The Elephant in the Room: The Mistrust Between Talent Acquisition Leaders Inside and Outside Japan

So far, this introduction about the Talent Acquisition environment in Japan is fairly easy to understand. So where’s the controversy?

3) The Disconnect Between Recruiters in Japan and Overseas

The controversial issue lies purely in the disconnect between recruitment leaders in Japan and their functional bosses overseas. On the one side, global recruitment leaders are successfully implementing direct sourcing staffing models across the world to improve efficiency and ownership of the Talent Acquisition function. Some are even opting for regional centres of excellence, where staffing is not only being brought in-house, but it is also being offshored to lower-cost locations. Japan, with its huge recruitment costs, is always the number one target for cost reduction, so it’s in the immediate line of fire for any new global TA leader out to make improvements. But due to language issues, it’s not always practical or even possible to offshore the TA function to another country, so this is one ‘easy win’ opportunity window closed.

As a developed nation, Japan falls within the same group of countries that have completely overhauled their recruitment modes. In addition, there are some successful examples, particularly in the technology industry, where companies have implemented a direct sourcing model in Tokyo. So a Global TA Head might think, No more excuses Japan TA leaders, let’s stop farming out so many roles to agencies and start sourcing the candidates yourselves. You’ve had it easy for too long - you may think that you’re a good TA leader, but I manage 30 other TA leaders in other markets who are much more successful.

Many Japan TA leaders have been hearing this and are feeling the pressure to conform to this ‘brave new world’ of recruitment. In contrast to the global perspective, a local TA leader knows that, even at the best of times, it can be hard to attract people into a multinational company whose brand name is unheard of, in relation to a strong domestic competitor. Attempting to do this directly just increases the frustration, because it’s simply not as easy to find people’s contact details as it is in other markets. Even if I do track potential employees down, an approach must be done very sensitively in order for them to be receptive, and very few approaches do convert into tangible results. My English may be in the top 10% in terms of ability among workers in Japan, but compared to the other TA leaders who are managed by my boss, I have more difficulty in eloquently arguing my case. How can I make them understand that their direct sourcing expectations are unrealistic, without simply adding to their preconceptions that I’m using this as an excuse? International TA leaders just don’t listen enough when the market in Japan is explained to them.

4) Conclusion

I have used these two extreme viewpoints in order to illustrate the point, and in reality there are very few organisations where the relationship between TA leaders in Japan and outside is quite so dysfunctional. However, it is still helpful to discuss ‘the elephant in the room’ so that TA leaders on both sides of the fence can use these standpoints as a yardstick, by which to assess their levels of understanding for each other’s positions.

Our own assessment is that both sides are correct in what they say, but both still need to be open to compromise. There are indeed some TA leaders in Japan who have an over-inflated opinion of their capabilities, and are measuring themselves against an anachronistic yardstick that no longer has any value in the modern world of recruitment. There are also still some global or regional TA leaders who steadfastly refuse to listen to the valid reasons why direct sourcing hasn’t yet been as successful in Japan as they would have liked. Our advice to both sides is that they need to recognise that the landscape in Japan TA is indeed moving in the right direction. With open communication, both sides should agree, perhaps on an annual basis, what stage in development can be expected at any one time, as related to their company’s status in Japan. This is true in terms of what skills the Japan TA leader should bring to the role, as well as what expectations they should set, and how successfully new sourcing strategies can be implemented.