RPO case study: exceed diversity goals with employer branding, talent marketing and people analytics.
medtech company sets sights on increasing gender diversity in Japan
industry/client
a global leader in medical technology, services and solutionsgoals/challenges
Faced with ambitious gender diversity targets, the company’s operations in Japan struggled to attract female candidates to its open positions, particularly sales roles.solution
A recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) program, underpinned by value-added services including diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, employer branding, talent marketing and people analytics to help attract female talent, was implemented.key results
After the first six months of the program, 51% of hires have been female employees, and the company is well on its way to meet and exceed its diversity goals.
barriers to achieving diversity goals
As part of a visionary five-year organizational diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) roadmap, this leading medical technology company set new goals to accelerate diverse representation, with the intention for women to hold 45% of manager-and-above positions globally by 2026.
To that end, the organization adopted a leader-led model, empowering regional and local leaders to address unique barriers and develop individualized plans to reach gender equity and help contribute to broader organizational goals.
In support of this global ambition, a target of hiring more than 50% female workers was set for the company’s operations in Japan. This representation target is especially challenging in Japan, where dynamic market conditions, coupled with traditional cultural norms, present unique hurdles.
Despite a rise in the female labor force participation rate, women in leadership roles remain scarce in Japan compared to other markets, and the same holds true for sales positions. With limited daycare options, women traditionally take on the lion’s share of childcare responsibilities, and as a result, many working mothers are unable to pursue full-time careers and opt for part-time roles, which creates barriers to advancement.
The bulk of vacancies to fill within the company are sales roles require frequent travel and are based in remote locations around the country, which presents additional challenges when attracting female talent.
While the company already had engaged another vendor on a global recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) program with operational delivery in Japan, accelerating the pace of change to advance female representation required a strategic partner — one that could provide value-added services to deliver on inclusive hiring practices and shape gender-specific employer branding strategies.
speaking directly to female talent
Working with Randstad Sourceright, the company implemented an RPO program for its Japan operations, supported by DEI subject-matter expertise, business intelligence and talent marketing — all essential capabilities in meeting the ambitious diversity goals.
Efforts to revitalize the company’s employer brand while enhancing targeted talent attraction strategies were made early in the program to lay the foundations for initial success.
Having achieved Great Place to Work Certification™ for two years in a row, the company offers varied ways to keep diverse talent engaged in an effort to reduce barriers to success. These include offering flexibility in how work is done, from hybrid and fully remote work arrangements, and providing all employees with young children in Japan an annual subsidy for childcare expenses. In addition, a thriving internal women’s network exists to foster relationships among female employees across the organization and promote mentorship.
A renewed focus on the employee value proposition (EVP) was launched to reinforce these benefits, reflect the employee experience and underscore the company’s commitment to DEI, health and well-being. In addition, the careers site and job descriptions for all vacancies were updated to include inclusive language and strengthen key EVP messages.
The company also adopted a new strategy to speak directly to female talent via monthly “hiring talk” sessions featuring women leaders and role models within the organization. These webinars have allowed potential candidates to connect and engage directly with company leaders, and demonstrate the various career paths and career development opportunities while amplifying the authentic experience of female employees.
As part of the RPO, the company has gained access to Randstad Sourceright’s market assessment, business intelligence and competitor analysis subject matter experts to shape inclusive hiring strategies and make better informed hiring decisions. With the adoption and implementation of Randstad Sourceright’s TalentRadar people analytics platform, the organization benefits from robust and accurate recruitment data to better understand skills supply and demand, forecast talent needs and measure recruiting performance.
The company also benefits from the value-added services it was seeking. These include a recruitment sourcing framework, recruiter toolkit framework, extensive training and real-time data and insights to continually enhance its diversity recruitment efforts.
exceeding diversity hiring goals
Despite an ambitious diversity hiring target and the challenges of the labor market in Japan, the company is already achieving early results and improving gender diversity.
Thanks to its new EVP and talent marketing strategies, 51% of new hires are female, and the company has reduced its time to hire by more than 10%. The medtech leader was also able to avoid additional external agency fees and exceeded its goal of sourcing talent directly through the RPO with Randstad Sourceright.
Through this partnership in Japan, a proven roadmap is now in place to continue driving accelerated change and support global organizational-wide DEI goals.