In response to the declaration of a state of emergency, en world Japan K.K. (headquarters: Chuo City,Tokyo, President: Vijay Deol), one of Japan’s largest recruiting firms specializing in global human resources, conducted a questionnaire survey on the recruitment and business activities of companies, and 224 companies answered.
Summary of the survey results
・ 70％ of companies now recruit mid-career workers.
・ 30% of companies that recruit mid-career workers responded that they were very actively or somewhat actively recruiting.
・ Top reasons were recruitment based on an annual recruitment plan and staff shortage since before the COVID-19 outbreak.
・ More than half of companies that are reluctant to recruit mid-career workers responded that they would hire if there were promising candidates.
・ Companies recruited the most mid-career workers for jobs in sales, followed by marketing/product planning/PR for Foreign Capital Companies and engineers and technicians (IT, game, Web, communications) for Japanese companies.
・ The most in-demand position for companies recruiting mid-career workers was at the specialist level, followed by senior specialist level for Foreign Capital Companies and manager/section chief level for Japanese companies.
・ Respondent opinions of current recruitment activities included opportunities arising from the talent drain, concerns about online interviews, and worries about other companies’ moves.
・ About 90% of companies changed the scope of business activities and how employees worked in response to the state of emergency.The most common measure was the recommendation and approval of teleworking.
[Comments on the results]
Takeshi Kitsunezaki, Vice president of Japan Sales
Because some companies are forced to announce a temporary hiring freeze, postpone their recruitment activities, ask their employees to resign, and suspend operations, we cannot be optimistic about this situation. Especially in the industries of hospitality, luxury, airline, and retail, an increasing number of companies are likely to be forced to take such measures. On the other hand, there are companies that are active in recruiting. As sales positions are absolutely essential, companies have been continuously recruiting candidates for sales positions with an eye toward the end of the pandemic. In addition, as the digital transformation accelerates, such as an increase in the number of people working remotely, investments in DX and IT infrastructure environments and online entertainment and omni-channel positions are likely to increase, and cloud services are likely to be further promoted. It is expected that an increase in online consumption will promote the data utilization industry. The essential types of jobs that have been in high demand such as security, risk management, BCP, and risk management will be more important.
It is safe to say that the companies that continue recruiting have an advantage in obtaining human resources because some companies have suspended their recruitment activities. We believe we can take advantage of this situation and help companies with their future recruitment activities by actively conducting online interviews with people who want to change jobs even if there are no positions available at the moment. In addition, we believe the effective utilization of online opportunities for companies to deliver information, such as investments in their own websites, advertisements, and owned media, and holding of seminars will lead to the acquisition of excellent human resources because people spend more time online.
Details of the survey results
1. 70% of companies now recruit mid-career workers. (Fig. 1-5)
When asked whether they currently recruit mid-career workers, 60% of Foreign Capital Companies and 85% of Japanese companies responded in the affirmative or at least partially. As the point of Japanese companies is higher than that of Foreign Capital Companies by 25%, Foreign Capital Companies are slightly more cautious.
With respect to Foreign Capital Companies by location, the percentage of companies with headquarters in Asia that are actively or partially recruiting is 78%, which is the highest. In addition, with respect to companies by number of employees, freezing or suspending hiring accounts for more than 50% only for Foreign Capital Companies with not less than 100 employees. We also look at the percentage of companies that recruit mid-career workers by industry.
[Fig. 1] Do you currently recruit mid-career workers?
[Fig. 2] Do you currently recruit mid-career workers? (Foreign Capital Companies by headquarters location)
[Fig. 3] Do you currently recruit mid-career workers? (Foreign Capital Companies by number of employees)
[Fig. 4] Do you currently recruit mid-career workers? (Japanese companies by number of employees)
[Fig. 5] Do you currently recruit mid-career workers? (All companies by industry)
2. 30% of companies that recruit mid-career workers responded that they were very actively or somewhat actively recruiting. (Fig. 6)
We asked companies how actively they were recruiting or partially recruiting. About 30% (Foreign Capital Companies: 27%, Japanese companies: 35%) answered that they were very actively or somewhat actively recruiting, which showed their willingness to recruit mid-career workers.
[Fig. 6] Please respond if you are recruiting or partially recruiting. How active are you in recruiting mid-career workers?
3. Top reasons were recruitment based on an annual recruitment plan and staff shortage since before the COVID-19 outbreak. (Fig. 7)
When companies that were very actively and somewhat actively recruiting were asked why, the most common answers were recruitment based on an annual recruitment plan (Foreign Capital Companies:57%, Japanese companies: 72%) and staffing shortage since before the COVID-19 outbreak (Foreign Capital Companies:57%, Japanese companies: 48%). The survey showed that many companies are still recruiting without changing their plan in this situation.
[Fig. 7] Please respond if you are very actively or somewhat actively recruiting mid-career workers. Why are you actively recruiting? (Multiple answers allowed)
4. More than half of companies that are reluctant to recruit mid-career workers responded that they would hire if there were promising candidates. (Fig. 8)
When companies responded that they were very reluctant and somewhat reluctant to recruit mid-career workers were asked why, more than half answered that they would not actively recruit but would hire if there were promising job seekers (Foreign Capital Companies:54%, Japanese companies: 52%). The survey showed that they were not actively recruiting but were not in a situation where they had to stop recruiting completely. The second most common answer was seeing how it went because the future of the business is uncertain” (Foreign Capital Companies:46%, Japanese companies: 38%).
[Fig. 8] Please respond if you were very reluctant or somewhat reluctant to recruit mid-career workers. Why are you reluctant to recruit them? (Multiple answers allowed)
5. Companies recruited the most mid-career workers for jobs in sales, followed by marketing/product planning/PR for Foreign Capital Companies and engineers and technicians (IT, game, Web, communications) for Japanese companies. (Fig. 9)
Companies that were recruiting mid-career workers very actively, somewhat actively, and the same as before were asked what types of jobs they were seeking job applicants. The most desired type of job was sales (Foreign Capital Companies:43%, Japanese companies 41%), followed by engineers/technicians (IT, game, Web, communications) for Japanese companies (Foreign Capital Companies:19%, Japanese companies 39%).
[Fig. 9] Please respond if you are recruiting mid-career workers very actively, somewhat actively, or the same as before. What types of jobs are you actively seeking job applicants? (Multiple answers allowed)
6. The most in-demand position for companies recruiting mid-career workers was at the specialist level, followed by senior specialist level for Foreign Capital Companies and manager/section chief level for Japanese companies. (Fig. 10)
Companies that were recruiting mid-career workers very actively, somewhat actively, and the same as before were asked what types of positions they were seeking applicants. The most in-demand position was at the specialist level (Foreign Capital Companies: 64%, Japanese companies: 75%), followed by senior specialist level for Foreign Capital Companies (Foreign Capital Companies: 48%, Japanese companies: 37%) and manager/section chief level for Japanese companies (Foreign Capital Companies: 28%, Japanese companies: 51%).
While the manager/section chief level accounted for over 50% in Japanese companies, director/ general manager level also accounted for over 20% (Foreign Capital Companies: 22%, Japanese companies: 14%). The survey showed that they were actively recruiting mid-career workers for senior positions.
[Fig. 10] Please respond if you are recruiting mid-career workers very actively, somewhat actively, or the same as before. Which positions are you actively seeking applicants? (Multiple answers allowed)
7. Respondent opinions of current recruitment activities included opportunities arising from the talent drain, concerns about online interviews, and worries about other companies’ moves.
Moreover, we asked companies about their current recruitment activities. While some companies saw the promotion of online recruitment processes as opportunities, others were concerned about online interviews. Some of the answers are shown below.
▶Please tell us about your current recruitment activities. (Open-ended)
Foreign Capital Companies
・I think it’s a great opportunity for us to let our in-house interviewers get familiar with online interviews.
（Manufacturing/engineering/automobile)
・I’m a bit concerned that new employees might feel there is a gap after joining the company because their interview is not given face-to-face. (Retail/consumer goods)
・I think e-commerce job offers will increase. (Manufacturing/engineering/automobile)
・It feels like people whose employment contracts were terminated in other industries are seeking jobs. (Healthcare/pharmaceutical/life science)
・I think we have no choice but to slow down our recruitment activities in consideration of the health and safety of candidates until the covid-19 pandemic ends. (Manufacturing/engineering/automobile)
・Should we continue recruiting when the future is uncertain? I would like to know the situation of the market. (Energy)
・I think one of the reasons that the recruiting speed is slowed down is that we can’t give new employees training or hand over tasks to them face-to-face after they join the company; thus, we can’t follow up with them and make them catch up with their jobs in the way we normally do. (Consulting)
Japanese companies
・At our company, we don’t feel that there is an increase or decrease in the number of applicants. (Service)
・As it is difficult to conduct face-to-face interviews, I am worried whether we can take the measure of our candidates. (Manufacturing/engineering/automobile)
・I feel that applicants are having a hard time choosing a company to apply for because face-to-face interviews cannot be conducted. I think they have no choice but to choose a company based on the information they find on social media or the news because they can’t see the way interviewers behave and whether the office looks like a pleasant place to work with their own eyes. (IT/communications)
・There is an increase in the number of applicants who withdraw during the selection process. (IT/communications)
・Other companies are inactive in recruiting. We can see it as an opportunity for us to recruit human recourses because people who want to change their jobs now have time to think. (Financial service/insurance)
・Though there has been no problem because we haven’t reached the final phase yet, we have been able to completely shift to online recruitment, and I feel our recruitment activities have become more efficient now. (IT/communications)
・Though we would like to acquire excellent human resources, I feel that especially people who are brilliant and are working for the companies whose business environment will not deteriorate rapidly are looking for the right time to make a move. I’m more concerned about the fact that the opportunity for us to reach promising candidates is drastically decreasing than about a decrease in the number of applicants. (IT/communications)
8. About 90% of companies changed the scope of business activities and how employees worked in response to the state of emergency.The most common measure was the recommendation and approval of teleworking. (Fig. 11, Fig. 12)
When companies were asked whether there been any change in the scope of business and how employees worked in response to the state of emergency, about 90% of companies responded that there had been a big change or a slight change (Foreign Capital Companies: 90%, Japanese companies: 93%). When companies were asked about the details, the most common response was the recommendation and approval of teleworking (Foreign Capital Companies: 36%, Japanese companies: 47%).
[Fig. 11] Has there been any change in the scope of business and how your employees work in response to the state of emergency?
[Fig. 12] Please respond if your answer was a big change or a slight change in the scope of business and how employees work in response to the state of emergency. Exactly what kind changes have been made? (Multiple answers allowed)
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[Outline of the survey]
Survey method: Online survey
Area: Japan
Number of valid answers: 224 companies
Period: April 9-12, 2020
Respondent attribute: Foreign Capital Companies 63% Japanese companies 38%
Respondents by the number of employees: 5,001 or more 6%, 1001-5000 17%, 301-1,000 25%, 101-300 24%
Not more than 100 28%
*The total may not be 100% because the figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
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▼Download the Document(PDF)
The survey on the situation of mid-career recruitment in the Covid-19 crisis_en world Japan.pdf
About en world Japan (https://www.enworld.com/)
en world Japan is a staffing firm established in 1999 specializing in global human resources with offices in four countries in the Asia-Pacific region. We specialize in supporting Foreign Capital Companies and global Japanese companies in recruiting human resources for middle to high level positions. We help companies with recruitment and job seekers with career changes from every angle by staffing full-time workers, professional human resources, and executive human resources and providing recruitment process outsourcing solutions.
Contact information for inquiries about this news release
en world Japan K.K. PR representative
Email : enworld-pr@enworld.com
Tokyo Square Garden 12F, Kyobashi 3-1-1, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0031