Centre People currently operate offices in London and Amsterdam and, to mark its 40th anniversary, will further strengthen its recruitment and HR services with the planned opening of a new office in Düsseldorf, Germany, in March 2026.

In this article, Centre People share an interview conducted as part of an overseas collaboration with our Japanese parent company QUICK (a global HR services firm.)
This interview of Mr Tsuchiya the Managing Director of Centre People; is to understand the philosophy and strategy underpinning the company’s continued growth in a rapidly changing market.

The article also includes voices of local team members who put this philosophy into practice in their daily work.

(Note: This article is based on an interview originally published in an external media outlet and has been re-edited and published as official content by Centre People.)

<Centre People’s Overview (as of January 2026)>

• Established in 1986; joined the QUICK Group in 2017
• European headquarters in London, providing professional HR recruitment services across the UK and Europe
• Three offices (UK, Netherlands, Germany), covering all 27 EU countries
• 40 years of recruitment experience in the UK, with strong recognition among Japanese companies operating in Europe for both permanent recruitment and temporary staffing
• Number of employees: 30
• Official corporate language: English (Japanese, French and Spanish also supported)
• Recruitment Business model: End-to-end recruitment, vacancy-led approach – “No Success, No Fee”

Our Services

• Candidate scope: From new graduates to executive level, sourcing talented professionals fluent in Japanese, English and local European languages
• Support industry: Finance, manufacturing, trading, IT, logistics, audit, professional services and more
• Vacancies: Over 60% of roles do not require Japanese language skills
• Solutions: From short-term temporary staffing to permanent hires, we provide flexible and timely solutions tailored to each client’s needs

— Thank you for your time today. To begin with, could you share your perspective on the current market environment? In Europe, we’ve seen significant changes in recent years, including the COVID‑19 pandemic and Brexit.

“You are absolutely right. The past few years have been extremely volatile, and the pandemic in particular was a very challenging period. Centre People primarily supports Japanese companies expanding into Europe, and immediately after the first lockdown in spring 2020, the number of new vacancies dropped dramatically to around 5 per month. Before COVID, we were consistently handling around 50 new vacancies a month, so the impact was severe. Some competitors were unable to adapt to this change and ultimately exited the market.”

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— Given all of that, how has Centre People managed to stay competitive and succeed in such challenging conditions?

“We saw this period of adversity as an opportunity to rethink our approach. Since there were fewer vacancies available, we shifted our focus to a candidate-led model. The quality of our candidate registrations ultimately determines how well we can support the companies we work with. Getting to know people — the very essence of recruitment — is where we devote our time and investment, without compromise. Employers, too, understood that strong talent was becoming available due to the pandemic, and when we confidently recommended candidates, they were willing to hear this from us. Our counter-intuitive strategy of “talent-based proposals”, breaking free from the traditional “job vacancy-driven” business model, proved successful.”

“Rather than relying on individual ability, we focused on building a structure in which knowledge and experience are shared across the team, allowing each member’s strengths to be fully utilised. As a result, we can now engage with every candidate as a unified organisation, enabling us to deliver the most suitable matches.

We believe that this approach is precisely what has allowed us to maintain a stable placement rate and earn continued trust, even in an increasingly challenging market.”

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— It sounds as though both strategic flexibility and a strong focus on people have driven Centre People’s growth. I heard that at the beginning of 2024, you introduced a new philosophy—could you tell us more about that?

“Our vision is to become the most trusted, comprehensive HR services partner for all Japanese companies operating across Europe. To achieve this, we defined two guiding principles: to become a ‘global recruitment agent delivering Japanese-standard service beyond language barriers’, and to ‘remain a pioneer in creating the best possible workplace’.

Within the idea of being a ‘pioneer of the best workplace’, we wanted to embed a strong message: instead of assuming the grass is greener elsewhere, we should first embody a workplace that others aspire to. Whenever we see good practices emerging on the ground, we make sure to capture them as internal knowledge or organisational initiatives—and, where relevant, we share.”

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— Was there any particular turning point behind this new philosophy?

“The key trigger was our first ‘Management Camp’ held in 2024. Separate from our usual meetings, we gathered over a weekend to seriously and openly discuss our ambition of becoming the No.1 HR services provider in Europe within the next ten years.

As we asked ourselves, “Given our current organisational structure and growth path, this is absolutely achievable. We’re facing the biggest opportunity yet, so what exactly do we need to do to seize it?” Through these discussions, our guiding principles became much clearer and more concrete.

We shared the full discussion record with the entire team and invited their thoughts. Many responded positively: “For the first time, the leadership’s dream felt real and tangible.”, “I could clearly picture new office openings and revenue targets, and it clarified what I personally need to work towards.”

Rather than allowing our vision to remain merely aspirational, we began translating it into concrete milestones and connecting them to individual growth. This cycle is now starting to take root.”

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— Sharing a collective vision and linking it to individual goals truly reflects an ideal organisational model. Are there specific values you prioritise in daily operations?

“Yes. We have defined 3 core company values that guide our actions:

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— Are these values also important when hiring your own employees?

“Absolutely. While we naturally consider hard skills such as academic background and professional experience, we place even greater emphasis on personal qualities. If we feel someone aligns strongly with our culture, we may approach them even if they originally registered with us as a candidate.

Although I make the final decision, the process leading up to it is highly collaborative. Team members from different roles and areas of expertise assess candidates from multiple perspectives, building a well-rounded understanding. Much like the “Four Eyes principle”, having multiple perspectives allows us to look beyond surface impressions and gain a more accurate understanding of a person’s true qualities and suitability.

And more than anything, when team members are involved in the selection process, they naturally feel a sense of responsibility — “We chose this colleague.”  That mindset naturally leads to a warm and supportive onboarding environment. No matter how much the organisation grows, we intend to preserve this collective approach to welcoming new colleagues.”

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— We’ve heard that the number of Japanese professionals working in Europe has been declining due to factors such as COVID-19 and the weaker yen. What are Centre People’s prospects going forward?

“The market for Japanese professionals in Europe is indeed shrinking due to factors such as reduced expatriate assignments and changing attitudes among younger generations towards working abroad. Reflecting this, the ratio of Japanese to local talent we now support has shifted to around 40:60. Fortunately, as we have always operated primarily in English, this transition was smooth.

However, we strongly believe that recruitment alone is not sufficient to support long-term business growth or employee retention. This is why we are focusing our efforts on comprehensive HR services that allow us to address organisational challenges and needs more deeply.
This includes coaching delivered by a senior member with international licences, support to strengthen communication between expatriates and local employees, and the design of performance evaluation systems.  Our aim is to strengthen organisational capability as a whole.

Through this approach, we move beyond traditional recruitment to become a long-term partner, helping to build the foundations for sustainable growth.

Many Japanese companies operating in Europe — even when their headquarters are large enterprises — run relatively small local subsidiaries, where HR systems may not be fully established. By leveraging the expertise we’ve built up over the past 40 years, we help solve these organisational challenges, contributing to improved retention and stronger overall performance. This is not merely about generating revenue from new services; it’s a strategic step towards building deeper, long-term relationships of trust with our clients.

Although our HR services are still relatively new, we have received far more enquiries than expected. We’re also seeing a growing number of cases where our HR services lead to opportunities in recruitment and staffing — a clear sign that individual services are beginning to connect into a broader, more integrated offering. Moving forward, while continuing to value recruitment as our core pillar, we aim to be a partner that supports organisations in addressing all kinds of HR challenges and in creating workplaces where employees can thrive for years to come.”

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— That sounds like a wonderful cycle. You described supporting clients as a “line” rather than individual points, but are there initiatives where you contribute more broadly — on an even wider, community level?

“Yes, indeed. If our efforts can contribute even in a small way to strengthening the presence and success of Japanese companies operating in Europe, that would be extremely rewarding for us.

This year marks Centre People’s 40th anniversary. Over these four decades, we’ve had the privilege of earning a strong reputation among our clients. Building on that foundation, we have been working in collaboration with Japanese consulates, chambers of commerce and major consulting firms to host joint seminars for Japanese companies across Europe.”

“Recently, we held a seminar for newly assigned expatriates, which attracted as many as 150 participants. Moments like this, when our expertise and network can serve the wider community, help build new layers of trust that ultimately connect back to our core business. It truly feels like a positive cycle.

While we continue to build strong, direct connections with each individual client, we also hope that these wider initiatives will allow us to contribute to the community as a whole — supporting not just individual lines, but the entire surface. That is the kind of presence we aspire to have.”

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