ZooKeep is a startup HQ-ed in Tokyo/Japan founded by Casey ケーシー Abel エーブル who has lived and worked in Japan for 15+ years, mostly in #headhunting, #recruitment, #organizational transformation projects, now building his 3rd company - and still, it can be hard to find and hire the right people. Here's his recent post sharing some basic tips:
Attention: Founders & Hiring Managers in Japan struggling with hiring or growing your teams: Hiring in Japan is incredibly difficult. I’ve done it for over 14 years with experiences ranging from early stage startups (two I Co-Founded) to fortunate 10 enterprises to private equity owned turnaround C suite searches. I’ve been through and seen a lot. Despite all of this, even I am struggling to hire the calibre of talent desired to help us grow ZooKeep, but that’s part of the journey. Even though we are also struggling to identify talent, I’m trusting my experience, as well as the collective experience in our group to grow the team with a pace that is acceptable to the business’ needs. A few key things to consider when struggling to hire in Japan include: 1. Simplifying your JD (for requirements purposes) into a set of statements with concrete anticipated results (Jobs to be Done, or JTBD) you expect the hire to achieve in 6, 12 and 18 months. Generally speaking anything beyond that is a guessing game and can add complexity. 2. Outbound sourcing the talent you need on your own. No one is better to tell your story and convince talents to join your organization than yourself. I believe outbound recruitment in Japan will only increase over time and early movers still have an advantage. 3. Cross-border hires: we’ve built a remote-first product & tech team at ZooKeep as we knew the shortages and deficiencies in the Japanese market from day one, so I now have a team across 3 countries with 4 nationalities. This may not be as easy for fully Japanese teams, but a great first step would be to hire a bilingual tech product lead who you could be build a more global team around, adding flexibility and optionality to your organization. There are generally very few shortcuts to consistent, repeatable, and sustainable hiring practices, but a few changes to your approach and organization strategy can open doors to reduce pressure on your hiring needs! #talent #hiringinjapan #growthmanagement
