In Tenda’s early days, recruitment, finance, and other such matters were all managed by Assistant Xin, with the administrative team members only helping her.
But as the company grew larger, Assistant Xin certainly couldn’t manage everything, so it was natural to split off specialized departments like Human Resources and Finance from the administrative team.
Assistant Xin directly handed over recruitment and other HR tasks to the Human Resources Department.
“Then, please call Little Hao over. I’d like to give them a few instructions about future recruitment.”
“Right away.” Assistant Xin nodded and left.
Pei Qian sat in his chair, deep in thought.
Thinking about it now, his previous dismissive attitude toward the Human Resources Department might have been a misconception.
This probably stemmed from Pei Qian’s prior prejudices about this department.
Some say that in many large companies, the HR department is somewhat similar to the Eastern and Western Depots of ancient times.
When many large companies are exposed for scandals, such as forcing sick employees to resign or firing people without compensation, HR personnel are almost always involved, with an extremely strong presence.
While forcing employees to resign is certainly directed by the boss behind the scenes, HR personnel are the actual executors and inevitably take the blame.
At the same time, HR often nitpicks during recruitment interviews, pushes down salaries, and occasionally plays the role of amateurs directing professionals by interfering in specialized fields, making them quite disliked.
Before his rebirth, Pei Qian was just an ordinary employee, so he naturally had an inherent aversion to HR.
But now, Pei Qian suddenly felt his thinking might be wrong.
At the root of it all, HR does the dirty and tedious work for the boss.
Whether HR is good or bad doesn’t entirely depend on their professional ethics; it depends more on what kind of company they’re in and what kind of boss they have.
Unscrupulous companies could use HR to exploit employees, but Mr. Pei could also use HR to better achieve his goal of screening slackers!
If he could properly train the HR department to actively raise offers during interviews and select employees who don’t like working overtime, wouldn’t that greatly help Mr. Pei?
So, Pei Qian decided to meet Little Hao, focusing on instilling the Tenda spirit and clarifying Tenda’s recruitment model.
…
After waiting a few minutes, there was a knock at the door.
Hao Yun arrived at the office, looking a bit nervous.
She was a young woman in her twenties, not very tall, and not particularly pretty, with a round face and large eyes, looking like an unremarkable company employee.
She was younger than Pei Qian had imagined.
But this was normal, since when Pei Qian recruited the earliest batch of employees, he chose those with little experience.
So, Tenda’s management was generally young.
Without the typical imposing manner of an HR person, Pei Qian’s first impression of Little Hao was quite good.
And this Little Hao indeed had little presence. Pei Qian scrutinized her carefully but still couldn’t recall ever seeing her at the company, showing just how low her presence was.
“Mr. Pei, you were looking for me?” Hao Yun asked somewhat timidly.
“Yes, have a seat. I have a very important task for you.”
Hao Yun sat down across from him, still a bit nervous.
After all, she had previously received tasks from Assistant Xin, and now, dealing with a higher-level NPC, she felt a bit uncomfortable.
“The position in the Human Resources Department is very important, which you should be clear about. First, tell me the main responsibilities of the Human Resources Department,” said Pei Qian.
Hao Yun quickly nodded: “Yes, Mr. Pei. The Human Resources Department needs to determine personnel allocation based on talents’ specialties and strengths, while also creating a relaxed and pleasant work atmosphere and fully mobilizing employees’ enthusiasm for work…”
Hao Yun said quite a lot in one breath.
She had initially intended to be brief, but seeing that Mr. Pei showed no sign of interrupting, she continued speaking.
Pei Qian was silent for a moment: “Yes, exactly!”
He had originally just wanted to engage in small talk and elevate the importance of the HR department a bit, but he didn’t know exactly how to express it, so he had Hao Yun do the talking.
However, Hao Yun spoke so well that Pei Qian felt awkward interrupting her.
“In any case, the Human Resources Department is very important. So I hope HR can better understand Tenda’s corporate culture to guide recruitment, personnel management, and a series of related work.”
“How’s your current resume screening going? Any thoughts?”
Hao Yun perked up.
Mr. Pei was asking about her direct responsibilities!
“First, we screen the resumes once.”
“Since there are many applicants but few positions available, our resume screening is quite strict.”
“We conduct initial screening based on applicants’ education, universities, work experience, project experience, and other factors, eliminating over 80% of applicants.”
“Then, we send interview invitations to candidates.”
“There will be two rounds of interviews: the first with department heads and the second with HR.”
“Finally, we negotiate to seek a salary that’s appropriate for both the applicant and the company…”
Hao Yun briefly described the planned recruitment process.
Pei Qian listened with furrowed brows.
This was the standard interview process of a typical HR department.
But Mr. Pei certainly couldn’t be satisfied with this process!
The resume stage directly eliminated people with low education, less prestigious schools, and no work experience—wouldn’t this greatly reduce the chances of recruiting slackers!
If this continued, the company would be full of aggressive go-getters, which would make Mr. Pei extremely uneasy.
That definitely wouldn’t work!
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian said, “The process is good, but… I don’t think it aligns with Tenda’s recruitment standards.”
Hao Yun became a bit nervous: “Oh? Then what kind of process do you think it should be, Mr. Pei?”
She quickly took out a small notebook, ready to record.
Pei Qian was very satisfied with such an obedient employee and detailed the employee selection criteria he had long thought about.
“Tenda’s standard is to select talents regardless of convention!”
“How can we discriminate against applicants because of poor education, mediocre universities, insufficient work experience, or unappealing resumes?”
“That’s unacceptable!”
“We must treat all applicants equally and give them a fair opportunity to compete!”
“So, there should be no resume screening stage. We accept all applications unconditionally.”
Hao Yun wrote in her notebook, her face full of confusion: “Huh? But Mr. Pei, that would create too much work. We simply couldn’t interview everyone.”
Pei Qian shook his head: “Not everyone needs to be interviewed.”
“We’ll set a time for a unified written test. We’ll organize a specific venue for them to take a closed-book exam.”
“Then, based on positions, we’ll select the top few for interviews.”
Hao Yun still looked puzzled: “In that case, the cost would still be high. Organizing such a large-scale written test requires preparing venues, creating questions, arranging staff for grading, supervising, and so on.”
“The more people, the more money spent. Given the current enthusiasm of applicants, such a large-scale written test would probably be quite expensive…”
Expensive?
Isn’t that exactly what I want?
Pei Qian spoke seriously: “These are necessary costs that cannot be spared.”
“Um, alright.” Hao Yun nodded, quickly recording in her notebook.
After finishing, she glanced at what she had written and asked, “As for the exam questions, should department heads create them and grade them?”
Pei Qian shook his head: “Only some questions would be created by department heads.”
“The written test will be divided into two sessions. The first half is a basic ability test, including fundamental knowledge, reasoning, data analysis, and essay writing, focusing on testing applicants’ basic abilities. The second half is a professional knowledge test, with questions set by department heads, examining the necessary knowledge and abilities for the position.”
“After the written test, rankings based on total scores will determine who advances to interviews.”
“In the interview stage, we’ll mix up the positions, with department heads conducting cross-interviews.”
Hao Yun: “Huh? What do you mean by cross-interviews?”
Pei Qian explained: “The head of the gaming department interviews applicants for Headwind Logistics, the head of Slackin’ Food Delivery interviews applicants for Slackin’ Internet Café… Which department to interview will be determined by a random draw on the spot.”
Hao Yun became even more confused: “Mr. Pei, is this appropriate? As the saying goes, different industries are like mountains apart…”
Pei Qian smiled slightly: “That’s easily addressed.”
“We’ll determine interview questions and answers in advance. For example, if Tenda Games’ head interviews applicants for Headwind Logistics, even if they aren’t familiar with Headwind Logistics’ work, they can still identify which applicant performs better by referring to the interview answers.”
Hao Yun felt bewildered: “But what’s the purpose of doing this?”
Pei Qian stumbled for a moment but quickly recovered: “The purpose… is significant! For instance, it can effectively prevent nepotism and cliques within departments!”
“It can effectively prevent the big company disease of favoritism!”
Hao Yun nodded in sudden understanding and quickly took notes.
Pei Qian continued: “After the interview stage, the final selection of applicants will be determined by the combined scores of the interview and written test.”
“However, there’s a third stage after this, which is the Tenda Spirit Compatibility Test!”
“I will personally create questions for this stage, organize everyone for the test, and finally use electronic grading.”
“Only those who pass this test can formally join the company.”
“If they don’t pass, they’ll enter a one-month internship period. Although their salary will be paid as usual, they can’t be responsible for key work during the internship and will mainly focus on studying and understanding the Tenda spirit.”
“After the one-month internship, they’ll take the Tenda Spirit Compatibility Test again. If they still don’t pass, we’ll regrettably extend the period. After three cumulative extensions, we’ll have to apologetically dismiss them with compensation.”
Hao Yun rapidly recorded in her notebook, marveling to herself.
Mr. Pei was truly Mr. Pei, arranging so many stages for the interview!
It sounded extremely rigorous!
Although Hao Yun felt these stages were somewhat redundant and unnecessary, she also thought that Mr. Pei must have deeper intentions, so she didn’t question it.
And Mr. Pei’s arrangements did have some logic to them.
Pei Qian himself was also very satisfied.
If recruitment followed conventional methods, the HR department trained by Assistant Xin would certainly not be ineffective, and each department head was eager to backstab Mr. Pei. In the end, the newly recruited employees would all be formidable, which would make them difficult to handle.
While the current arrangement couldn’t completely prevent this, it at least had a noticeable weakening effect!
First, by not screening resumes and giving everyone a fair chance to compete, it would prevent many people with low education and little experience from being eliminated.
Second, with only half of the written test focusing on job knowledge and the other half on basic abilities unrelated to the position, it gave a boost to those who were good at exams but not necessarily strong in work abilities.
Third, having cross-department interviews during the interview stage, with outsiders interviewing insiders, greatly reduced the chances of selecting outstanding talent.
Finally, the Tenda Spirit Compatibility Test could select many slackers. Those focused solely on work could be compensated and then persuaded to leave, both by spending money and by ensuring the safety of their positions.
It was simply perfect!
Of course, this standard hadn’t reached Pei Qian’s ultimate goal.
But he couldn’t be too extreme either; he couldn’t directly write “seeking slackers” in the recruitment standards.
This was already the most satisfactory recruitment process within the allowed rules for Mr. Pei.
Soon, Hao Yun had recorded everything, with several densely written pages in her small notebook.
Pei Qian nodded with satisfaction and said, “So, the main task for the HR department shortly is to coordinate with various departments as quickly as possible to arrange this interview process.”
“Including how to choose venues, how many positions each department has, exam arrangements, and so on.”
“If money is needed, just say so. Don’t be afraid to spend!”
“For instance, if screening resumes is too troublesome, spend money to create a dedicated recruitment website to fully automate a series of steps such as registration and printing admission tickets.”
“Let me emphasize again, don’t be afraid to spend money!”
“Talent is the foundation of enterprise development. This is a long-term talent selection mechanism, benefiting both present and future generations. Understand?”
Hao Yun nodded: “Yes, Mr. Pei, I understand!”
She paused, realizing she had overlooked an issue: “Um, Mr. Pei, at which stage is the specific salary determined?”
“Do we still need to push down the price?”
According to the typical company protocol, salary would be discussed during the HR interview stage, and the negotiation would inevitably involve pushing down the price.
This was a common method used by most companies to reduce expenses.
But Mr. Pei’s recruitment process didn’t seem to include this stage?
Pei Qian spoke gravely: “Pushing down salaries is completely at odds with Tenda’s corporate culture!”
“Since candidates have already passed layer upon layer of selection and numerous tests, it shows they are the talent we need.”
“For such talent, we should naturally be eager to recruit them. How could we push down their salaries?”
“Just for a mere few hundred yuan per month, making talents unhappy and not committed to their work, affecting work efficiency—isn’t our company the one that ultimately suffers?”
“So, no price pushing!”
“Having candidates propose their salary standards and then pushing them down is playing dirty!”
“We directly pay according to higher industry standards, ensuring that Tenda’s salaries are competitive. Once employees pass the Tenda Spirit Compatibility Test, they’ll immediately receive a raise.”
“By paying enough, employees will be wholeheartedly dedicated to working for Tenda!”