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- 26 2月
Client Newsletter – February 2018
RECRUITMENT MARKET UPDATE
The year has started quite strongly with more hiring activity than this time last year. In particular we have seen strong demand for legal professionals with a background in technology, this is caused by candidate movement and new companies entering or expanding in Japan. Healthcare as usual is a very active market. Law firms have recently become more flexible in their recruiting and are now taking candidates from in-house backgrounds. From candidates we are seeing more interest in companies offering flexible working conditions.
Legal Intel
Senior Counsel (bengoshi) – Global Consumer goods company – JPY17M
Senior Counsel (bengoshi) – US pharmaceutical – JPY20M
Legal & Compliance Specialist – US Healthcare – JPY8M
Accounting Intel
Accountant – US Tech company – JPY7M
Reporting Manager – UK consumer goods company – JPY 12.5M
Accounting Manager – European luxury goods company – JPY11M
Logistics Intel
SCM Manager – Foreign Healthcare Company – 11M
Regional Supply Chain Senior Manager – European Construction Company – 15M
Customer Service Manager – European health and beauty company – 8.5M
RECRUITMENT CASE STUDYSalary Negotiations & Expectations
When it comes to changing jobs salary is often one of the major considerations for candidates and is an emotive topic which must be handled carefully.
Ideally, to mitigate the risk of moving and to give a sense of career progression, a candidate could expect a small raise on their current salary level. However, it is sometimes the case that the candidate has to consider keeping their current level or even taking a cut. This may be due to some urgency in the candidate’s situation, their job or company is in difficulty for example and they need to find something quickly. Or it could be that our client’s budget or wage structure cannot be moved and so an increase is impossible.
For many clients when this happens they may give up on their preferred candidates but we have a lot of experience managing this kind of situation and have been successful in securing high quality candidates within our clients budgets, in some cases with a drop in salary.
This is, of course, not easy to achieve and we are very limited in what we can do, so transparency and clear instructions from the client are vital. In particular, understanding the boundaries for budget we have to work with early in the process is crucial; once we have a target value we will have only a particular number of opportunities to manage the candidate. It is very important to have a consistent message from the beginning.
Offering a lower salary than a candidate’s current level always carries with a significant risk of rejection. If they are considering other offers or working with other agents then it would be relatively easy for them to talk them out of accepting. Offering a lower salary should therefore be a last resort but if there really is no alternative then we are well able to manage the situation and close the candidate within your budget.
OUR CLIENT FOCUS
Fast Retailing has grown very quickly and is now a truly global company, and underlying this growth has been an efficient and consistent hiring process.
For most roles, they provide well in advance the information on the individuals who will be taking part in the process. This is extremely helpful to plan and carefully manage the steps with the candidate so there are no surprises. Good timing is vital for success in recruiting and understanding the interview schedule is certainly an advantage, especially if the candidate is considering multiple opportunities.
During interviews, the candidate has the chance to meet colleagues at all levels from potential team-mates right up to board members and as a result, they get a clear view of the overall team and company organization. Any concerns can be communicated clearly to both sides and managed appropriately. This naturally contributes to a smooth offer stage and on-boarding.
One challenge that Fast Retailing faces is that it often attracts candidates from industries such as financial services or technology, which higher salary levels than that in the FMCG sector. With a strong brand and challenging work, Fast Retailing offers persuasive career reasons to join but the salary for retail companies can be at a different level from these industries – in some instances a salary drop of up to 30%. HR is transparent about this from the beginning and so agents can work together with candidates to manage expectations and avoid any surprises when it comes to offer stage.
In conclusion, Fast Retailing’s consistency and transparency from early in the process makes for straightforward candidate management and gives them the best chance to secure the candidates they need for their rapidly changing and growing business.
We provide a free consultation and training session to help clients improve recruitment activity and perfect their agency relations.
For further information on this topic or any other recruitment-related questions, please contact ken@alberto-recruitment.comComments are closed.
