While a hiring freeze and a reduction in the number of persons recruited were noticeable among foreign capital financial companies, Japanese financial companies were steady
Foreign capital securities companies and foreign capital banks in the first half of 2020 were severely impacted by the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the impact, the number of persons recruited dropped to 50% or more compared to normal times, the headcount decreased, and companies frequently instituted hiring freezes. On the other hand, among Japanese financial companies, a clear difference was observed from foreign capital financial companies. FinTech companies centered on online and cashless payment systems actively recruited thanks to the impact of COVID-19. As Japanese financial institutions saw a business boom in M&As and aggressively increased the number of persons recruited, the trend has been toward those with experience at foreign capital financial companies considering a career move into Japanese financial companies. The willingness to change jobs as a whole tended to be lower than in previous years, and many moves were observed this year to consider changing jobs next year while waiting to see how things will go.
This will be a year of talent acquisition and development
We assume that 2021 will be the year that the financial industry again invests in talent recruitment and development. Because many companies could not fill the planned recruitment quota in 2020, we anticipate that the entire financial industry’s recruitment will turn up in the next year. The trend of persons looking to change jobs has been increasing for those who wish to apply for the positions where ideas and creativity can be trained. Because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the willingness to take personal action and change grew, and the persons looking to change jobs who are attracted to a place where tasks are not completely decided have increased compared to before.
Greater demand for those who have experience in digitization and going online
While it has become essential for a business to shift to digital and online, demand for those who have expertise and experience in digital and online work will further increase in and after 2021. Considering the increase in demand for corporate planning-related positions and IT-related job functions this year, among the job functions that did not require knowledge of technology, by studying data analyses (SQL and Python) and financial affairs (USCPA and bookkeeping) and acquiring knowledge through self-study and improvement,
I think they may become talent matched to the demand by the companies promoting innovative changes. While businesses that expand not only in Japan but also globally are in demand, human resources with language skills who can proactively look around and improve themselves will be in greater demand.
Clarify the purposes of recruitment and increase the number of contacts with the persons looking to change jobs is the point
While the prospects for each company’s recruitment are uncertain because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, common characteristics were observed among the companies that certainly succeeded in recruitment, which were clear purposes of recruitment and a high level of engagement with a recruiting firm. Clarifying the purposes of recruitment and time axis, fragmentation of the processes, and delegation (delegation of authority) of tasks made business cooperation within the company smooth and generated good opportunities to convey corporate efforts and a high level of hiring interest to persons looking to change jobs. With regards to engagement with a recruiting firm, department heads and those at the site actively holding online meetings with recruiting firms and telling stories that cannot be told in job descriptions improved the accuracy of job seeker screening by the recruiting firm and eventually created a difference in the passion of people wishing to apply.
There was a shift from face-to-face interviews to online interviews but, by actively conducting interviews with persons looking to change jobs and creating connections, there were many cases of companies with successful recruitment in a market where fewer persons were looking to change jobs.
Building a relationship with a recruiting firm influences the quality of applicants
To succeed in recruitment, it is very important to build a strong partnership between the company and the recruiting firm. If a company conducting recruitment deepens its understanding of the situation in the career-change market and grasps the talent who are available in the market and those who are not in the market, there will be no need for both sides to waste time, and time can be efficiently used. Besides, contacting several recruiting firms to widen the range will lead to spending less time in a dialog with one company; as a result, the risk that the quality and number of potential talents to be introduced may decrease.
By being chosen as one of the few partners of the company conducting recruitment and receiving an exclusive project, a recruiting firm can improve the quality of how they approach potential talents in the market, which will lead to acquiring the willingness to apply by top talent looking to change jobs. A recruiting firm will more clearly understand the talent that a company needs by enhancing its understanding of business by the hiring company and engagements with people on the ground. By doing so, we will, as a result, be able to build a win-win relationship, such as being able to introduce the highly matching talent to them.
The trend in the number of job orders and YoY comparison
(Banking and Financial Services)
Banking and Financial Service Division
Sales Team Manager
Yusuke Genma
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How to succeed with mid-career recruitment with COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 (English)
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