• 97 per cent of employers say skill shortages could hamper operations to some degree in 2018
• Up-skilling employees is the most popular way of combating skill shortages
• 51 per cent of organisations confident they can find the talent they need in 2018 despite skill shortages
Most employers in Japan are confident they can somehow find the talent they need in the coming year, despite admitting skill shortages could impact their business in 2018, according to recruiting experts Hays.
More than 3,000 organisations in five key Asian countries employing more than six million people were quizzed about recruitment and candidate trends for the year ahead as part of research revealed in the newly released, 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide.
When asked if skill shortages have the potential to hamper the effective operations of their business or department in the year ahead, 47 per cent of organisations in Japan answered “without doubt” while another 50 per cent expect some negative impact.
“Finding the right talent in 2018 will be critical for companies wanting to take advantage of Japan’s more buoyant economic outlook. We expect competition for quality candidates to intensify as companies pull out all the stops to position for growth in the year ahead,” says Marc Burrage, Managing Director of Hays Japan.
“Japan’s business community has weathered challenging economic conditions in recent years and are resilient, so perhaps it is not surprising that despite most holding concerns about the threat posed by skills shortages, 51 per cent of companies are confident they will somehow find the talent they need,” he said.
“Our guide reveals that up-skilling existing employees is the most popular strategy for countering skill shortages, but other methods include developing better ways to attract new employees and internal transfers.”
“Hiring from overseas, is not easy but 61 per cent of companies in Japan told us they would be willing to use this option to fill a role in a skill short area in the coming year.”
“Employers will need to stay open to the best ways to recruit, but also retain employees as competition for talent will be fierce in 2018 from other employers in Japan, but also the region. It is worth noting that 60 per cent of candidates in Japan taking part in the 2018 Hays Salary Guide research are willing to relocate for a job,” said Marc.
Having enough staff to hit business objectives
The 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide found that 34 per cent of employers in Japan believe they have the talent they need to achieve current business objectives, a decrease of three per cent from last year.
Employers in Japan have found it particularly difficult to recruit in the following areas as reported:
• Middle management Sales roles; 33 per cent
• Middle management Accountancy & Finance roles; 23 per cent
• Middle management Marketing roles; 23 per cent
• Entry up to middle management Sales roles; 23 per cent
• Middle management Engineering roles; 21 per cent
Action to counter skill shortages
In terms of the action employers are taking to counter skill shortages, 35 per cent are up-skilling existing employees, 25 per cent are improving attraction strategies such as increasing their recruitment budget and 14 per cent plan on utilising internal transfers.
Counter offers as a retention tool
13 per cent of companies in Japan have a policy of counter offering employees when they resign compared to 11 per cent last year. A further 43 per cent will make counter offers “sometimes” (up three per cent from our previous survey) while 44 per cent of companies never make counter offers.
When asked what percentage of staff that resigned was made a counter-offer, most employers (87 per cent) answered up to 25 per cent. Eight per cent of employers answered 26 to 50 per cent and five per cent answered 51 per cent to 100 per cent.
How Japan compares with competitor countries
With only 34 per cent of employers in Japan believing they have the talent needed to meet current business objectives, employers in Hong Kong are the most confident in the region with 74 per cent believing they have the talent needed to meet current business objectives. Next confident is Malaysia (71 per cent), followed by Singapore (68 per cent) and Mainland China (66 per cent).
Looking ahead, 47 per cent of employers in Japan say that “without doubt” skill shortages have the potential to hamper business operations in 2018 while half expect some impact.
In Singapore, 45 per cent of employers say skills shortages pose a threat “without doubt” while 49 per cent fear negative impact is likely. Malaysian employers are evenly split at 48 per cent while in Mainland China, 37 per cent of employers expect some impact and 61 per cent are “without doubt” about the threat posed by skill shortages. In Hong Kong, 39 per cent say yes “without doubt” and 50 per cent say “there will be some impact”.
Get your copy of the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide by visiting https://www.hays.co.jp/en/salary-guide/index.htm.
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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.