30 Dec, 2012
Hays Japan Talent Trends for 2013: Outbound Growth Reshaping Talent Management
Tokyo, Dec 11, 2012 – (JCN Newswire) – According to Hays Specialist Recruitment Japan KK (“Hays”), Japan’s continuing push for outbound economic growth is fueling changes in the way businesses source and manage talent, and this is expected to continue well into 2013 and beyond. In a switch from new graduate hiring leading to lifetime employment, businesses are increasingly looking for mid-career hires and multilingual candidates with international experience, while embracing diversity.
At the same time, already complicated hiring processes have become even more so.
According to Hays, the top talent trends for 2013 are as follows:
1. Multilingual skills: Demand for multilingual candidates remains strong, particularly for overseas sales and call centre/IT or Telco support roles, and including for companies that have traditionally focused on the domestic market.
2. Approval process: Japan’s approval processes for new hires is multi-layered, and increasingly firms require global and regional approvals, where once local approval was sufficient.
3. Decline of the expat package: Expat packages are disappearing, with employers instead offering local packages that include other incentives, such as career advancement opportunities and broader responsibility.
4. Use of social media: Last year, we saw an increase in the use of social media to source candidates, and screen those shortlisted, and we expect this to continue. Hays warns of the dangers of relying on untested claims on social media sites about a candidate’s qualifications and experience, as these can be exaggerated.
5. Diversity: In July 2012, the Japanese Government set the goal to increase female workforce participation over the next eight years, backed by research projecting that this could boost GDP by up to 15%. Encouraging new mothers to return to work is a particular priority. At the same time, considering the ageing and shrinking population, age diversity is increasingly common and employers are considering older workers, as this talent pool grows.
6. Attracting back Japanese expats: There is increased effort to attract Japanese expats back to Japan, to contribute their international experience in the outbound growth push.
7. Investment in training: In order to balance the ageing workforce, companies are training more junior candidates to close experience gaps. Employers are more focused on the desire to learn, than on finding a perfect skills match.
8. Contract workers: Employers are increasingly turning to contract workers in response to headcount budgets and like to try out talent before committing to a permanent hire, so candidates in 2013 will need to remain open to contract assignments.
Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.
Loading ...
Liked this article? Share it!