Episode #284: Grant Torrens — Managing Director, Hays Japan

“First thing I’d say is do it… just throw yourself into it.”

“Spend the first ninety days getting to know the people… listening… before acting.”

“Communication here is more high context… there’s a lot of reading between the lines.”

“Trust is doing what you say you would do.”

“A leader is someone who takes a strategy and a vision breaks that down into habits and empowers people to execute.”

Brief Bio

Grant Torrens is an Australian recruitment leader and long-tenured Hays executive who became Managing Director of Hays Japan after a two-decade, multi-country journey with the firm. He joined Hays in London in 2006 through its graduate program—initially as a jobseeker who “fell into recruitment”—working a demanding hedge-fund desk in the City. After navigating the Global Financial Crisis, he took a career break to travel across Southeast Asia, where a short visit to colleagues in Singapore turned into a relocation, leveraging Hays’ global internal mobility and his transferable financial-services recruitment expertise. Years later, he was offered the Japan role—but COVID-era border restrictions meant he effectively “ran Japan from Singapore” for about 15 months, relying heavily on his Japan leadership team and building data-driven management systems to lead remotely. When he finally relocated to Tokyo, he focused on deep listening, high-clarity communication, and change management—while guiding Hays Japan through a strategic shift toward stronger service for Nikkei clients and hiring more Japanese nationals, including team members who don’t work in English.

Narrative Summary

Grant Torrens’ leadership story is built on three threads: global mobility, remote-first problem solving under pressure, and culture-building at the intersection of Hays’ global norms and Japan’s high-context communication.

He joined Hays “by accident” in London—starting in financial services at a moment when the City rewarded performance and speed, then learning to survive and adapt through the post-2008 shock. The early lesson that carries forward is pragmatic: when conditions change, your approach must pivot too. That mindset shows up repeatedly in his later Japan leadership—especially when COVID delayed his physical move and forced him to lead Japan from outside the country.

During that “remote with a capital R” period, Torrens deliberately upgraded the mechanics of decision-making: he turned raw sales and activity data into usable management information, taught himself Excel at a much higher level, and used those insights to create sharper, more useful conversations over video calls. The underlying idea is simple: if you can’t rely on presence, you rely on clarity—data clarity, expectation clarity, and communication clarity.

Once on the ground in Japan, his operating principle remained “listen first.” He emphasizes that many leaders arrive, see processes that look “wrong,” and try to replace them with headquarters logic—only to discover later those practices existed to serve customers and local realities. His antidote is explicit: spend the first ~90 days learning, not executing change. In Japan specifically, he adds two important nuances: (1) communication tends to be high-context—direct bluntness that feels “normal” in Australia/UK can land badly in Japan, and (2) trust is tightly linked to process—nemawashi and broad involvement matter, even if it slows decisions compared to London-style speed.

On culture, Torrens frames “Grant culture” as mostly aligned with Hays culture after 20 years inside the firm—but he still sees leadership latitude inside the umbrellas of global standards and Japanese expectations. His chosen lever is change: he wants a culture where change is less feared and more celebrated. That includes giving people “permission” to try, treating mistakes as learning data, avoiding public blame, and celebrating wins so innovation feels worth the effort. He also highlights the practical friction of language and meaning: even company values can translate oddly, so global messaging must be adapted carefully—especially as Hays Japan expands its Nikkei-facing business and hires more Japanese-only speakers.

Q&A Summary

Why did you choose recruitment—and how did Japan happen?
Recruitment wasn’t the plan; it was an opportunity in London when he was unemployed and out of options. Japan was always in the background, but Singapore became the stepping stone because it was an easy transition into Asia—English-speaking, same company, and the financial services sector was transferable.

How did you lead Japan while stuck in Singapore during COVID?
Two pillars: a supportive Asia boss and a strong Japan management team. Personally, he built better reporting/insight systems—turning “raw data” into actionable information—so he could manage outcomes without relying on physical visibility.

How do you build trust in Japan?
He treats trust as universal but harder-won in Japan if you ignore high-context communication and consensus processes. Practically: reciprocate trust, be fair, do what you say you’ll do, and follow verbal messages with written confirmation to reduce misunderstanding—especially across language boundaries.

How do you get bottom-up ideas in a high-context culture?
He uses second-level (and broader) conversations—while explicitly asking permission and explaining intent so it doesn’t feel like bypassing managers. The goal is pattern recognition, not “who said what about whom.”

What advice would you give a leader moving to Japan?
Do it. Then: listen before acting (including to customers), communicate with extra clarity (avoid slang/idioms), and intentionally build a culture where change is normal and safe—because the organization will look different in 3–10 years no matter what.

Timecoded Summary (approximate — transcript provided doesn’t include official timestamps)

[00:00] Introduction and background

[03:00] Joining Hays in London (2006), hedge funds, early lessons

[12:00] Singapore move via internal mobility after Asia travel

[22:00] Offered Japan role, then COVID: running Japan remotely for ~15 months

[30:00] Building insight systems; Excel upskilling; managing via clarity

[40:00] Japan leadership realities: nemawashi, permission-based second-level meetings

[50:00] Culture and change: permission to try, learning from mistakes, recognition

[58:00] Leadership definition: strategy → habits → empowerment

About the Author

(Author credentials as provided in the series boilerplate.)