Top Message

The global economy is changing by the day. The global situation is becoming increasingly uncertain, not only due to the COVID-19 pandemic but also as a result of geopolitical risks typified by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Nevertheless, the market in the human resources industry has been recovering steadily since last year. In 2021, business conditions improved significantly, especially during the second half of the year, and our core Domestic Recruitment Business performed well, with net sales outperforming those of pre-pandemic 2019. Using this recovery as a foothold, we have positioned 2022 as a year to clarify our future prospects and take a step toward our next major leap ahead. We will share improvements, reforms, and expansions within the Company and aim for dynamic management.
(March 2022 interview)

Hiromi Tazaki
Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO, and Managing Director

One domain that we are paying particular attention to as a growth market is digital-related technologies. In recent years, even ordinary companies are engaged in various digitalisation and digital transformation (DX) efforts, so demand remains strong. With the IT industry and other industries making effective use of IT, DX, and AI constituting core areas of almost all industries, we expect to see more demand for highly specialised human resources in detailed areas of these fields in the future. By penetrating deeply into the areas where these needs exist, we aim to become the No. 1 in this field.

In addition, although we have already been focusing on areas such as healthcare and life sciences for many years, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of pharmaceuticals and medical care to people around the world, and demand in these areas has grown. Both overseas and in Japan, we will continue to approach these industries as a key focus as we expect sustained demand for specialist human resources in R&D and an increasing workforce to arise from production expansion.

Another area that we are paying attention to is consulting. Around 20 years ago, consulting firms proliferated, but a period of stagnation followed when various problems surfaced. Since around 10 years ago, though, consulting has been attracting attention once again. Specialists are required in various fields from IT and DX to M&A, and we are currently focusing on it as one of our major markets.

The way people work is also diversifying. With the spread of telecommuting, an increasing number of job seekers and companies are paying close attention to fully remote or location-free options. Permanent employment and full-time work are becoming less and less of an essential requirement. In addition, those with professional skills have also begun to choose a freelance style of work that allows them to work freely on an individual job or project basis.

Especially in the IT and DX-related industries, competition for the acquisition of qualified talent is fierce, making it more difficult to recruit. Consequently, companies are also increasing the number of project-based offers. We have already received some outsourcing projects that meet these needs, but as this trend accelerates, we are engaging in even more proactive initiatives.

In Europe—and particularly in the United Kingdom—where JAC Recruitment has played a leading role in the recruitment business, specialists and management personnel are generally recruited through specialised agents. Having built the Japanese recruitment business over the course of more than 30 years, it was our view that this approach would become firmly established in Japan as well. A company’s recruitment activities are always influenced by the economy. If business conditions are good, employment will increase, and vice versa. However, this does not mean that all employment will be suppressed during tough economic conditions, as many companies seek to hire specialists in order to break the status quo. We have identified those needs and established a system to respond appropriately.

One of our distinctive strengths is that our consultants are familiar with the type of human resources required in overseas markets. They can propose suitable human resources for achieving business success for small and medium-sized enterprises planning to make a foray into overseas markets.

As of 31 December 2021, we have 147 dedicated teams in Japan. These teams are building in-depth knowledge of the specialised business types and industries in their respective segments and working toward a level where such experts can only be recruited by JAC Recruitment. Currently, we are working to strengthen our organisation to provide the same level of consulting services at the regional level. There are regions where the manufacturing industry is flourishing and others that are focusing on specific industries, so we would like to incorporate the characteristics and differences of each business location into our regional strategy and provide high-quality services with characteristics uniquely distinctive to JAC Recruitment.

We will also be working on our core service of recruiting and placing management personnel, executives, and other highly specialised human resources—who lead to the growth and development of companies—in permanent employment in all industries and regions, which is one of our strengths. Through this strategy, we aim to further open up the market by expanding our scope of specialised industries and strengthening our business locations. Going forward, we will also expand our business contracting and side job support businesses on an individual project basis. It may seem an obvious thing to say, but we will not get results by working half-heartedly. With this in mind, we are working with a sense of urgency while building the necessary organisational structure and implementing reforms.

Our primary route to growth is through organic growth, which includes increasing the number of branches, increasing our numbers of consultants, creating new teams, establishing new organisational units, and entering into new peripheral business areas. On top of that, in order to achieve our major growth strategy in the future, we will focus first on ground-breaking recruitment and education. For domains that we have not ventured into so far or that we seek to make a foray into, we will hire people with experience and expertise gained at other companies. In particular, we will focus on hiring at higher levels and expand our business by adding teams and divisions centred around those human resources. On the other hand, since expansion requires an increase in our number of consultants, it is also necessary to hire new graduates and human resources with limited experience who will grow in the future. Therefore, we will establish a “JAC Standard” specifying the skills and know-how to be acquired during the first year of joining the company, develop our own educational program, and focus on human resources development.

Our second route to growth is through M&A. With regard to industry experts, new domains, and regions that we have not yet been involved in, we will find possibilities through M&A both in Japan and overseas and incorporate them into our medium- to long-term plan.

We aspire to be the world’s top professional recruitment consultancy firm in terms of both service quality and profitability. For that reason, it is important to develop human resources, and we are focusing on the development of female executives in particular. At JAC Recruitment, female employees make up 40% of the total workforce and have been engaged in active roles even before SDGs and diversity became buzzwords. Over 15 years ago, we established the Working Mothers Committee (now called the Working Parents Committee) and have supported employees in achieving a balance between work and life events such as marriage and childbirth. Currently, the rate of employees who returned after parental leave stands at 96%. Going forward, we aim to create an environment in which a large number of female managers—including those who are also mothers—thrive. In this regard, we have established a Women’s Empowerment Committee and have been strengthening our efforts to train female executives. Our target is to increase the ratio of female managers from the current level of 25% to 40% by 2025.

Since 2008, the JAC Group has been involved in social contribution activities, such as planting trees on the Indonesian island of Bali and the Malaysian island of Borneo and has planted 110,000 trees as of 31 December 2021. Planting trees protects animal habitats and is effective as a measure against global warming by reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In particular, many of the plants donated by the Group have contributed to the regeneration of mountain forests and lakes left desolate and depleted by the frequent and vigorous volcanic activity in Bali, and we have received high praise from the local authorities. Since we started these activities in 2008, our motivation was to give back to the region where our business bases are located. As a company that contributes to local communities, we also wanted local employees to take pride in working for us.

As an extension of these activities, we established the JAC Environmental & Animal Protection Foundation in March 2022. In conjunction with and complementing these activities, we will be involved in social contribution toward achieving the SDGs.

The JAC Environmental & Animal Protection Foundation is based in Japan. The foundation’s mission is to protect nature and animals in Japan at a level that is on a par with other developed countries. Through its activities, our employees themselves engage in the improvement of the environment and protection of nature. We are also considering projects that we feel will lead to more harmonious coexistence between nature and animals—even humans—and achieve a sustainable society. It is not easy to regenerate a natural forest and create an environment where a diverse array of creatures can live. But we aspire to be a company that makes conscious efforts in this area.

The roads and buildings that support our lifestyles, the products and services around us, and even the things we eat and drink are all created through the blessings from Mother Nature. If we do not become more aware of this, we will not be able to escape from the global environmental crisis that we are facing. For humans to survive, we must drive the economy. But at the same time, we must recognise that protecting animals and the natural environment equates to protecting humanity. Forests that have survived for tens of millions of years around the world will be cut down, greenhouse gases will increase, icebergs will melt, plants and animals will lose their habitats, and eventually, our own lives will be affected. It is human beings who can stop this, even if only little by little. In the future, I believe that we as humans must work to maintain the Earth with an even stronger sense of responsibility.

We recruit and introduce specialists and management personnel to companies that are working to expand their business portfolio or taking on the challenge of entering new businesses and new markets. If businesses or companies grow as a result of encounters with amazing people, it will lead to the revitalisation of the economy. It is also we humans who create mechanisms for this kind of revitalisation to protect the Earth itself. Looking ahead, through our recruitment business, we would like to contribute further to a sustainable Earth and society.

Despite a decline in business performance in FY2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we achieved significant growth in both net sales and profit in FY2021 due to the establishment of a telework system, such as conducting online interviews, and the increased recruitment activities of companies. By area, there was a significant improvement in Japan, while Europe, Singapore, and Malaysia recovered. Performance in Vietnam, India, and other countries remained sluggish.

The percentage of job openings filled in FY2021 recovered to the same level as in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and increased by 1% in comparison with FY2020. Although productivity plunged in the previous fiscal year, in FY2021, we achieved greater results than in FY2019 against the backdrop of growing demand in the market as a whole. The increase in online interviews made it possible for multiple consultants to be present, which improved the accuracy of introducing job openings to job seekers.

We have set an annual growth rate target of 15%. To that end, we will increase the number of consultants in line with the target value, aiming to have 1,605 consultants in three years (500 more than in FY2021). We will adopt various kinds of BPR and aim to improve our profit margin. Also, we will increase the number of consultants and maintain productivity, which are the foundation for the growth of our business. In order to maintain productivity, we will introduce a new training system, JAC Standard, and educate employees during the first year of joining the company to ensure a certain level of productivity. On the other hand, the sluggish market is an obstacle to achieving our target. Although we have prevailed during the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to pay close attention to the economic consequences of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Generally speaking, the recruitment business requires no capital investment. Therefore, as long as it is profitable, we will have readily available funds. On the other hand, it is susceptible to fluctuations in the economy, making it indispensable to keep sufficient internal reserves. We have a system in place to maintain a stable business for 18 months. In addition, since further expansion requires large-scale investment such as in M&A, we will aim for a stronger financial foundation.