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Staffing the Office
First Hires
The first employee(s) a company should hire will depend on its business initiatives and method of entry into Japan. Many companies start by using distributors for several years before opening their Japanese subsidiary to establish a customer base and a steady supply of revenue. It is still important for companies to work closely with their distributors even after opening their Japanese office and the 2 most critical hires are usually a supporting specialist and a channel manager. Some companies will bring on a Country Manager almost immediately to take on the responsibilities of channel management.
One of the common mistakes many companies make however is overloading a single employee with too many roles. For example, sometimes a company will expect a supporting technician to handle channel management in addition to customer support, product management, bug fixing and localization. Generally a good pattern to follow is to first hire a competent, bilingual specialist to support the product line, next a Country Manager to develop and support channels and plan expansion and third, a competent administrative assistant or Office Manager to support and free the specialist and Country Manager from time consuming administrative tasks.
The Country Manager
The Country Manager is arguably the most important hire for the Japanese office and will play an instrumental role in ensuring the success of the local operation. Companies should consider what their business objectives are in Japan and then set about finding a Country Manager who is best qualified to meet these objectives. There are many things to consider when choosing a Country Manager.
- Does he have a history of success or a history of failure?
- Does he have country management experience or is he a potential Sales Director who you think might make a good Country Manager?
- Can he communicate effectively with headquarters?
- Can he negotiate and win good terms from headquarters for the Japan office?
- Can he balance the business gap between headquarters’ interest in short term profits and Japanese customer’s long term views?
- Can he lead and manage a team?
- How well does he know your company’s market?
- How well does he know your company’s products?
- If you require a playing manager, does he have sound technical knowledge of your products and the applications they are used in?
- What key contacts does he have amongst channels and customers to drive your business?
- What is his reputation in the market?
There are of course many other considerations and it is very difficult to find someone with a full set of qualifications matching your company’s unique requirements. Starting companies may find that they have to replace a playing Country Manager to a stronger management focused person or a well known figurehead as their business begins to grow. Other companies prefer to dispatch someone from headquarters to lead the office for several years to ensure a desired culture is instilled and then identify and groom a local Country Manager for a smoother transition.
Back Office Support – Accountant, IT Manager, HR Manager?
Back office support can be costly for a start up, however it is a definite necessity. The best approach is to find a competent Office Manager who can organize administration, accounting, HR and IT functions through the use of outsourced vendors. When the company grows to around the 20 employee mark, you will need to consider full time staff for all of these 3 functions.
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