career autonomy.

Kimura "Employees themselves can now “discover” that the company has specific tasks, which skills are required, and how much compensation they will receive, information that was previously not visible to them. I believe that, especially for young employees, this system has provided them with the opportunity to visualise the various challenges they could take on in their future career development. I hope it has made it easier for them to see the potential paths they can pursue."

Recently, Job-based Human Resource Systems have been implemented in various companies across Japan. Although there are still few cases within the entertainment industry, what makes Avex’s Job-based Human Resource System unique?

Kimura "We value the skills and experiences that a person has developed up until this point, and our approach combines these “roles” derived from those experiences with the “job” itself, balancing both equally in our operational style. Half of the salary is determined by the size of the role the person is expected to play, based on their past experience, while the other half is determined by the actual tasks itself, in other words, the “job.” Rather than simply considering the work assignment an individual is responsible for, we want to reward them with appropriate compensation that reflects the size and importance of the role expected of them, regardless of the work."

To Promote Positive Career Changes :
“Internal Job Posting System/
Internal Free Agent System”

The "Internal Job Posting System" and "Internal Free Agent System" have been introduced as catalysts to further encourage employees to take charge of their careers, following the introduction of the Job-based Human Resource System. The “Internal Job Posting System” allows departments to openly recruit new members from within the company for specific positions, while the “Internal Free Agent System” enables employees who meet certain conditions to apply for any open position. These two systems help match the needs of departments with individuals, further promoting positive career changes within the company.

Kimura "The basis of the idea is the same as the previous Job-based Human Resource System, we want employees to proactively think about their own careers. Once each employee can envision a concrete career path, systems to actually bring that vision to life are necessary. These two measures will support that. At the same time, we also aim to improve employee motivation and stimulate each department. Since these are systems where employees express their intention to be transferred to a new role, their motivation is high. When such people join a team, they help revitalize the people around them."

In October 2024, both the Internal Job Posting System and the Internal Free Agent System were announced, with job applications opening in December. After a preparation period, the actual transfers took place in April 2025.

Kimura "The actual number of applications was as expected, and I think it was a positive outcome that we were able to match applicants with accepting departments to their mutual satisfaction. I believe they will achieve new results and positively impact their teams in their new roles. I hope they achieve greater success. There are certain conditions that must be met when applying for the Internal Free Agent System, so I think we will continue to recruit once a year. However, I would like to hold Internal Job Posting recruitment at any time, regardless of the timing. For example, we may need motivated people to join a new project, or we might suddenly need to expand our business and want people to step in. These situations can arise at any time during the year, and we want to be flexible and match highly motivated individuals to these opportunities. I believe creating this kind of flexibility will be a challenge for the future."

Creating a Better Work Environment
with Strong Conviction

Avex conducted an internal survey on "employee engagement," which refers to the affection the employees have for the company and their willingness to contribute voluntarily.

The survey revealed that the percentage of highly engaged employees was 24% in 2024 (with the national average at 10.7%), which is an exceptionally high level. The company has consistently maintained high performance every year.

Kimura "I believe many people working at Avex have clearly identified what they “want to do” in their roles and assignments. Many are passionate about their work, and I think this is a major factor behind the high engagement rate. Rather than working solely to earn a living, I believe the passion of those who are doing what they love is reflected in the results."

They will continue striving to create a working environment where each employee can take on challenges freely and in their own way, while cultivating a strong sense of affection and personal connection to the company.

A major topic as of 2025 is that Avex has begun “a four-day workweek”, taking into account the social momentum surrounding the return to office life after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kimura "There are various ways of thinking about working four days a week, but on the positive side, I believe it could stimulate creativity within each department and foster innovation. The minimum necessary communication to complete work is always important, whether offline or online, but what I hope to encourage by having employees come to the office is the kind of casual communication that leads to the next step forward, conversations like “Since we’re here, let’s talk,” or “Let’s reach out and toss the ball back and forth.”"

Especially in projects that require team effort, important things could be overlooked if one focuses solely on efficiency. They want to create an environment where even seemingly redundant daily interactions within the team are valued, recognizing the hidden significance they could hold.

Kimura "Also, this ties into the extension of the Job-based Human Resource System, but because the system has now clarified the skills and people needed for each role, I believe the next step is to develop policies and frameworks that support employees in growing toward those goals. Only when we achieve that, will the Job-based Human Resource System truly be complete."

In this way, reinforcing and refining existing systems has also become an important perspective for the HR department.

Kimura "HR issues are always out there and as we continue to face new challenges one by one, I think our style is to trust in what we believe is the best solution at the time, and move forward with it. No matter what initiatives we take, there will always be disadvantages hidden behind the benefits. In those situations, everyone in the management team debates openly, saying things like, “Wouldn't it be better if we did it this way?” or “Maybe it's like this, after all,” always driven by the desire to make the company better. There is no clear “right answer” to solving HR issues, and I think the only way to move forward is to believe in who we are now and give it a go."

Without being bound by precedent, they face each issue one by one, find the answer they believe in as a team, and push forward with conviction. Behind this is their pride and passion, a sincere wish to make the company a better place and properly reward the daily efforts of every employee.