Hays Office Professionals PA/Secretary of the Year for 2012 announced

Tokyo, Nov 22, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - Professional attitude, speedy response, and adaptability are the top three traits executives in Japan seek in assistants, according to Hays Specialist Recruitment Japan KK ("Hays").

These are also qualities possessed by Tomoko Koike at Beckman Coulter and Yuko Mitsui at Almatis, the Hays Office Professionals PA/Secretary of the Year 2012 respectively for Japan's Kanto and Kansai regions. The winners have been recognized with a trophy and a one night stay at the Conrad Hotel in the Kanto region and the Hotel New Otani in Kansai. The awards were presented to the recipients just in time to mark Japan's Labour Thanksgiving Day, on 23 November, which is a national holiday commemorating labour and production.

"Personal Assistants (PA) are the backbone of most organisations - they support not only their managers, but the whole team. We created the Hays Office Professionals PA/Secretary of the Year Awards to promote and reward these exceptional professionals," says Christine Wright, Hays Operations Director, Asia.

Finance Controller at Almatis Steve Siao, who nominated Yuko, said she exemplifies the qualities needed for a successful PA. He commented, "Her motivation to learn has expanded her original roles and responsibilities - she has grown to become an important resource for our Frankfurt headquarters, as well as Japan."

Beckman Coulter President Noriaki Kawata, who nominated Tomoko, said she has helped to build a great rapport with business contacts domestically and abroad. He said, "Much of my success is thanks to her. She proactively supports me and the senior managers who report to me, and her hard work ensures that everything always runs smoothly."

According to Hays, executives also seek PAs who anticipate their needs, are proactive, make informed decisions and support them in all aspects of the business.

"We see that soft skills such as communication are vital. We have also noticed that although PAs are not expected to have overseas experience, they do need to be able to translate English to Japanese and vice versa, given the increasingly global nature of workplaces," says Christine.

Hays, the world's leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

About Hays

Hays is the leading global specialist recruiting group. It is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide.

Hays Specialist Recruitment Japan KK ("Hays") is the largest foreign recruitment company in Japan and operates across the private sector, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. Hays has been in Japan for more than a decade, and boasts a track record of success and growth.

Hays is the only foreign recruitment company in Japan to operate specialist business units composed of professionals with experience and expertise in the sectors they cover. Hays Japan's thirteen specialisms span Accountancy & Finance, Banking, Finance Technology, Human Resources, Hays Resource Management, Information Technology, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Office Professionals, Property, Sales & Marketing and Supply Chain.

Hays is also the only foreign recruitment company in Japan to operate three local offices, serving the Kanto region from Akasaka and Shinjuku, and Kansai from central Osaka. Hays Japan is the local representative office for Hays plc, which is a global company with more than 7,800 staff operating from 245 offices across 33 countries.

Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA.

Source: Hays

Contact:

Keiko Asakura
Hays Japan
Marketing Manager
+81 3 3560 2813
Keiko.Asakura@hays.co.jp