The Wall Street Journal - 22.08.2019

B6| Thursday, August 22, 2019 ** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.**

MANAGEMENT

Aflac Inc. shares slid

Wednesday on news reports

that a scandal at Japan Post

Holdings Co. included im-

proper sales of Aflac products.

Last month, Japan Post’s

insurance unit said it would

look into 183,000 policies sold

over the past five years. The

company said some of those

sales may have included im-

proper practices such as

charging premiums twice.

Media reports Wednesday

said Japan Post improperly

sold more than 100,000 Aflac

policies, in addition to the pre-

viously disclosed issue. More

than half of Aflac’s revenue

comes from the sale of supple-

mental health and life insur-

ance products in Japan.

Aflac shares fell 5.6% to

$48.98. Its shares are up 7.5%

for the year. Japan Post stock

is down 22% this year.

“We are conducting a rigor-

ous, voluntary review of postal

channel sales,” Aflac said

Wednesday. “Should we be-

come aware of any practices

that are inconsistent with our

compliance standards, we will

take the necessary action and

steps to address it immedi-

ately.”

Japan Post couldn’t be

reached for comment.

Aflac said last month that it

wasn’t aware of any compli-

ance issues related to its can-

cer-insurance policies sold

through Japan Post and that it

wouldn’t suspend sales.

Japan Post said it wouldn’t

set sales targets for its prod-

ucts this year, but Aflac said

the sales targets would con-

tinue for Aflac products sold

through Japan Post.

Japan Post sells Aflac’s

products in more than 20,000

post offices. These sales ac-

count for about 25% of Aflac’s

Japan sales of cancer, medical

and income-support insurance

products, according to Aflac’s

latest quarterly report.

The media reports indicate

that up to 20% of Aflac poli-

cies sold annually through

Japan Post could be under

scrutiny, said analysts at Ever-

core ISI in a note to clients.

BYNICOLEFRIEDMAN

Japanese

Insurer

Woes Hit

Aflac Stock

matter said, Alibaba filed confi-

dential paperwork for a Hong

Kong listing. Filing such docu-

ments gave the company a six-

month window to list, implying

it still has several months left

to revisit a listing. The precise

date of the original application

isn’t clear. Alibaba was ex-

pected to raise at least $10 bil-

lion in the share sale.

A second person, who spoke

with a member of Alibaba’s se-

nior management in recent

days, said the company wanted

to focus on its core business

and wasn’t in a rush to raise

capital. This person said weak

market sentiment and political

uncertainty were factors in the

decision.

The protests and Beijing’s

reaction have put a lot of pres-

sure on companies that do

business in China. Last week,

the chief executive of Cathay

Pacific Airways Ltd. resigned

under pressure from Beijing af-

Continued from page B1

duced demand make numerous

coal mines uneconomical to

operate, the report said.

In particular, the recent de-

cline in price for thermal coal

in the Atlantic Basin has ex-

ceeded Moody’s expectations.

The price for a metric ton of

thermal coal in the basin is

close to $60, compared with

roughly $100 last October, ac-

cording to data from FactSet

cited in the report.

Alliance Resource Partners

LP, Consol Energy Inc., Fore-

sight Energy LP, Murray En-

ergy Corp. and Wolverine Fu-

els LLC are concentrated in

domestic thermal coal,

Moody’s said, though some

say. Vague postings can attract

applicants who may not be a fit

for a role, overwhelming hiring

managers. Bland listings often

omit information—from day-to-

day responsibilities to annoy-

ing downsides of the job—that

could help a candidate make

sense of a company’s culture

and decide whether to apply.

Rise Science found its letter

drew more high-quality appli-

cations than a previous attempt

to fill the role using a shorter,

more traditional job descrip-

tion, says Leon Sasson, a co-

founder and chief technology

officer, who worked on the let-

ter with Mr. Kahn and col-

leagues. “It was by far the most

effective job search we’ve

done,” Mr. Sasson says.

The company drew inspira-

tion from the detailed job post-

ings of workplace software

maker Basecamp, whose post-

ings can stretch three or four

pages if printed. Basecamp

aims to provide a realistic view

of a role, including benefits

such as a humane work sched-

ule, as well as possible chal-

lenges, says David Heinemeier

Hansson, a co-founder.

A July posting for a senior

programmer at Basecamp notes

the pay—a salary range be-

tween $145,000 and $179,000—

and gives a list of specific proj-

ects the team recently tackled.

A listing for a customer sup-

port representative, starting at

$70,000, makes clear the per-

son will need to answer about

100 emails a day. A head of

marketing job posting caveats

that the person will have no

dedicated internal team and

spells out the company is look-

ing for “someone who’s eager

(but not annoyingly so).”

The company began provid-

ing more information in its job

ads because it wanted to reach

diverse candidates beyond

those who already knew its cul-

ture. Salary information saves

everybody’s time, preventing

someone from applying for a

job, interviewing “and then fig-

uring out we’re on completely

different planets when it comes

to pay,” Mr. Hansson says.

Even small tweaks to lan-

guage in job postings can de-

termine who applies for them,

companies have found. Phrases

such as “digital native” and a

“passion for social media” in

job postings can discourage

older applicants from applying,

according to a white paper re-

leased earlier this year by the

Association of Talent Acquisi-

tion Professionals.

But what makes writing job

postings difficult is that lan-

guageiseverevolving,says

Kieran Snyder, CEO of Textio ,a

company whose software ana-

lyzes job postings and recruit-

ing emails to make recommen-

dations to improve them. A few

years ago, Textio found the

most effective job ads had an

even split between language

describing the company and

outlining a candidate’s qualifi-

cations. The best posts now

highlight the organization, sell-

ing its strengths. “That shift re-

ally makes sense in a world

where job seekers are in

charge,” Ms. Snyder says.

Two years ago, Expedia,

which uses Textio, saw a bene-

fit to highlighting that a role

could include components of

data science. But as data sci-

ence became a “buzzword,”

that approach lost its effective-

ness, says Rupert Bader, senior

director of people analytics at

Expedia.

The tone of listings also

matters. Expedia found that

ads written with gender neutral

language attract higher-quality

candidates and fill five days

faster, Mr. Bader says. Another

company found that when it

emphasized its desire for can-

didates to possess a love of

learning and analytical skills,

more women applied, says Tex-

tio’s Ms. Snyder.

Cisco has seen that the

nouns, pronouns and verbs in a

job description can also impact

how quickly it is able to hire,

says Jason Phillips, a human

resources vice president. Using

Textio, Cisco found that

phrases such as “relationships

with customers” helped it fill

jobs faster, while jargony words

such as “trusted advisor”

turned candidates away. The

company analyzes its job post-

ings for gender and ethnicity

biases, using that as one step in

a broader process to promote

more inclusive hiring.

Talking Up a Job Requires New Language

Companies revamp

how they describe

positions to lure a

range of applicants

BRIAN STAUFFER

The Chicago startup Rise
Science wanted to fill an open
position recently, so it did
something unconventional: It
published a job posting as a
1,600-word letter from the CEO.
The missive, “A letter to our
future design lead,” begins with
a line rarely seen in a tradi-
tional career ad: “This role isn’t
for everyone.”
It then de-
scribes what
the company
does, how the
job may shift over time and
even why an applicant may dis-
like the position.
“We don’t have all the an-
swers,” says the letter, written
by Jeff Kahn. “If you’re not
comfortable iterating on the
same problem space for a long
time you won’t enjoy this.”
In a tight job market, com-
panies are revamping how they
write job descriptions, adding a
greater level of detail and
tweaking language to entice a
broader range of applicants.
Some companies now outline
specific salary ranges and de-
scribe what a week in the role
is likely to include. A number
explain the downsides of a job,
such as required on-call hours
or a high volume of emails. Em-
ployers such as online travel
company Expedia Group Inc.
and networking-equipment gi-
ant Cisco Systems Inc. use
software to adjust the wording
of postings to attract a diverse
mix of candidates.
The efforts reflect wide-
spread frustration with job
postings from applicants and
employers, recruiting experts

BYCHIPCUTTER

MANAGING
YOUR
CAREER

BUSINESS NEWS

weakened export market, will

bring more tons back into the

domestic market and could

drive prices lower, especially if

natural gas prices remain very

low and coal producers at-

tempt to maintain production

near current levels,” the report

stated.

The pricing pressure and re-

producers such as Peabody

Energy Corp. have a broader

international footprint.

While most of the operators

have contracts with buyers

through 2019, many don’t have

contracts locked in for 2020,

which will also play a role in

the expected earnings decline,

Moody’s said.

Although pricing in the met-

allurgical coal segment re-

mains favorable compared

with historical levels, weakness

in the steel industry will also

result in lower earnings, the

ratings company continued.

“End-market demand from

steelmakers is weakening and

escalating trade tensions in-

crease uncertainty heading

into 2020,” the report said.

Rising Chinese supply of

metallurgical coal and lesser

demand from Chinese steel-

makers are also expected to

put pressure on coal pricing,

Moody’s added.

A half dozen U.S. coal com-

panies have filed for bank-

ruptcy in recent months, most

recently Blackhawk Mining

LLC and Blackjewel LLC.

The U.S. coal industry, al-
ready reeling from slumping
demand as power plants
switch to natural gas, is in for
more hardship from weakening
export prices, according to a
report from Moody’s Investors
Service.
The ratings firm down-
graded its outlook for the sec-
tor to negative from stable,
noting a “substantive de-
crease” in export prices for
thermal coal, particularly in
Europe, putting the industry
on course for a 3% decline in
overall earnings before inter-
est, taxes, depreciation and
amortization over the next 12
months.
Moody’s outlook for thermal
coal, the kind used by power
producers, “is increasingly
stressed as economic, environ-
mental, and social factors
weigh heavily on demand from
utilities,” the report said.
“We expect a combination
of significant retirement of
coal-fired power plants in
2018, combined with a now-

BYALEXANDERGLADSTONE

Weak Export Prices Add to Coal Industry Woes

Ratings firm Moody’s downgraded the sector, warning of slumping demand especially in Europe.

MATTHEW BROWN/ASSOCIATED PRESS

ter employees of Hong Kong’s

flagship carrier took part in the

antigovernment protests.

Alibaba is the second nota-

ble share deal Hong Kong has

lost out on in recent months, as

the city’s markets have

slumped. As of Wednesday’s

close, the benchmark Hang

Seng Index has fallen 13% from

a closing peak in April, accord-

ing to Dow Jones Market Data.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA

called off a nearly $10 billion

listing of its Asian business in

July, citing market conditions.

That would have been the big-

gest initial public offering of

the year.

Meanwhile, the U.S. IPO

market has been hot this year.

Several banner names have

gone public, including Uber

Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc.,

Slack Technologies Inc., Pinter-

est Inc., Chewy Inc. and Levi

Strauss & Co, though Uber and

Lyft are trading well below the

prices where they went public.

So far this year, Asia-listed

IPOs have raised $33.3 billion,

according to Dealogic. In all of

2018, Asian IPOs raised $97.2

billion. Meanwhile, U.S.-listed

IPOs have raised $46.1 billion in

2019 after raising $60.8 billion

last year.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma,

who is set to step down as ex-

ecutive chairman soon, has had

to navigate shifting political

winds.

Last year, Mr. Ma said he

would consider listing Alibaba

in Hong Kong, in response to

an invitation from Hong Kong

Chief Executive Carrie Lam,

who is the target of protesters.

The company also explored a

second listing in mainland

China.

Hong Kong officials and in-

stitutions have worked hard to

court Alibaba and other presti-

gious Chinese companies. Last

year, the stock exchange

changed its rules to smooth the

way for large Chinese groups

already listed in the U.S. or

London to add a secondary list-

ing in the city and moved to al-

low listings by companies with

different classes of voting

stock.

Alibaba has a complex gov-

ernance structure that gives

Mr. Ma and other executives

more control than other com-

pany shareholders.

A Hong Kong listing would

create another large market for

Alibaba’s shares and bring in

more investors who are famil-

iar with the company, poten-

tially boosting its valuation.

Mainland Chinese investors can

buy and sell many Hong Kong

stocks via a trading link.

Alibaba

Postpones

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Listing

   

 



 





 







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