Japan looks to virtual means to attract passive healthcare job candidates

The Japanese healthcare and life sciences market is currently short on talent. And the number of active candidates is very low, even more so for those who speak English and have niche scientific capabilities.

This talent-short situation is particularly evident in the research and development field. Many candidates are very much involved in long-term projects, so it becomes a significant commitment for them to attend a job interview.

Virtual tools - a means of talent attraction

Now, a digital medium is a much more casual approach. It comes across as less commitment, making it easier for companies to engage candidates.

And due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen a massive increase in video conferences as the primary way of conducting job interviews. And now, online job interviews, webinars and automated portals have become the norm.

Here’s the upside. Aside from these virtual tools becoming commonplace, we found that these tools have encouraged passive job candidates to be more open and willing to attend online job interviews and even sign up for webinars.

One of the reasons why this is happening is likely because passive job candidates do not have to dress up in a suit and travel to an office to meet prospective employers.
 
We’ve also seen more and more organisations using webinars as a way to tell their story. The president of a company might give a presentation about their business, for instance, about the drugs they’re developing and the scientific developments of the company. And with many people at home on their computers, it’s much easier for passive job candidates, who aren’t sure about changing companies, to log on and watch the presentation.

Related: Digital tools transforming recruitment in healthcare and life sciences

The future will be a mix of physical and virtual job interviews

Ultimately, when people stop working from home and return to their workplace, there will be more of a need for face-to-face job interviews. And that is because in-person meetings are still undeniably the best way to get to know someone. At the same time, there will still be plenty of job interviews conducted virtually as well.  
 
With that said, many companies now are switching work arrangements to remote work permanently. For instance, one of our clients, a major medical device company, eliminated one office floor to reduce the number of people in the office.

In the future, there will be more flexibility in workplace arrangements. The prevalence of telework means that it can be more challenging to convince someone to move back to a job that’s going to be partially office-based. So, remote working is a suitable retention method.  
 
Japan has been slightly more apprehensive about adopting this mentality than other countries. Smaller companies tend to want people in the office, especially startup firms because they want people to build team culture in the office. However, bigger global firms based in Japan are much more inclined to do so.

Related: How remote work widens your recruiting pool in healthcare and life sciences

Portals: the good, the bad and the ugly

Nowadays, clients often use an automated system where recruiters can upload a candidate’s CV onto an online portal. On this website, CVs are then tracked. It’s essentially an online database for clients. When they want to release a job, instead of contacting an agent directly, they put it up on the portal for all agents to see at the same time. The benefit of such automated portals for talent acquisition is eliminating interactions saving time for all parties.
 
The negative factor is that many candidates are very detail-oriented. They want to know more about the job that’s not necessarily in the job description, such as a company’s background story or what it’s like to work in that company. In particular, candidates care a lot about the products developed by the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.

So, the potential downside of a portal system is that a lot of information is missing, and candidates may not apply without those details. One element that can be improved in portals is the communication between hiring managers and recruiters.

Social promotion and being open to job opportunities

Companies should not underestimate the value of communicating directly with recruiters and partnering with agents. They might share positive stories about the company and more on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. It’s a trend that hasn’t yet caught on in Japan.  
 
Candidates should make the most of this opportunity, where even if they do not have 100% of the job requirements, they should still attend some of these interviews. They may learn something new and become even more interested in the company.

For more insights on the Healthcare & Life Sciences industry, download our exclusive Strategic Partnerships in Pharma eBook today.

Looking to hire? Get in touch with our recruitment consultants here.

Read more:
Talent mobility: An emerging hiring trend in Healthcare and Life Sciences
Strong demand for talent as CMOs and CDMOs continue to grow in 2022
What you need to know about ESG now