Hays

One of the world’s leading recruitment companies is Hays. Its global operations span 32 countries, employing 7,988 employees in 257 offices. The biggest growth area is the Asia-Pacific area where Hays has 46 locations throughout Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. The company has been in Japan for 11 years.

Overseeing the Asia-Pacific region is Nigel Heap who has been with Hays since 1988. Currently based in Sydney, Heap is responsible for seven countries – Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

Japan Today editor Chris Betros catches up with Heap during a recent visit to Tokyo.

How often do you travel?

I’m on the road about 40% of the year, but I enjoy doing the rounds.

The company must have changed a lot since you joined in 1988.

When I joined, we were still a private company and operated only in the UK and Australia. Today, we are a UK-listed public company in 32 countries and the vast majority of our business is now outside the UK.

Has the business changed much since you joined?

In terms of the recruitment market, it has changed. Back in 1988 when I joined the company, everything was done manually. No one had detailed CVs back then. They would fill in a form and we would put it onto a word processor. We used to fax CVs. If the office didn’t have a fax machine, we had to send someone to a fax bureau down the road.

But the art of recruitment hasn’t actually changed. I’ve yet to see technology replace the art of recruitment. The phone is still the most important tool – even more so than email. Our most successful consultants are always on the phone.

What about the image of recruiters?

In the UK and Australia, for example, the recruitment industry as a whole is more widely respected and used by companies and candidates alike. I think one reason is that the industry is probably more regulated and the unscrupulous players have been weeded out.

Does Hays’ business model change from country to country?

The business model we operate is largely similar in all countries where we are. I say largely because there are nuances and you do have to be culturally sensitive to how business is conducted in each country. The nuances have more to do with the maturity of the market and the extent to which candidates come to us through word of mouth or by online advertising, which differs in some markets.

Where is Hays growth coming from?

Currently, about 70% of our revenues come from outside the UK. Most of the growth in the last four years has come from the Asia-Pacific region where Japan is our second largest market behind Australia. Globally, in terms of revenues, Japan is our 7th largest market. We are growing substantially. Most of the countries that we operate in have strong economies. India, Russia, Mexico are all coming online and starting to produce more income.

What is the outlook for the Asia-Pacific region?

We’re very bullish about Japan. It has been largely unaffected by what is happening in Europe. One key performance indicator is the amount of interviews we have organized for candidates going to clients. In Japan, those numbers are at all-time record levels.

China is still growing and we see plenty of opportunities. Hong Kong and Singapore both got hit hard by the European financial crisis because their economies are largely built on investment banking and trading. It will be tough for the first half of the year. In Australia and New Zealand, we are still growing – Australia, in particular, in anything to do with the energy, oil and natural gas sectors.

How are mobile technology and social media changing the business?

Mobile technology so far has had a small impact on the recruitment world in that most individuals who apply to a recruitment company for a job are applying at work from their computer. That is going to change. For example, we are developing our website to be enabled for application for PDA and mobile phones.

In terms of social media, it is another channel to find candidates. We welcome any channel that makes it easier to find candidates. Linked In is geared toward professionals, so we use it to attract candidates. But still only a small percentage of candidates that we place come from Linked In.

As for Facebook, it is a way of getting our brand across but it is not yet a major source of candidates.

What are your marketing methods?

In Asia-Pacific, we typically spend about 4% of our fees on marketing. That’s everything from print and online advertising to producing the Hays Salary Report. About 90% of our marketing expenditure goes on job ads.

Online job ads are increasing, but in some markets, we still do a lot of print ads. In Australia, we use newspapers because people still use print media to find new jobs. We use our job ads there as a branding method to show a prospective job seeker what roles we have available. Our clients also look at job advertising and if they see us being the pre-eminent advertiser, that means we are likely to attract the most and best candidates.

How much autonomy do you give country managers?

Branding, corporate governance and compliance are all areas where there is no autonomy. There are certain “tram tracks” and once they are defined, in between them, is down to the individual country manager. When I do the rounds, typically, I’m here for two days and it is a combination of operations reviews with the country manager and some one-on-one time with their team. Plus we often have a company-wide meeting where I can communicate group and regional results and initiatives.

What would you say are Hays’ strengths?

Our consultants are our primary asset. If we train and retain the right people, we will have a successful business. If we give a good service to help someone find a new job or help a client find the right person, they will come back to us.

Is staff turnover high?

It varies, reflecting the demographics of each country we work in. In Japan, it is lower than, say, Australia. To a certain extent, I encourage staff turnover because you don’t want to retain the worst-performing employees, but you do want to bring new talent and new energy.

What sort of personality makes a good recruiter?

We look for someone who is confident, has social skills, is resilient and can take knockbacks, people who have the ability to think on their feet. This is a job where you are constantly multitasking, prioritizing what you are doing. You need to have lots of energy and be very proactive.

What advice would you give to both prospective clients and candidates before they choose to work with a recruiting company?

Clients should ask if a recruitment company has demonstrated that they have the candidates for your job. They must feel the consultant is credible, knowledgeable and professional. In that sense, a strong brand is important.

For a candidate, make sure you are going to a consultant who has specialist knowledge about your industry and your discipline. You’re looking for a recruiting company that can give you a choice of jobs.

When you are not on the road and not working, how do you like to relax?

I like watching the English cricket team and Manchester United. I also enjoy reading a lot of classic English, French and Russian literature.

© Japan Today