SALARY SURVEY 2013 - Robert Walters Singapore

TOKYOTOKYOHUMANRESOURCES,GENERALAFFAIRS&ADMINISTRATIONTOKYOHUMANRESOURCES,GENERALAFFAIRS&ADMINISTRATIONHUMANRESOURCES,GENERALAFFAIRS&ADMINISTRATIONRobertWaltersGlobalSalarySurvey2013309OurHR,generalaffairsandadministrationteamprovidespermanentandcontractstaffingsolutionsfromentrytodirector-levelpositionsforbothJapaneseandforeignmultinationalcompanies.Wecoveravarietyofrolesfromteamleaders,generalistsandbusinesspartnerstocompensationandbenefits,recruitment,payroll,executivesecretariesandsupportprofessionals.HumanResourcesMarketOverviewBusinessessteadilyhiredHRprofessionalsinvolvedwithday-to-dayoperationsin2012tosupportbusinessgrowth.However,multinationalorganisationscontinuedtheirfocusonhiringexperiencedHRbusinesspartnerstointegratetheirJapanofficesintolarge-scaleglobalstructures.Expandingpharmaceutical,onlineandmanufacturingcompaniessoughtseniorHRbusinesspartnerstointegratestaffhierarchystructures,consolidatebenefitssystemsandsuggestareastoreducecosts.Firmsalsoincreasinglyoutsourcedpayrollfunctionsin2012toreducecosts.BusinessessoughtC&Bprofessionalsandpayrollspecialiststoassistwiththisactivityastheyfocusedonimprovinginternalprocessesandintegratingvendorservicesintothebusiness.Withemployersscrutinisingcosts,generalHRsalarylevelsremainedstable.However,juniorHRprofessionalstypicallyreceivedincreasesof5-10%whenmovingjobs.ContractDemandforHRcontractorsremainedstrongthroughout2012,particularlyintheonline,retailandITsectors.WhilecompaniestypicallysoughtprofessionalswithstrategicHRexperience,skillsshortagesledmanytoinsteadfocustheirrecruitmentonimmediateday-to-dayHRrequirements.Asaresult,manyfirmswaitedinordertosecurethestrongestcandidateavailable.DuetogrowthintheITsector,mostcontractordemandwasfornewly-createdpositionssuchasrecruitersandHRspecialists.However,manyemployershiredcontractorstocoverworkloadsonatemporarybasis.Contractorstypicallypreferredtemporary-to-permanentopportunitiesastheysoughtlonger-termemployment.Outlookfor2013Weanticipatethatbusinesseswillcontinueoutsourcingtheirpayrollandsocialinsurancefunctionstovendorcompaniestoreducecosts.ThisislikelytoincreasedemandforHRprofessionalswithprojectmanagementexperienceandabackgroundofintegratingvendorservicesintoacompany.Asemployerscontinuetorestructureandglobalisetheirinternalprocesses,firmswillincreasinglyhireforroleswithcross-regionalresponsibilitiesandbilingualswhocanliaisewithregionalheadoffices.IntegratingJapanesehubsintoamultinationalnetworkislikelytomorecloselyalignlocalsalarybracketswithglobalstandards.Withtheyenremainingstrong,salariesmayfallasaresultofthisrestructuring.GeneralAffairs&AdministrationMarketOverviewRecruitmentdemandforadministrativeandsupportpositionswasquietin2012.Companiesrestructuredtheirteamsandsoughttosavecostsbyreplacingexperiencedprofessionalswithmorejuniorstaff.Asaresult,thenumberofmaturejobseekersincreasedin2012.Thisfocusoncostalsoledexecutiveandteamsecretaryjoblevelstofallasmanyemployersrestrictedsecretarialsupportforseniorexecutives.Atmultinationalcompanies,secretarieswereusuallyrequiredtosupportforeignexecutivesandperformednotonlytypicaladministrativedutiesbutalsotranslationandinterpretingtasks.However,themarketremainedshortofcandidateswithmulti-languagespeakingabilitiesandITskills.Duetorelativelylimitedbudgetforadministrativehiring,salariesremainedconsistentwith2012.Mostjobseekersfocusedonstabilitywhenconsideringnewopportunities,however,professionalswhochangedjobsreceivedincreasesofupto5%.ContractWesawaslightincreaseincontractjoblevelsasbusinessesbecamemorehesitanttocommittopermanentheadcountandfavouredtheflexibilityofferedbycontractors.Alackofsuitably-qualifiedbilingualcandidatesseekingrolesalsoledtoanincreaseinthevolumeofcontractorsbeingofferedpermanentpositionswhenheadcountbecameavailable.The2011InformationSecurityActcontinuedtorequirefinancecompaniestorecruitdirectcontractworkersratherthanshort-termtemporarystaff-primarilytoensureprivateinformationwashandledappropriately.Asaresult,wesawanincreaseinthevolumeoffixedtermplacements.Outlookfor2013Weexpectjoblevelstoremainconsistentin2013andmulti-lingualprofessionalstobeindemand.Englishlanguageabilitywillbesought-afterasJapanesefirmscontinuetoglobalisetheiroperationsandoverseasreportinglinesbecomemorecommon.TrilingualexecutivesecretarieswithfluencyinMandarinwillalsobeextremelyindemandasbusinesswithChinaincreases.Asrestructuringactivitycontinues,thevolumeofsupportprofessionalsactivelyseekingnewjobsislikelytoremainhigh.