Meet our Employees
Proactively representing companies’ human resources desires through RPO and
aiming to revitalize Japanese society
Sei Okaniwa
I joined en world’s predecessor, Wall Street Associates K.K., in 2010. After nearly seven successful years in the Supply Chain department, I resigned from en world before launching and growing a recruiting firm in Myanmar. I returned to en world in 2021. I now leverage my experiences in managing enPower under the Recruiting Process Outsourcing (RPO) division.
- What is your current job description?
I manage enPower under the RPO division. “RPO” stands for “recruitment process outsourcing.” It refers to when a company outsources its recruiting operations to an external support service provider.
In actual practice, we provide comprehensive recruiting services—including sourcing candidates, selecting applicants, arranging interviews, making employment offers, and following up on prospective recruits—to foreign-affiliated and Japanese-headquartered companies in line with their recruitment plans.
RPO services differ from en world’s other services in that we go beyond just offering our recruitment expertise and helping visualize problems. As an outsourcing partner, the RPO division sends employees to work directly with companies and serves as the operational lead. The services are for companies that cannot devote resources to recruitment due to insufficient personnel or wish to improve or build new recruitment processes. I now manage the entire RPO division.
- What first brought you to en world,
and how did you make your way back? I have joined en world twice. I was first hired in July 2010, when I was 22, after graduating from a US university. It seemed like an exciting way to learn about various industries, and I have always enjoyed communicating with people, so I took the plunge into the recruitment industry.
In 2017, en world’s founder and my boss—who had been my mentor since I graduated—asked me if I wanted to come to Myanmar to establish a new company there. I left the company to go with him. In that sense, I resigned for a positive reason: to take on a challenge in a new field.
I loved how en world’s employees respected its culture and values while engaging in friendly competition, so I hoped to return someday.
I then returned to Japan in 2021 and was offered the position of RPO division head. I had no experience in the field, but I joined en world again with the desire to take on something new.
My curiosity toward the novel is the driving force in my career decisions.
- What have you gained from working in RPO?
RPO provides far more depth and breadth of information than being involved as a one-time recruiter because the account manager actually works full-time for the client company. That account manager will be involved with the client company for years so that we can understand its issues and areas for improvement over the long term. In this way, RPO allows us to work very closely with companies, so I have learned to accurately respond to client needs in all aspects of recruiting, from recruitment planning to overall recruiting operations.
Moreover, many companies use both recruitment and RPO services, but en world offers a significant advantage as it has accumulated expertise for over twenty years in the recruitment business. Working in RPO allows us to link our market expertise with our RPO services and provide the best solutions to our clients.
- How do you see the outlook for RPO?
It has only been around the last seven years that companies have begun to actively incorporate RPO. The market is relatively new compared to the placement and temporary staffing contracting businesses, so the possibilities seem endless. If we can provide unprecedented services or approach unsolved problems, we should expect to connect with industries and business sectors that are new to en world.
RPO is not a service that waits for applications as in the past; instead, it is a service that proactively approaches job seekers by utilizing en world’s expertise. Thus, companies without expertise, personnel, or a recruitment team will find RPO as a solution to bring in good people in a timely manner. Many Japanese companies are especially struggling with recruitment, so I expect services promising smooth and reliable recruitment to become more valuable.
- What do you find most rewarding about working at en world? Are there any challenges you would like to take on at en world in the future?
At the moment, RPO is not well known in Japan, and the market is still in its infancy, so there are no dominant players. So, I would like to start by improving our service quality, expanding our business, and increasing our name recognition to the extent that people associate RPO with en world.
Furthermore, I intend to expand our business to a broader scope, not just providing solutions for recruiting mid-level employees at foreign-affiliated companies, which is our long-held forte. I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of companies and people I can meet, no matter their location or age.
I also act as a recruiting agent when foreign-affiliated companies enter the Japanese market. I have attended international schools since preschool, so I would like to extend my focus toward demand not just in Japan but worldwide.
- What advice would you give someone looking to enter the recruitment industry?
First, you must be proactive in your work. The recruitment industry has no concrete rules or formulaic solutions, like “1 + 1 = 2.” That is why people with a variety of experiences have an advantage. It is essential to keep your antennae up always and absorb what you see and hear to accumulate experience.
Also, there are only 24 hours a day, so there is only so much you can learn independently. It is important to actively seek the opinions of others—both inside and outside the company—and give feedback yourself.
Second, find some advantages you have as a recruitment consultant. While still an inexperienced recruitment consultant, I memorized the supply chain database better than anyone else to quickly respond to client companies and job applicants.
Having strengths readily leads to self-confidence, and the synergy of mental stability through self-confidence makes it easier to get results at work. Each experience will broaden your horizons as a recruitment consultant.
- What do you think makes an outstanding recruitment consultant?
Being a recruiter requires interactions with a variety of people, so I believe it is good to have the ability to look at things objectively and understand that there are many different kinds of people. Formulaic inputs like “1 + 1 = 2” will not necessarily work with every client in the recruiting industry. In fact, failure is possible even when taking an identical approach. Understanding that reality is crucial because it can be stressful without it.
If you build a foundation of “this kind of thinking is possible,” you can build on your experience and give better service.
Is it a skill that excites you to meet more companies and people? Perhaps it is due to my tendency not to worry too much, but I believe the best way to work is to enjoy yourself whatever you do. This level of open-mindedness is a prerequisite for being a recruitment consultant.
- What thoughts do you have about your work?
I think the market for changing jobs or careers in Japan is challenging from a global perspective. I have the impression that a great many companies have recruitment problems that cannot be easily solved with a single solution, such as only using placement and recruiting or temporary staffing services. I find it very rewarding to think about how RPO will work in the future to solve companies’ recruitment problems in Japan.
If the new RPO solution gains recognition in Japan and is used by various companies, it will lead to growth for en world, growth for the user companies, and ultimately, revitalization of Japan as a whole.
I have been working at en world for nearly a decade. It has a great culture and values, but we should not forget the mindset its employees have to “understand others and grow together.”
I notice that intention to work together to grow the RPO business among my RPO team here at en world. I am glad to work with like-minded colleagues at such a historic company as en world, and I hope to further expand its business as a manager.
- *Information accurate as of November 2023.
- Career Overview
- First year with en world
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Associate Consultant, Supply Chain Management Department
I joined en world’s predecessor, Wall Street Associates K.K., straight out of university. I started my career as an associate consultant. With no work experience at all, I learned recruiting from the ground up through on-the-job training.
- Second and third years with en world
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From Consultant to Senior Consultant, Supply Chain Management Department
I first had the opportunity to speak with corporate HR and managers. I found it more rewarding despite the hardships I faced.
- Fourth through sixth years with en world
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Team Manager, Supply Chain Management Department
I managed my team and trained my subordinates while handling my accounts. I faced many challenges in my first management experience, but it provided an excellent opportunity for growth. We won the #1 Supply Chain Management Recruitment Team in Japan award two years in a row at the Recruitment International Asia Awards.
- Resignation from and rehiring by en world
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Launching and growing a recruitment agency in Myanmar
I worked to expand our business under my mission to become the top agent for mid-level to executive recruiting in a market with a nascent recruitment industry.
I returned to Japan in 2021 due to the coup d’état in Myanmar. In July 2021, I returned to en world Japan, where I have been ever since.