HR Technology

White Paper: The Ready

Why HR Desperately Needs a Rethink Organizations are like a human body. The brains—a.k.a. the strategy-focused C-Suite—reign over internal systems and plan. The legs are the teams executing daily operations, like production, sales, and accounting. The immune system prevents the body from getting sick or growing sluggish; IT secures data, legal protects against liabilities, and R&D finds ways to preserve long-term health. Humming alongside these functions is the nervous system, better known as human resources. Its branches include critical functions and activities like compensation and benefits, training and development, hiring and onboarding, conflict resolution, and risk management. But things don’t always go smoothly. The brain gets stuck in indecision. When the unexpected occurs (and it always does), the legs struggle to change course. Each part focuses so rigidly on its own tasks that coordination becomes a challenge, hindering forward movement. And despite—or perhaps because of—its centralized role, HR’s nervous system is often among the body’s greatest vulnerabilities. Tasked with both delivering strategic partnership to internal clients and operational support for employees, despite these directives requiring very different (if not downright conflicting) ways of working, HR finds itself overloaded without the infrastructure needed to meet its multipronged mandate. The net result: A body lacking the ability to clear obstacles—one that relies so heavily on muscle memory that innovation or improvement is hard to achieve. (Ever watched your organization repeat an annual process that doesn’t work? Us, too.) This stuckness invariably leads to missteps, and even the occasional faceplant. But HR also holds the possibility of a new operational model, one that embraces mission-driven, cross-functional coordination with an emphasis on experimentation, adaptivity, data literacy, and automation—and can nimbly shift its approach as it’s fed new insights. It starts with reimagining the role HR plays, then spreading the transformation across other internal functions. HR’s diversity of directives may be the Achilles heel of the familiar body-like model of operations, but it’s also its superpower. HR is uniquely positioned to usher in real change—the kind that increases efficiency, strengthens agility, creates value, and fosters a way of working that feels human and meaningful.

White Paper: En World

While there was optimism that 2021 would see the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and a return to normalcy, unfortunately, the multiple new variants of the virus and subsequent responses by governments around the world continued to disrupt day-to-day life. However, optimism for 2021 was not entirely misplaced, as the business world continued to adjust to the new climate and to new working styles. The global economy—as well as those of the major industrialized nations, including Japan—saw recovery and GDP growth. The economic recovery, combined with persistent job growth—despite a talent shortage in Japan—has meant considerable demand for recruitment and talent acquisition-related services. This year should see further optimism, as vaccines and boosters are widely administered and COVID-19’s impact on public health is minimized. Despite the uncertainty due to various geopolitical and socioeconomic factors, this should positively impact the economy and job market, and economic forecasts indicate continued growth and recovery. It is reasonable to expect that, in 2022, companies in Japan will try to capitalize on economic recovery, which should mean a buoyant job market in general, as competition for top talent increases. This year, companies will need to pay close attention to job seekers’ expectations, as well as to the engagement and retention of key employees. Finding the right balance between flexibility, particularly in companies’ requirements for in-person work, and office environments’ attractiveness to employees is more important than ever. Management will need to explore new ways to onboard new hires, cultivate company culture, and promote collaboration in hybrid environments that combine both physical and virtual interaction. Those companies that can offer the best working environments, employee engagement, and development opportunities, as well as financial and nonfinancial benefits, will gain an edge in what is sure to be fierce competition for talent. Job seekers in 2022 will find a favorable market. Although the “Great Resignation”—a phrase that has become common parlance globally—has not been as extreme in Japan, there is still an increased willingness within the labor force to consider new opportunities, and this trend is sure to continue. Bilingual talent with highly specialized skills will continue to be sought after and, while these candidates will command premium compensation, other factors related to employee engagement, such as health, safety, and employee well-being, will be key considerations as well. Also, Japan has not shifted to a “gig” economy to the same degree as other industrialized countries have, but there has been an increasing trend of workers migrating away from metropolitan centers and looking for more flexibility, in terms of working hours and location as well as employment type. As a result, it is likely that contract and freelance employment arrangements will continue to grow at an accelerated rate. Going forward, en world will continue to focus on our mission of enabling our customers’ success. We will continue to take a more consultative approach with our clients and candidates, aiming to tailor our services to their specific needs, given the variety and flexibility of the services we can offer. By finding creative opportunities across our permanent, contract, and recruitment process outsourcing services, as well by leveraging HR technologies across the en Japan group, we aim to meet whatever talent needs our clients may have and to provide the best opportunities to the candidates who place their trust in us.

White Paper: Synegry Health

INTRODUCTION There seems to be an influx of online workplace wellbeing initiatives coming into the marketplace. This has been driven by organisations wanting to take a proactive approach in response to COVID-19. Organisations understand that employees’ wellbeing is being compromised as they have become more isolated, had to adapt to new ways of working / living, and in some instances, coping with new financial pressures. Proactive organisations understand that their employees are likely to become increasingly sedentary, their eating habits are likely to change, and their sleep could become compromised due to the increase in stress and anxiety. With an influx of online wellbeing offerings, it is important for organisations to know that not all wellbeing platforms are the same. To truly have an impact on behaviour, organisations must treat wellbeing like any other behaviour change initiative. A more strategic, long term approach must be taken rather than ad hoc one-off programs. With the increasing rate of technological development, platforms are becoming more sophisticated, easier to implement and are achieving better outcomes in the short term and long term, for both organisations and their employees. Before signing up to an online wellbeing initiative, ask the following questions to help ensure you are getting a platform that is going to meet your organisations current and future