Leading Talent Innovations in Japan with Matt Best Podcast By cover art

Leading Talent Innovations in Japan with Matt Best

Leading Talent Innovations in Japan with Matt Best

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In this FocusCore podcast episode, host David Sweet interviews Matt Best, a Japan-based global talent acquisition leader with 25+ years’ experience across executive search, in-house TA, and transformation. Matt argues that the TA function should be a core business discipline tied to revenue, not an administrative HR function, and describes recurring “master–servant” dynamics in both agencies and in-house teams that prevent consultative advising. He explains his hybrid offering of retained executive search and “Talent Acquisition as a Service” (TAaaS), a temporary internal headhunting model that combines delivery with advisory work, capability-building, and direct sourcing, distinct from traditional RPO’s process-heavy “extra hands.” They discuss Japan-specific hiring realities requiring trust, networking, and softer outreach rather than LinkedIn-driven approaches, guidance for SMEs scaling fast, and the TA traits he hires for, especially business inquisitiveness and solution selling. Matt predicts AI will rapidly automate transactional TA work, shifting value toward strategic, high-touch stakeholder advisory and TA operations governance.The 2026 FocusCore Salary Guide is here: 2026 Salary GuideIn this episode you will hear:The unique challenges and solutions in talent acquisition across global marketsTransitioning talent acquisition into a core business disciplineThe role of culture and relationship-building in Japan's recruitment landscapeHow Talent Acquisition as a Service (TAaaS) is shaping hiring strategiesNavigating the complex dynamics between agencies and internal teamsProfiling innovative recruitment frameworks used by top financial firmsAbout Matt:Matt Best is a global talent acquisition leader with over 25 years of experience across agency executive search, RPO, and transformation roles. He believes talent acquisition is not an admin function, but a core business discipline closer to go-to-market sales than HR, as hiring decisions directly shape revenue, opportunity, and growth. Originally from North England, Matt has been based in Japan on and off since the early 2000s, beginning his career in London before moving to Tokyo.He has built high-performing recruitment teams serving firms such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and later moved in-house at Morgan Stanley, scaling technology hiring across Japan and Asia. He then joined RBS, recruiting across 11 countries from Australia to India, before helping design a trailblazing internal executive search function for Corning Inc. across APAC, which was later rolled out in the US.In 2014, Matt founded Best Practices to help organizations run talent acquisition as a revenue-enabling function. Now back in Japan, he advises on retained executive search and project-based talent acquisition as a service, supporting projects ranging from FinTech scale-ups to APAC market entry and post-acquisition C-suite builds.Matt is also a father of three, which he describes as his most complex operating model to date.Connect with Matt:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewbest/Best Practice: https://best-practice.co/Gig RPO: https://gigrpo.com/homeConnect with David Sweet:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdavidsweet/Twitter: https://twitter.com/focuscorejpFacebook: :https://www.facebook.com/focuscoreasiaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/focuscorejp/Website: https://www.japan.focuscoregroup.com/This podcast was proudly produced by Lisa Yasuda.“Doin’ the Uptown Lowdown,” used by permission of Christopher Davis-Shannon. To find out more, check out www.thetinman.co. Support independent musicians and artists.
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