Companies who are looking to start a business overseas requires detailed and much effort to plan for international growth especially when it comes to sourcing for foreigners who are not currently working locally. For instance, if you were to start a business in Japan there are various key factors you need to consider such as their working style, expectations and current benefits they are receiving.
In Japan, there is an increase in demand for bilinguals talents and companies are actively searching for these talents. Owing to globalization, more Japanese are taking up a second language as they understand that being able to speak another language can push them to achieve a more successful career in the future. For instance, they can have a higher chance to work overseas. However, there is a limited talent pool of bilinguals which resulted in companies having to compete with one another to source and recruit these talents.
Here are some factors you should be aware when hiring Japanese talents
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Traditional
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Young
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Group Harmony |
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Work Overtime |
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Employee Benefits |
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Stability |
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Career Path |
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Working Atmosphere |
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Group Harmony
Japanese employees prioritise the needs of others before considering their own interest or opinions. Decisions are made holistically instead of having an individualistic approach. These Japanese talents are taught to be selfless and go further to be extra considerate for one another. For instance, the employees may avoid taking holidays or leave, leaving early for work to prevent burdening the rest of the employees. As a result, if you are a company hiring Japanese employees, it is of no surprised to seldom see them taking holidays or leave.
Companies that are hiring Japanese talents have to understand and appreciate the different working styles of these talents. Communicating your current work culture is important to prep these Japanese talents so that they are aware and able to adapt easily to the new working culture. Besides, companies can make the time and effort to incorporate frequent team meetings or outings to adhere to these talents working style. Furthermore, practising group harmony can bring about additional benefits such as a closer relationship and more efficient teamwork for your company.
Work Overtime
Employees in Japan are known to work overtime and in recent cases, there are employees who overworked and burnout. According to Statista 2019, the average number of overtime working hours of full-time employees in Japan is estimated at 10.6 hours per month. Japan is also known to have a high number of suicides related to problems at work.
As a foreign company considering to hire Japanese employees, it is important to communicate the difference in work practices. For instance, if you are a company that trust your employees to manage their own time and do not encourage working overtime, you need to inform them. Since these Japanese employees have been accommodated to the current Japan work culture, it is understandable for them to gradually adapt to the non-overtime working culture.
Employee Benefits
“Fukurikosei” means various benefits aimed to support employees and their families in terms of health and life in Japan. Employees in Japan received various benefits and reimbursements to reward their hard work and commitment to work. For instance, the common employee benefits in Japan are:
Mandatory social insurance
All companies in Japan are required to follow the social norm of incorporating universal healthcare coverage. This system is to ensure that the employees can contribute to the company healthily. There are four types of social insurance:
- Kenko Hoken (Health insurance)
This insurance is to provide medical benefits for the employees or their family members.
- Kosei Nenkin Hoken (Employees Pension Insurance)
This insurance is to provide support for employees who are above the age of 65 and employees who have become severely disabled.
- Rosai Hoken (Industrial Injury Insurance)
This insurance is to provide support for employees who suffer sudden injuries or illnesses.
- Koyo Hoken (Employment Insurance)
This insurance is to provide support for employees who have lost their job.
Other common allowances (Optional):
Transportation allowance
Companies in Japan bears this cost for employees when they travel from home to office location. As transportation fees in Japan can be quite expensive, employees who take transportation services such as train, subway or bus to the company are able to claim from their employers. Some companies in Japan will pay the full amount while some will only contribute to a certain amount.
Housing allowance
This allowance is targeted at employees who are obliged to travel to another region of Japan. For instance, for the employee who is currently living in Osaka, the company will provide the allowance for the employee to rent a house in Tokyo.
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Furthermore,
given the fact where Japanese talents especially traditional employees are
receiving employees’ benefits over the years, it is seen as essential for
companies to provide these benefits. The benefits can be range from providing
extra allowances, an increase in salary as well as various insurances.
Companies who are considering to hire these talents should be aware of the
current benefits they are receiving to ensure meeting the expectations of these
talents.
Stability
Companies in Japan are known to hire employees who can commit ‘’their lives’’ to the company. This means that the companies expect the employees not to change jobs and stay committed to the company. As a result, traditional Japanese talents tend to focus on stability in their career path when it comes to selecting the right company to work in. These talents would appreciate companies that are able to cater stability such as consistent work schedule, salary as well as progression.
Therefore, for companies that are looking to hire traditional Japanese talents, it is important to provide and the expectations of these employees.
Career Path
Employees in Japan are changing jobs more frequently especially younger Japanese talents. This is due to the fact that more employees are experiencing better benefits of switching jobs. These talents have observed that their salary increases when they change jobs whether it is to a new position or new industry in Japan.
Young Japanese talents enjoy exploring different sectors of the industries to gain new experiences as well as new skills. These talents value career path in the sense that the company can provide progression, development and training. Hence, companies who want to hire these talents should consider providing different training and development courses to entice them.
Working Atmosphere
Young Japanese talents values a company that can deliver a positive and motivating work environment. This does not only applies to the interior or appearance of the workplace it is also regarding how companies can provide a supportive environment where employees show compassion and are there for one another. Additionally, they would prefer companies that care about the well-being of the employees and not just treating employees as workers.
Engage with EPS Japan Bilingual Recruitment Specialist
EPS is a professional bilingual recruitment agency in Japan sourcing bilingual talents to our clients for more than 25 years. We are different from other bilingual recruitment agencies as our experienced recruitment consultants come from a variety of fields, and with their experience and knowledge, we will introduce the best multilingual talents to your organization.
In addition to having extensive industry knowledge, our search consultants are also well versed in different languages such as English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French and German. Most of the consultants are bilinguals so we understand bilingual recruitment problems and solutions which you may concern.
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