Companies demanding strategic experience in Japan's selective job market

Careers Mar. 19, 2013 - 04:00PM JST ( 2 )

TOKYO —

Companies in Japan are hiring back-office professionals with strategic skill sets despite a rise in offshoring activity according to the recently released 2013 Salary Survey by Robert Walters, one of the world’s leading specialist professional recruitment consultancies.

The comprehensive 14th edition of the annual Global Salary Survey, reports that there is significant demand for bilingual professionals in Japan experienced with performing strategic functions to help businesses transition into global enterprises. The growth in hiring demand for these positions contrasts the decline in recruitment for some back-office functions in Japan, which companies have steadily offshored to cost-effective locations in South-East Asia.

As more companies evaluated the viability of moving their production arms to cheaper regions like Indonesia or Thailand, companies sought accounting professionals with business planning skills. Strong forecasting ability also became increasingly important to accurately assist management with budget planning and developing strategy.

Employers also recruited for strategic human resources and technology positions to reduce costs in businesses growing internationally. With an increase in outbound acquisitions, companies sought HR professionals able to integrate hierarchy and compensation structures in merging companies. Additionally, employers recruited for strategic IT professionals to reduce costs by implementing regional technology upgrades, such as for customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Nathaniel Pemberton, Osaka Manager at Robert Walters Japan comments: “With more transactional positions targeted for moves offshore, Japan-based professionals will need to contribute strategically, whether through improving workflow processes or helping reduce operational costs. However, as much of the streamlining activity is set to be completed in the first half of 2013, we expect recruitment later in the year to be predominately on a replacement basis.”

About the Robert Walters Salary Survey

The 14th annual Robert Walters Global Salary Survey is the first bilingual report of its kind in Japan. The Survey offers detailed market conditions and salary outlook for all professional positions and industries in Japan and across our global network of 23 countries worldwide.

Also Available - Robert Walters Instant Salary Checker App

Drawing on data from the Robert Walters Global Salary Survey, the Instant Salary Checker App provides users with instant access to current market salaries and contract rates by role and sector. Since its launch in January 2011, it has been downloaded 100,000 times, making it to No1 in the iTunes business app charts.

JCN Newswire