Engaging Japanese talent through contracting and temporary arrangements increased further in 2017, according to recruiting experts Hays.
This is just one of the key findings from the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide which in its 11th year, highlights salary and recruiting trends based on responses from more than 3,000 employers across Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
Research carried out found 64 per cent of employers in Japan utilised a flexible staffing option in 2017, up from the 53 per cent that did so in 2016 with 85 per cent of those opting to engage with contracting and temporary staffing solutions, up from the 75 per cent reported in 2016.
16 per cent of organisations in Japan plan to increase their use of contract and temp workers in 2018 with a huge 68 per cent planning to maintain current levels. Only 16 per cent of employers plan to decrease their use of contractors and temporary workers in 2018.
“The number of organisations in Japan using contractors and temporary workers continues to increase for a number of reasons, such as its ability to contain costs to enabling organisations to source specialist expertise for specific projects,” says Marc Burrage, Managing Director of Hays in Japan.
“65 per cent of the organisations in Japan we surveyed experienced increased levels of business activity in the year prior to our 2018 Guide survey and a massive 70 per cent expect higher levels again over the year ahead,” says Marc.
“Companies we talk to are bullish about 2018, particularly given Japan’s positive economic outlook, but they also plan to keep a close eye on costs to maximise their potential for business growth and accessing a contingent workforce is an effective way to do this,” he says.
Of the companies engaging contractors and temporary staff, 54 per cent do so regularly while 16 per cent do so for special projects. 21 per cent of organisations enlist the services of contractors and temporary staff in exceptional circumstances while nine per cent do not utilise a flexible workforce.
While contracting and temporary staffing solutions tops the list of flexible staffing options utilised in Japan, it is not the only method used. The 2018 Guide found that of the companies utilising a flexible staffing approach, 30 per cent employed ‘part time staff’, 33 per cent ‘casual staff’ and four per cent facilitated the provision of ‘job sharing’.
How Japan compares
In all five markets surveyed in the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide, the use of contractors and temporary workers is the most popular flexible workforce arrangement.
Japan is number one in the region with 85 per cent of companies utilising contracting and temping work solutions in the past year compared to 66 per cent in Singapore. In Hong Kong, that figure was 62 per cent, Malaysia (59 per cent) and in Mainland China, 46 per cent of employers make use of contracting and temp workers.
A total of 54 per cent of employers in Japan employ contractors and temps on an ongoing basis. In Mainland China, 30 per cent of employers make use of contractors and temps continuously while in Malaysia, the figure is 23 per cent. In Hong Kong, 20 per cent of organisations regularly employ contractors and temps while only 18 per cent of Singaporean organisations do so on an ongoing basis.
Get your copy of the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide by visiting www.hays.co.jp/en/salary-guide or by contacting your local Hays office.
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For further information please contact Yuki Noro, Public Relations of Hays in Japan on +81 (0) 3 3560 1529 or [email protected]
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2017 the Group employed 10,000 staff operating from 250 offices in 33 markets across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2017:
-the Group reported net fees of £954.6 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £211.5 million; – the Group placed around 70,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 240,000 people into temporary assignments;
-24% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 49% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 27% in the United Kingdom & Ireland; – the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;
-Hays operates in the following markets: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Mainland China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA.