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Archive News 1999:
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BRADFORD, LEEDS AND TOKYO...
RELAY GOES GLOBAL!
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October 1999
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Many recruitment consultants will go that extra nine yards for their clients, but Steven Street of Relay Recruitment recently undertook a 14,000-mile round trip to interview and appraise a candidate.
Thirty four-year-old Jun Ji, a Chinese expert in climate control and thermo physics, currently working on his second doctorate at Tokyo Institute of Technology, had contacted Airedale International Air Conditioning in Leeds via the Internet. Although there was dialogue between Dr Ji and Relay via emails and the company’s interactive website, it was decided that a meeting was needed.
Says Steven, “Jun Ji’s field of expertise is a most valuable one to Airedale. He is currently working towards a PhD in refrigeration and it became evident that as a world authority on climate control, he had a potentially vital contribution to make to the company’s core product range.
Despite the efficiency of electronic communications and their use as an instant exchange of information, face-to-face meetings establish rapport with, and understanding of, individuals. As the potential partnership was of such importance to our client, it was decided that I would meet Jun.”
Steven travelled to Japan and interviewed the candidate at the Tokyo Hilton, in the city’s Shinjuku business district.
The meeting offered him some insight into the cultural differences between those in business and academia in the East and West. He says, “Despite sharing common technologies and similar markets, some of the personal sacrifices that people routinely make in pursuit of their career goals are astounding. This was illustrated by Jun Ji himself, who had only ever seen his nine-month-old son on video, since a heavy workload and tight finances prevented him from visiting Bejing. Apparently, this degree of separation is quite normal for those in Pacific Rim countries.”
Steven is currently preparing a report for Airedale, in which he will recommend that the company employ Dr Ji – either formally or as a consultant on project work.
Although plans are in place for a roll-out of Relay offices throughout West Yorkshire, he thinks it will be some years before the first Tokyo branch opens.
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