◆Approx. 50 companies surveyed
In April of this year, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare published “Successful Case Examples of Foreign Worker Employment – For Working Smoothly with Foreigners -“, which was based on the results of a survey to ascertain the working conditions of foreigners employed at Japanese companies.
http://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/houdou/0000160961.html
A study group composed of experts analyzed the results of a hearing survey targeting approx. 50 companies which employ foreign workers, and complied a collection of successful case examples. Based on these, the following 3 points were identified for working smoothly with foreigners.
(1) Create a working environment which is appealing to foreigners, and choose an efficient recruitment / employment path after clearly identifying the type of person your company wishes to hire
Foreigners working in Japan are generally dissatisfied with “lack of transparency in the evaluation system” and “slow advancement”. As such, to retain excellent foreigner workers, it is important to create a working environment that is appealing to them by “clarifying duties” and “creating fair systems of evaluation and remuneration”. This will contribute to retention of foreign employees, and prevent them from quitting early due to a mismatch in expectations.
(2) Aim for a borderless working environment in terms of language, ability development, psychological support, health and safety, and religion and culture
By improving the Japanese skills of foreign employees, it will promote smooth communication with Japanese employees, and lead to an increase in productivity. At the same time, by improving workplace communication, this will not only lead to an improvement in your foreign employees’ Japanese skills, but also to an improvement in the language abilities of your Japanese employees.
(3) Proactive support so that foreign employees can live independently as residents
For foreigner employees starting a new life in Japan, there are many procedures, such as administrative procedures, procedures for securing a place of residence, and opening a bank account, which are difficult, and become a burden and source of stress. As such, proactive support, such as introducing facilities which are necessary for day-to-day living, like hospitals and supermarkets, and sending a Japanese employee along to help with procedures, are required until a foreigner can achieve independence in their lifestyle.
◆A reference for improving foreign employee management
As Based on these principles, the booklet summarizes points including “recruitment / hiring”, “assignment / evaluation”, “improvement of working environment”, “education / training” and “life support”, and lists companies which are considered to be successful examples. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare would like this to be a reference for any companies which are considering hiring foreign employees, or would like to improve foreign employee management, regardless of the industry or size of the company.
