HR SERVICES SPECIAL

CIOADVISORAPAC.COM
APRIL - 23- 2019

Hiroki Nakashige,
CEOLEADING THE

RECRUITMENTGAME

IN ASIARGF INTERNATIONALRECRUITMENT$15CIO Advisor

1April 2019

COVER STORYAll eyes in the business world are on Asia.
Considered as the “engine of globalgrowth,” today, multinational corporations
and foreign direct investors alike areflocking to Asia to savor a slice of this emerging
market. Reports by the United Nations confirm that
Asia is the largest recipient of FDI at present withinflows touching $467 billion. However, the region's
newfound role as the industrial hub of the world
means that currently, the competition for top talentin APAC is cut-throat, and only expected to intensify
in the coming years. Employers are already facing
the hard-hitting truths and imbalance in the labormarket—given the shift toward Industry 4.0—wherethe demand for skilled workforce is high, the supply
of expertise is low, and consequently the competition
to win them over is stiff. For organizations looking
to tap into the vast talent market in Asia, look nofurther than RGF International Recruitment—thebridge to a better world between employers andjobseekers.
Based out of Hong Kong, RGF International
Recruitment offers unrivaled HR solutions anddelivers high-caliber candidates from senior
executives and specialists to staff with industry
experience across various roles. The company is a cut
above their competitors in the market as these players
have their roots in UK and US, but RGF on the other
hand was founded in Asia to cater specially to theneeds of the Asian market. As a result, the company
has the biggest footprint in Asia with 46 offices in 26
cities, houses over 900 specialized consultants, andoversees above 10,000 placements per year. Whatfurther cements RGF’s leading market position is thefact that they are part of Recruit Group, currently
the largest HR services and information company
in Japan and the fourth largest recruiting company
in the world. Recruit Group is world-renowned andoperates out of 60 countries and is a frontrunner inthe HR space with close to six decades of industry
presence, offering a wide range of boutique HRservices from permanent and contract recruitment
to job boards. When organizations come onboard
with RGF they can be rest assured that they havesigned up with one of the best as the company not
only has strong industry backing and extensive

CIO Advisor

12 April 2019

RGF

INTERNATIONALRECRUITMENTLEADING THE

RECRUITMENTGAMEIN ASIAWe aim to unleash the fullpotential of individual talents andemployers in Asia by providing
consistently superior HR solutions
by leveraging our premium
network and vast database

Hiroki Nakashige,
CEOCIO Advisor

13 April 2019domain knowledge but is also driven by adeep-seated passion. “We aim to unleash
the full potential of individual talents andemployers in Asia by providing consistently
superior HR solutions by leveraging ourpremium network and vast database,” states
Hiroki Nakashige, CEO of RGF InternationalRecruitment.

• Service Brands under RGF International Recruitment

The One-Stop Shop for Recruitment

The company offers a plethora of recruiting
solutions, where it covers both retained
and contingency assignments along with afocus on cross border recruitment needs.
The rapid shift toward localization of global
companies and globalization among local
companies in Asia has fueled substantial
growth in the full-time employment
market. To meet the burning recruitment
needs at all levels across industries andfunctions that transcend national and cityboundaries, RGF International has three
distinct service brands—RGF Executive
Search, RGF Professional Recruitment, andRGF HR Agent.
RGF Executive Search primarily aims at helping
multinationals, as well as local companies, attract
leaders, on both retained and contingent basis forsenior executive and mid-level management roles.
Today, with the rise in novel technology, there
is a constant need for specialists who are adept at
new processes and roles, such as data mining andmachine intelligence, placing great pressure onorganizations to fill niche positions quickly andaccurately. "The key value of Executive Search is toprovide 'advisory and market mastery' supported bystrong in-house research and the rich experiences ofconsultants specialized in each industry. We find theright candidate for hard-to-fill positions and continue
to fully utilize our vast network in Asia, built on
personal relationships and trust,” states Nakashige. It
comes as no surprise that, at present, RGF Executive
Search has carved a niche in the industry with aphenomenal track record in client retention rates
alongside multiple awards and testimonials to theircredit.
RGF Professional Recruitment, on the otherhand, helps organizations quickly find the best
local, bilingual talent for mid-level management
and specialist roles. The entity caters to employersthat expect a high volume of qualified and active
candidates at speed. Keeping in mind the needs atCIO Advisor

14 April 2019

hand, the company works with a sense of urgency and is thebest source for such recruitment, owing to their active bilingual
database, which comprises over 500,000 candidates in Asia.
Lastly, RGF HR Agent fills a range of managerial, specialist,
and staff positions in Japanese companies that require
Japanese language skills. They coordinate with Recruit
Group to identify Japanese candidates and also provide
career counseling to match employee aspirations with theideal job opening. The brand holds a deep understanding ofJapanese companies owing to their powerful database andnetwork that has over 380,000 candidate information andleads in the Asian market for Japanese speaking recruitment
outside Japan.
The industry is abuzz with RGF's success stories and theyare lauded by organizations both large and small. For a leading
software vendor, RGF Executive Search helped them findmore than 90 percent of their permanent hires including all
the members in the management team. The Country Manager
for the client was all praises for RGF Executive Search anddescribed them as an excellent partner to work with. He said
RGF made huge efforts to understand their business and bringtalented bilingual staff. The client did not lose a single hire
and they continue to retain RGF’s services. Another impressive
testimonial is that given by the VP of International HR ofa leading imagery company who spent 11 years in Japanworking as a global staffing manager. He mentions, “I havedealt with numerous search firms in Japan during the past
15 years, including all of the major multinational retained
recruitment firms as well as local contingency companies andwould rate RGF Executive Search
Japan as one of, if not the best
search company in Japan. They
strive to understand the needsof the client in a very proactive
and comprehensive manner andhave always presented superior
candidates in a timely andeffective manner. When I havehiring needs in Japan, they arealways my first choice.”• RGF’s footprint in Asia

Superior Values at its Core

A strong solutions portfolio
is undoubtedly a major driverof growth and popularity forthe company, but anotherfactor which makes them standout is their profound vision,mission, and values. While
next-gen technology such as
AI and machine learning play
an impactful role in redefining
industries today and are often
seen as a replacement to humantalent, Nakashige holds a different opinion. He says thattechnology is one of the 'How(s)' to enable people tofurther focus on the value creation that only humans cando. “While we are in full support of bringing technology

including AI into our business to drive productivity such as
eliminating manual work, our aim is to use technology to
fully enhance the power of humans and not replace it. For us
it is about harmonizing the power of art and science (peopleand technology), to reach new heights in the HR solutions
landscape.”
Onthatnote,
RGF
International Recruitment willcontinue to invest in growing
their consultants, which theybelieve is their distinctive
strength, through enrichinglearninganddevelopment
opportunities. Apart from this,developing and aptly placing
future leaders will be a toppriority for the company. On
an ending note, Nakashige
says, “The role of an executive
search and recruitment firm
has evolved in recent years. It
is no longer a volume game, andwe go beyond recruitment byacting as a business partner toour clients and being a ‘strong
bridge’ between employer andemployees.”

For us it is about
harmonizing thepower of art andscience (peopleand technology),
to reach newheights in theHR solutions
landscapeCIO Advisor

15 April 2019

HR SERVICES SPECIALhonors

RGF International Recruitment
withHRSERVICES
TOP 10 APACPROVIDERS - 2019For exhibiting excellence in delivering
HR services for the Asia-Pacific region

sraging Te
cve
LebusinessACeAP

ogy forolhn

Selena James
Selena James

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR APAC BUSINESSESAPRIL - 23 - 2019

Company:

RGF International
Recruitment

Key Person:

Hiroki Nakashige
CEODescription:
Manages the entire
recruitment process
to deliver outstanding
candidates for requested
managerial and specialistpositions

Website:rgf-hr.com

Managing Editor

CIOADVISORAPAC.COM

Top 10 HR Services Providers - 2019

HR technology is undergoing one of the most disruptive
periods than what it has seen in a decade. The influx of newtechnologies has upped the ante for HR managers to usher
sophistication and flexibility in processes for attracting
talent, engaging with employees, and improving business outcomes, allat the same time. The significance of incorporating these cutting-edge
technologies cannot be stated enough and in realizing that, companies
have started turning to HR service providers to help them add a whole
new dimension to the way they manage people and practices, andaccount for an efficient and productive workforce environment.
At the forefront of all advancements, people analytics has emerged
as the next hot topic in the HR service domain. HR consulting companies
are employing predictive analytics models to provide meaningful
insights into a company’s workforce and forecast what is likely to happen
and why it’s likely to happen. In addition, considering the deluge ofmobile solutions, HR service providers are also emphasizing more on
making use of intuitive and interactive mobile-first applications. Mobile
technology has paved the way for employee self-service, allowing for
an increasingly global and mobile workforce to connect and collaborate
with each other.
In an effort to help companies nurture a more productive andengaging workforce, a panel of prominent CEOs, CIOs, CHROs,and analysts, along with the CIO Advisor APAC’s editorial board has
assessed scores of HR service providers and picked out a list of prime
choices. In our selection process, we looked at the vendor’s capability
to fulfill the need for cost-effective and flexible services that add value
to the HR landscape. We present to you CIO Advisor APAC’s “Top 10 HR
Services Providers - 2019.”