As the company established, the General Affairs Department started its history as a responsible for all corporate functions.
After several changes, in April 2005 the general affairs and personnel functions were split up, and the General Affairs Department became an organization that was responsible for legal affairs, public relations, asset management, welfare, general affairs, and other tasks.
In April 2014, the CSR Office was abolished, and the compliance promotion and social contribution activities promotion operations were transferred to the General Affairs Dept.
In April 2019, the Legal & Corporate Communications Group and the General Affairs Group were introduced to the General Affairs Dept., and the quality of work was further improved by clarifying the mission.

Over the past ten years, we have responded to changes such as a review of how employees work, technological breakthroughs, natural disasters, and the spread of infectious diseases, but the changes in the internal and external environment that accompanied the spread of the new coronavirus infection that occurred in 2020 were a major turning point.

In 2020, the head office was relocated from Yotsuya to Toranomon, and a free address system was introduced with a loose zoning system that did not have fixed seats. As the Hitachi High Tech group companies are located in the same building it has become a system that facilitates communication between group companies. We have also gradually introduced a free address system centered on branches and service centers, and we have accelerated our efforts towards a flexible way of working.
Taking advantage of the opportunity presented by the outbreak of the new coronavirus infection that occurred around the same time as the relocation of the head office, the way employees work has shifted to a system centered on working from home. After that, the coronavirus infection was moved to Category 5 infectious diseases, and a hybrid system of working from home and going to the office was adopted.

In 2020, a system was introduced that allows the department head's seal and department seal to be stamped even from home, so that estimates, deliveries and invoices can be issued without having to drop by the office, and a system was created that supports direct work and direct return. After that, the electronic signature system (DocuSign) was introduced as the Hitachi High-Tech Group, and the digitization of contracts is being promoted.
In terms of compliance, we have a system in place that consists of a Compliance Committee made up of directors, general managers and branch managers, and a Risk Response Subcommittee made up of the departments in charge of laws and regulations, and we are using the PDCA cycle to prevent legal violations.

In order to disseminate information in line with the new normal way of working, which involves fewer opportunities to come into the office due to working from home or going directly to customer site and right back home, the paper and online versions of the company newsletter were integrated in 2022 and switched to a PDF format.
In addition, in the face of the difficulties of communicating with employees during the coronavirus pandemic, which has reduced the amount of casual conversation, the company introduced an in-house radio station as a tool for new communication opportunities, with the concept of making distant colleagues feel closer.

Company newsletter in PDF format

The old Hayato Dormitory was closed in March 2022 and sold in December of the same year. In May 2023, Hitachi High-Tech and the housing support system were unified, and the system was changed to a system where young single employees and employees who have been transferred to a different location can choose between dormitories, company housing, and housing allowances.
Technical training for new employees was carried out mainly in the Ibaraki area, and the number of residents at the Shinmachi Dormitory in the Tokyo area decreased. In addition, as the whole world shifted to a trend of emphasizing private space and the need for collective dormitories decreased, the Shinmachi Dormitory was closed in January 2024 and sold in March of the same year.

The company has set a target of 100% EV and HV conversion by fiscal 2025 from the perspective of contributing to the SDGs and reducing CO2 emissions.
In addition, we have introduced a driving chart from the perspective of preventing accidents, and we are working to reduce risky driving by using AI to detect risky driving.

The forestation activities in Hitachi Forest (formerly HISCO Forest), which had been suspended since the Great East Japan Earthquake, were fully resumed in 2022 as training for new employees.
In our science education support activities, we have shifted from activities centered on Hanazono Elementary School in Shinjuku City to activities which utilizes our advantages having many branches, such as in 2021 Imaizumi Elementary School in Kamakura City, in 2022, Shiohama Gakuen in Ichikawa City, and Misono Elementary School in Sapporo City, and in 2023, Shichigo Elementary School in Sendai City, and in 2024, Kitaoka Elementary School in Toyonaka City.

Forest cultivation activities in Hitachi Forest

Science education support activities at elementary schools

The General Affairs Dept. is involved with all departments and offices within the company and is also the department that is closest to the management level. With the motto "each and every employee is the lead", we are working to improve employee satisfaction and the company's performance, based on the departmental policy of "strategic general affairs".