Japan’s new labour law has resulted in high demand for strategic HR professionals

The ever-complex labour market in Japan has seen a significant number of challenges in recent times. One of the more positive developments however, has been the implementation of a new labour law that aims to transform Japan’s notorious culture of ‘overworking’. The result of this has been a rise in hiring activity for strategic, senior HR professionals and the increasing use of Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS), underlined by a consistent demand for recruiters and talent acquisition skills.

Rise of HRBP roles

These are some of the findings from The Inside Story of Japan, a monthly regional recruitment analysis undertaken by global recruitment expert Hays. Focusing on ‘HR’, the analysis found that Japan’s new "Work Style Reform Legislation", which took effect in April this year, has pushed employers to take immediate action and comply with the new requirements, subsequently driving hiring in the HR market. This has led to an increased demand for strategic HR Business Partners (HRBP) who can help drive institutional change from the top, and guide companies through this period of transition.

However, HRBP roles are among the hardest to source for, considering they are relatively new to the market and often require several years of strategic HR planning experience. Many companies are also seeking to balance out their ageing workforce by hiring younger talent – resulting in a paradox as younger candidates often do not have the experience required for such roles. While some companies are willing to settle for younger candidates with 3-5 years of HR generalist experience, the absence of flexibility is unlikely to be sustainable.

Bilingual candidates with IT and direct sourcing skills in demand

The new focus on curbing overtime and encouraging employee health has put the spotlight on HRIS and digital capabilities, as more companies in Japan move towards paperless methods of managing data like employee timesheets. Those using excel or basic HR software like workday will are likely to start upgrading their systems, while ‘early adopters’ like large IT companies have already started using their HRIS to analyse and find strategic solutions to overtime, headcount and talent management issues.

In addition, owing to the ongoing severe shortage in talent, recruiter and talent acquisition specialist roles have flooded the market and become a staple junior-mid level hiring need for most organisations, including MNCs. This is because of the demand for direct sourcing skills that are recruiter-specific, and often the reason why companies turn to recruitment agencies instead. Apart from this, Bilingual proficiency is highly sought after, as such roles are likely to communicate frequently with global or regional offices.

Organisations ramp up branding efforts and benefits

Considering the fierce competition in Japan’s job market today, it comes as no surprise that organisations have been ramping up their efforts to increase employer branding and attract more candidates. New roles such as ‘recruiting branding specialists’ have begun appearing in the market, along with hiring in the digital marketing/employer branding space. Organisations have also increased their budgets for events and internships and are becoming significantly more generous with their benefits.

Richard Eardley, Managing Director for Hays in Japan, “Considering the recent development in labour laws and the ongoing shortage of talent, there are so many new positions and responsibilities in HR that most companies never imagined having until a few years ago. The future is promising for strategic HR candidates, particularly bilingual ones, provided organisations continue moving towards flexibility and critically evaluate the utility of younger candidates for senior roles.”

To read the full Inside Story of HR in Japan, please click here.


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About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. 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 2019 the Group employed 11,500 staff operating from 265 offices in 33 markets across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2019:

– the Group reported net fees of £1,129.7 billion and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £248.8 million;
– the Group placed around 81,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 254,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 18% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 27% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 32% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 43% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA