Takashi Shimamura is the Nike Japan HR Business Partner and Asia Talent Acquisition Director. He has extensive experience in talent planning and development for multinational operations. He moved into his new role to work beyond Japan in fast-growing Asian markets with underdeveloped talent pools. He believes Nike's brand is critical to employee engagement levels, as pride in working for Nike drives high engagement. Effective strategies for retaining and engaging staff include providing unlimited growth opportunities in some countries, while others focus on healthy work environments and team-oriented atmospheres. In general, career advancement and learning opportunities are top priorities for retaining future leadership talent.
Nike's existing talent acquisition strategy focuses on hiring high-caliber, globally-minded talent with innovative thinking from diverse channels worldwide. Younger employees have similar expectations of career growth as older generations, but are more honest about what work interests them. Staff well-being is measured both quantitatively and qualitatively, especially by how energized employees seem about their work and the company. The biggest challenges for a new human resources management role will be managing remote teams across Asia from Japan, while keeping up with fast growth in Asian markets through proactive talent forecasting and development.
