MEDICAL
Recruitment is expected to continue to increase in 2018 and beyond due to the ageing population, innovations in medical technology, and continued development of the IoT. In addition, new companies entering the market and major companies carrying out M&A deals are further driving increases in recruitment numbers.
As the baby boomer population ages, healthcare is slowly migrating out of hospitals and clinics and into homes. This has contributed to an increase in recruitment as companies with home healthcare products that do not cater exclusively to physicians and hospitals can focus more on consumer-facing products. The growth of the healthcare IT industry is also a contributing factor as the introduction of new tools and technologies allows companies to promote products directly to patients. An increase in clinical studies is also driving demand for medical device-related clinical development specialists, and more companies are establishing or adding strategic teams to act as the brains of their operations.
Companies appear to be taking a more proactive stance towards competition with rival companies by agreeing to meet and interview talented candidates even when they are not looking to fill any specific vacancies. Salaries in this industry increase by roughly 10-15% when candidates change jobs.
PHARMACEUTICAL
Demand for medical affairs (medical science liaison) specialists is particularly strong in most pharmaceutical companies. Foreign-affiliated companies in Japan began establishing medical affairs functions over the last decade and Japanese companies have followed suit over the last few years. However, the number of medical affairs specialists in the Japanese market remains limited. Many companies have also struggled to define exactly what kind of work medical affairs entails, so there tend to be slight variations in the work these specialists engage in depending on the company.
Recruitment demand is growing for clinical research associates (CRAs) at contract research organisations (CROs). Pharmaceutical companies began outsourcing clinical development work a few years ago as a cost-saving measure. As demand for these professionals continues to increase, CROs are attempting to capture this demand through rapid organisational expansion. As with the medical affairs field, since the number of candidates is limited, CROs are bidding strongly for candidates and talented candidates tend to receive job offers from multiple companies.
Recently established pharmaceutical start-ups in Japan have been implementing personnel changes in their commercial functions to pursue more internationally-minded professionals who are able to press forward with global initiatives. These moves are motivated by the shared aim of achieving greater organisational vitality in line with the standards of global headquarters.
Given the overwhelming candidate shortage, companies that do not offer competitive salaries tend to have trouble securing talented personnel. Salaries in this sector increase by as much as 15% when professionals change jobs.
Osaka
In Osaka, demand for clinical researchers continues to increase in the pharmaceuticals sector. With new regulations on visits to physicians by medical representatives, the number of medical representatives in pharmaceutical companies is decreasing. At the same time, demand for medical science liaison professionals has remained high over the past several years. In place of medical representatives, demand is increasing for digital marketing and channel marketing professionals to analyse website access data to look at how patients and staff are obtaining product information.
There are an increasing number of biotech start-ups in the Kansai area establishing bases in both local biotech incubator facilities and around Osaka University and Kyoto University. The high level of demand means that even newly established enterprises renting laboratory space from these universities are actively recruiting.
CONSUMER GOODS
Demand for consumer goods in the Japanese market is stable and increasing market share is the top priority. Hence there is brisk demand for sales and marketing professionals in this area. More companies are now requiring higher levels of English proficiency from sales professionals when recruiting with an eye towards future career development. We have also seen a few cases of sales and general management professionals being recruited by companies that are establishing small-scale sales bases in Japan to introduce new foreign brands. These companies are focusing on recruiting sales professionals with extensive experience and sales networks in Japan to manage partnerships with distributors and expand domestic sales. Almost 40% of workers who received a salary increase of 30% or more when changing jobs will not change jobs again within a year.
Foreign-affiliated consumer goods manufacturers tend to favour mid- to senior-level candidates who have experience working in several companies over those who have worked in a single company for a long time. This trend of recognising the high adaptability of candidates who have experience acclimating themselves to different company cultures and business approaches is perhaps indicative of the changing nature of the Japanese labour market.
One notable trend we have observed is an increase in candidates who are interested in Japanese companies that are looking to grow overseas marketing activities. In the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, we also expect demand to increase for marketing specialists who can boost consumer engagement through various means such as sponsorships and events.
The steady expansion of many new quick service restaurants in Japan is creating a labour shortage, particularly for bilingual candidates. Major convenience stores and Japanese food and beverage companies are also diversifying their offerings and marketing activities resulting in greater competition for the same talent. For senior marketing and sales professionals, consumer companies are open to talent from related consumer goods and services industries.
Foreign PR agencies in Japan are expanding their headcount in reaction to increased spending by clients in all sectors and new market entrants from overseas. Consumer companies in all sectors are also moving from conventional media to increased omni channel engagement. Thus, there is a high demand for bilingual account executives and managers to cover clients in these areas.
Salary levels for job movers in this industry increase by roughly 10-15%. When candidates receive multiple job offers, it is becoming more common for the top companies to successfully sell candidates on their efforts to enhance work-life balance (e.g., flex-time) and opportunities for career progression.
Kansai
Kansai-based Japanese consumer goods manufacturers are recruiting more bilingual professionals for overseas sales and marketing positions due to overseas business expansion.
RETAIL
An increase in tourism, the opening of new shopping facilities in Ginza and new street-level stores in Omotesando are intensifying recruitment of retail staff, store managers, retail managers and directors. We anticipate this trend to become increasingly pronounced in 2018, and competition for the recruitment of talented candidates is expected to intensify. The lack of candidates for positions in retail stores is exacerbating this trend and making personnel acquisition more difficult. Earlier in 2017, an overall decrease in the number of inbound shoppers and the amount of money they spent when visiting Japan caused the performance of luxury brands to stagnate or deteriorate. However, now that demand is recovering, we are beginning to see signs indicating they are ready to resume recruitment activities.
In addition to bilingual candidates who are proficient in both Japanese and English, retail companies highly value trilingual candidates who can also speak Chinese. English proficiency is also becoming increasingly necessary for retail staff to be promoted to store manager and retail manager positions. Therefore, companies tend to favour candidates who are either proficient in English or have a strong desire to improve their English for the sake of their career development. When recruiting retail managers, candidates are required to have experience not only as store managers, but also experience managing several stores.
For marketing and merchandising personnel, the majority of recruitment is for filling existing headcount as very few companies are creating new marketing or merchandising positions or increasing the number of HQ staff they employ. However, more companies are investing heavily in improving their digital offerings leading to the growth of e-commerce sales as a proportion of total sales.
Salary levels in the retail industry are trending at the same level as last year with increases of roughly 10% for job movers. There is, however, a noticeable trend towards job offers with salary increases of greater than 10% being made by companies to gain a competitive edge over their rivals.
HOSPITALITY
The opening of new hotels and shared offices has led companies in the hospitality industry to make strong bids for talented candidates, and competition for these candidates is increasing accordingly.
In the hotel industry, demand for bilingual professionals is increasing more rapidly than ever as new foreign-affiliated hotels open both in Tokyo as well as regional cities such as Osaka, Kanazawa, and Niseko. A nationwide increase in the number of overseas tourists is also a factor, and with the Rugby World Cup and Tokyo Olympics only two and three years away, respectively, the recruitment activities of sporting event-related companies are also intensifying.
Job openings in the shared office industry are also increasing as shared offices are no longer only being used by start-ups and nomad workers. More companies are beginning to use these spaces as substitute project rooms and satellite offices which is leading to an active expansion of the business. However, the young and energetic bilingual corporate sales specialists the industry needs are in very high demand and it can be difficult for companies in this industry to acquire such professionals.
Kansai
In Kansai, the increasing number of international tourists has resulted in sustained construction and rebranding of hotels in Osaka and Kyoto and urgent hiring of professionals with English proficiency. There is also growing demand for bilingual professionals at leisure facilities in the region with an increasing number of positions in marketing and business planning.
Furthermore, the Kansai area has seen a dramatic increase in leisure facility and airline company workforce sizes due to the rising number of LCC routes and flights connecting to Kansai International Airport. There is also increasing recruitment of temporary and contract staff across a broad range of sectors, from marketing and human resources, to planning and general affairs. In addition to the Olympics, much-discussed topics currently include new integrated resort complexes and the Osaka Expo. From 2018 onwards, there is likely to be increased demand for bilingual professionals in Kansai to fill hotel reception, retail store, and office positions.
ONLINE & DIGITAL
With the annual double-digit growth of the e-commerce channel, retail companies are revising their e-commerce sales targets upwards while also moving to increase the size of their e-commerce divisions to boost overall sales. It used to be common practise for e-commerce specialists to be assigned to online marketing departments, but more companies have started establishing dedicated e-commerce departments. As a result, companies have moved to recruit senior professionals to head these departments and junior professionals to fill out their teams. The e-commerce channel has rapidly increased its share of total sales in the retail market and it is now outpacing the direct and wholesale brick and mortar channels which have seen a decline in sales in most regions. However, the active supply of talent remains extremely limited and demand greatly exceeds supply in this area.
In the retail industry, the practise of digital marketing based on omnichannel methods that provide a seamless online/offline shopping experience is growing rapidly. As a result, companies are now investing heavily in digital transformation strategies with a greater focus on digital experience with mobile devices. As omnichannel business models become more prevalent, there is a growing demand for people who can design websites with user experience in mind and strategically target advertising to drive traffic.
Some companies are also beginning to establish new conversion manager positions for data analysis and the creation of frameworks that induce customers to purchase products. A number of advertising technology firms have entered the Japan market. There was strong demand from these companies and existing players for candidates with an understanding of technology solutions and media sales experience in online advertising.
As the online travel agency industry matures in Japan, many companies are diversifying the range of services they offer to maintain growth. Demand has increased for account managers who can serve a range of clients. The resulting shortage of industry-experienced candidates has led many companies to look to other industries for young, bilingual sales staff to fill their growing numbers of vacancies. Online news businesses have also been flourishing as more people in Japan are now willing to pay for high-quality online content. Much of this growth has been fed by recruitment of writers and editors from traditional news outlets. However, there has also been a consistent need for personnel with a strong digital marketing skill set with a particular focus on content creation, curation, and media strategy.
The number of skilled bilingual digital marketers is limited, so companies from a range of industries are bidding strongly for the same candidates, the most talented of whom often receive job offers from multiple companies. Given the overwhelming sellers’ market conditions, companies that do not raise annual salaries tend to have trouble securing talented personnel.
IT SOFTWARE
Large companies are abandoning unprofitable sectors such as software licensing and hardware and moving more towards consolidating and expanding cloud-related business. The overall number of foreign-affiliated start-ups entering the market is increasing. Approximately 50-60% of the software sector sales specialists we successfully placed in 2017 were recruited by new market entrants and companies creating new positions as a product of business expansion.
Companies are seeking professionals with solution and enterprise sales experience, and they tend to favour candidates who have experience selling later-generation products such as cloud-based software. As IoT technologies evolve, the demand for IoT-related systems is growing and we are seeing increased competition for talented sales professionals in this area.
We have observed no difference in the salaries offered by smaller and larger companies. Companies generally understand that entering the Japanese market and expanding new business requires a substantial investment, so companies of all sizes are comfortable devoting resources to the recruitment of talented personnel.
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Throughout 2017, IT companies involved in solution sales to the financial services industry were looking for professionals with experience selling to customers in the finance sector. With more start-ups now entering the market, the fintech sector – which is far less developed in Japan compared to other Asian countries – is expected to see significant growth. As financial services are gradually expanded to a broader demographic, we expect the demand for human resources in this sector to increase in 2018 and beyond.
We have already seen an increase in demand for field marketing professionals who are responsible for coordinating with business development staff to identify and develop potential customers using data analysis.
With the revenue growth of telecom services in Japan being driven by the mobile data and broadband segments, we found candidates with experience selling networking solutions in the enterprise market to be in high demand. With the planned launches of 5G and IoT/M2M, candidates with a proven track record in networking solutions who also have enterprise account relationships will continue to be highly sought after.
Security is the highest rate of expenditure among all IT budgets and the need for protection against cutting-edge cyberattacks is growing. Hence, competition is intensifying for candidates with experience selling security solutions to not only companies and consumers but also public organisations, including governmental bodies and civil services. As a result, demand for bilingual professionals with practical experience in security sales far outweighs supply. To combat this shortage, some companies have begun recruiting mid-career professionals from other IT-related sectors and providing them with training on security products.
Information services companies are also vigorously recruiting sales professionals as the improved performance of financial institutions has led to an increase in orders for information/data and trading systems. Companies’ growing reliance on data for decision making has resulted in an especially strong increase in demand for sales professionals who can sell information-based solutions.
CONTRACT
We expect that both employers and employees in 2018 will become increasingly aware of the need for flexible working styles, and the number of professionals companies seek for temporary/contract employment is likely to increase. 2017 saw increased levels of part-time employment due to employees’ desire for more flexible working styles. One of the products of company initiatives to encourage more women to join the workforce is an increasing demand for professionals to fill vacancies created when employees take maternity/childcare leave. In addition, given the ageing and shrinking labour force, companies have shown greater understanding towards those seeking more flexible working styles by offering different forms of employment.
Jobseekers’ heightened awareness of the current labour shortages has resulted in higher overall expectations regarding wages and employment type. An increasing number of companies also understand the sellers’ market conditions and are responding by raising hourly wages and/or providing more attractive options for employment type at the time of initial hire.
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