News & Articles
Internal Job Posting Systems Bring Job Security Back To Japan
(Mitsubishi Fuso’s Internal Magazine, March 2007)
Long term job security is now a thing of the past as performance measurement systems are becoming the norm in Japanese companies. Thankfully, all is not doom and gloom in a world of job instability. Job requirements may change quickly as companies struggle to be competitive in an ever-changing market place, but internal job posting systems offer employees the chance to retrain and develop, thereby extending their employability. NTT and NEC are two Japanese companies spearheading the system’s adoption in Japan.
Given the potential gains to both the company and employees, the slow adoption rate of internal job posting systems in Japan is interesting. A combination of corporate politics and cultural issues (betrayal of the group if a member applies for a transfer) are 2 major issues undermining its popularity.
Japanese companies are evolving, and so must their human resource policies. Longer-term employment is still a possibility, but companies (by providing the system) and employees (by proactively taking advantage of the system) must both make a concerted effort to turn that possibility into a reality.