In part two of this entry, we look at some ways to deal with the challenges we covered in part one.

As an Australian company looking to setting up shop in Tokyo, your first hire is quite likely to be a country manager. You may be tempted to use a recruitment agency. But whichever path you go, you will very likely be presented with some candidates who might look quite good on paper: mid 40s, good university, reasonable English skills, years of experience at one or maybe two substantial Japanese companies. Be very careful here. It is very unlikely that these candidates are not being put forward to you because they have an urge to work for a small Australian office. Rather, chances are they have hit a career brick wall at their Japanese employer and have been encouraged to leave. You’ll often find that these candidates, name university and employer notwithstanding, are not good performers, will not adapt well to a new corporate culture, will lack initiative and motivation, and will not have the skills to run your office. Alternatively, you may find yourself looking at a resume with a candidate who’s moved from company to company. Again, be careful. Job hopping in Japan is a stronger warning sign than it is in Australia. Of course, you might get lucky with either of these candidates, but I recommend a thorough vetting process.

So what to do? Consider an expat. There are many advantages. First, there are a lot of foreigners, including many from Australia, who have put in considerable time in Japan, speak the language, understand the culture, know their way around, and have held positions of responsibility. They’ll often have impressive personal networks and will be able to offer you helpful advice, from a compatible standpoint. With an expat, communication with head office is smooth, and they can act as an effective go-between with your local staff. If you hire your expat locally in Japan, you likely won’t need to offer outsize salary packages. But even hiring from countries like Australia, you’ll often find people looking for a chance to return to Japan with a more senior position, and the hiring costs can still be quite reasonable. And if you can offer career growth back in the expat’s home country, you can also enjoy real loyalty. Just one word of warning: one or two years teaching English in Tokyo does not make a Japan expert.

Even better, combine your expat with a talented local assistant manager. Japanese women have often be called the nation’s most underutilized resource, and while women are slowly being given more opportunities—out of sheer necessity if nothing else—there are still many who prefer to work at foreign companies where their skills are often better appreciated. Women in Japan will often have more overseas experience than men, and some good varied experience, including previous work with foreign companies. It is not difficult to find people with good language skills to go with cultural understanding, and a very strong work ethic. A position as assistant manager of a small office can often appear very attractive to someone who is not satisfied with the opportunities being provided by domestic firms. Even an assistant to the manager position can bring very qualified candidates who can provide excellent support to your country manager.

Another approach is to look for candidates with non-traditional backgrounds. I have in several cases successfully hired people who had spent their 20s working overseas in Japanese NGOs, often in positions that gave them a great deal more responsibility than they would have otherwise experienced. That background may not appeal to a lot of traditional Japanese firms, but it makes them ideally equipped to take on responsibility and pitch in with tasks in a small office.