How do "mediocre" employees make extraordinary companies?

In Suzhou, there is such a construction company: honest and dedicated people are most respected; mediocrity is considered a virtue; no one thinks about making a fortune; a sentence that employees often meditate on is - "I really don't have a big I only have the attitude of serious work”; employees can withdraw their living expenses in advance every month; they can be reimbursed at any time without the leadership’s signature; they still have the opportunity to travel abroad every year; This enterprise is Desheng (Suzhou) Western Building Co., Ltd.

Desheng was established in 1992, specializing in the construction of American-style wooden villas. At present, the number of employees exceeds 1,000, and the sales amount to 400-500 million yuan. Since the company was established 19 years ago, 60% of the employees have worked in the company for more than 10 years. The chairman of the company, Nie Shengzhe, once studied and worked in the United States, and has his own experience and understanding of Western business management and professionalism. When he returned to China in 1992 to set up Desheng (Suzhou) Western Building Co., Ltd., he set the following values for the company in combination with traditional Chinese culture: "honesty, industriousness, love, and no shortcuts."

Most of Desheng's The employees are all from rural areas. Applying such values, Desheng transforms them into professional industrial workers and makes them excellent "good" employees. The so-called "good" employees in Desheng are doing their jobs well and not harming the interests of others and the company. Nie Shengzhe once said: "I don't think a mediocre doctor can contribute more to society than a dedicated and excellent carpenter."

Fine management creates "responsible" employees

The core of Desheng management is embodied in a book Above - "Desheng Company Employee Reader", 270 pages of content, including 16 management rules such as employee code, reward and punishment regulations. From personal hygiene, to engineering process and quality supervision, there are clear regulations one by one.

On the surface, this "Reader" is not much different from the employee handbooks of other companies. The reason why it can truly become a guide for employees' actions is that it stipulates employee behaviors, work procedures, reward and punishment standards, etc. to the minutiae. For example, it is stipulated that employees should "pay attention to hygiene, take baths frequently (strive for once a day), brush their teeth (at least once a day), and get a haircut (at least once a month)", "talk about topics not related to work or hum and whistle at work, first of all. A fine of 100 yuan" and so on.

This refined management model, which decomposes and quantifies management objects into specific numbers, procedures and responsibilities one by one, makes every work content visible, tangible and accurate, and makes every problem There are special personnel in charge, instead of disrupting the battle, emphasizing not only the management of all staff, but also the management of the whole process.

For example, in project management, Desheng standardizes the process by formulating the construction process flow, so that employees have standards to follow, "Nails are nails, and riveting is riveting." When screwing the plastic screws of the air conditioner, you cannot use the method of screwing iron screws. On the construction site, a house plans to use 3 3-inch L-shaped elbows. If 5 are used, the employee must write the reason.

Desheng's more than 1,000 employees all over the country work according to such rules and procedures. The Desheng Program Center is responsible for overseeing the operation of the process. Also, they only have 12 executives.

The streamlined organizational structure avoids overstaffing and enables executives to concentrate on major issues. No wonder Chairman Nie Shengzhe does not have to stay in the company for one-third of the year.

Re-education to shape "gentleman" employees

Compared with the "hard" power of the system, Desheng Yanglou's education measures are the "soft" power of the enterprise. The system is boring, and it is easy to feel indifferent after a long time. How to improve the quality and cultivation of employees through the penetration of inner culture? In 2003, Desheng established Luban (Xuning) Woodworking School. Every year, a group of peasant children are selected from the surrounding rural areas, and the moral quality of the students is evaluated through home visits to decide whether to accept them.

Desheng places "virtue" as the primary condition for selecting talents. Dishonest people are not trusted and not reused. But once appointed, there is no doubt about employing people. In Desheng, when employees are reimbursed, they only need to write the reason, address, time, and sign their names. No leadership signature is required. There are only three people in the company's finance department. After the finance staff read the "Statement", the whole process is completed, and the employees can collect the money. Desheng's trust logic is that if the reimbursement needs to be signed by the leader, it is to pass the responsibility to the superior, and personal reimbursement should rely on personal credit. To this end, Desheng established a "personal credit computer-aided system" to analyze the authenticity of employee reimbursement behavior. The trustworthiness and untrustworthiness of each employee are recorded on record. The company can understand the credit parameters of each employee from the data given by the system. Employees with low credit parameters will not only not be reused, but will also face the danger of being fired. Desheng trusts its employees, and employees will also reciprocate with deeper loyalty to the company and due diligence in their work. This virtuous circle is hard to see in many Chinese companies.

Desheng has never had a debt dispute or been involved in a lawsuit in the past 19 years. This is due to Desheng's "integrity" cultivation from the inside out. Inside the company, Desheng advocates that the friendship between gentlemen is as watery as water, and "no more than one meal with colleagues every month". Because frequent gatherings will form groups, cause "isolation and exclusion" to other employees, and complicate the relationship between colleagues. Externally, employees are not allowed to accept gifts or meals of more than 20 yuan from customers. Every month, the company will post on the website a newsletter that employees have handed in and received gifts, including cigarettes, body wash, and even "New Year's money", which is actually only 100 yuan. These gifts are either donated to the Civilian Education Foundation or auctioned within the company, and the auction proceeds are also donated to out-of-school children and private teachers to support education.

The concept of fairness cultivates "corporate citizens"

Zhao Lei, manager of the intellectual property department, is one of the earliest employees of Desheng. One of the things he felt deeply when he jumped from a state-owned enterprise was that the concept of fairness permeated enterprise management. Most of Desheng's management staff are from the front line, especially the technicians. When the national sales manager Wang Zhongya first entered Desheng, he stayed on the construction site for more than half a month (the construction period of wooden houses was 40 days), from the construction of the moisture-proof layer to the structural capping. Old worker, write it down in the notebook. After 3 years of study and in-depth understanding of Desheng culture, knowledge of wood structure, and knowledge of business contracts, he began to work independently.

The mobile phones and mailboxes of the company's leaders are open to the public, and any employee's views on the company can be sent to the company's decision-makers in the form of text messages and emails. The company will hold a special meeting to discuss this, and give satisfactory answers to the employees who reflect the situation.

In addition, Desheng creatively established a hearing system. When there is a conflict between employees for work and the relationship cannot be coordinated, either party has the right to apply for a hearing. The hearing consists of the parties (defense), the host, investigators (prosecution), witnesses, members of the hearing panel (jury), and observers. Although the parties involved are high-level management personnel of the company, the moderator, investigators, and members of the hearing panel are the most common company employees. Within 2 days after the hearing, the members of the hearing panel will summarize and organize their written opinions and submit a hearing report and handling opinions to the decision-making level of the company according to the company's system. The decision-making level of the company will make the final processing decision almost entirely based on the report. All members of the company have experienced the civic culture such as democracy and the rule of law like a jury in a democratic country in an open, fair and just atmosphere.

In Desheng, the company emphasizes a contractual relationship and a healthy employment relationship to its employees. It is clearly stated in the "Desheng Employee Code": "The company does not always consider employees to be the owners of the enterprise. The company believes that the relationship between business owners and employees is always a relationship of hiring and being employed, and it is a healthy and civilized labor-management relationship. Otherwise, the enterprise should give up the right to dismiss the employees.” Desheng’s formulation seems to run counter to the familiar “employees are the masters of the enterprise”, but it is the most sincere attitude to clarify the differences between the enterprise and the employees. rights and obligations. Desheng opposed the use of blood, kinship, and loyalty to confuse the contractual relationship of enterprises, and established a modern sense of citizenship.

"Loyal" employees under humanistic care

Zhao Lei, who is now a "lifelong employee", can enjoy the company's "end-of-life" treatment. In the 19th year of Desheng, Zhao Lei deeply felt the warm and loving atmosphere of the company. Zhao Lei has two children, the eldest has gone to college, but they have received gifts from Desheng Company every year since elementary school. Although the value is only about 200 yuan, this warmth brings a strong sense of belonging to Zhao Lei's family. Zhao Lei said: "I'm really embarrassed to ask my children to ask for these gifts. I've already enjoyed too much treatment." Heart-to-heart, Desheng's little practices connect employees and the company emotionally, and for a long time Treating each other with sincerity will eventually exchange for the loyalty of employees.

Desheng's free staff apartment is fully equipped with air conditioning, TV and washing machine. If the employee gets married and moves out to rent the house, the company will reimburse 50% of the rent. In addition, the staff canteen provides employees with meat, eggs, fish, vegetables and other varieties every day, and the price of each meal is only 2 yuan. In the "Staff Reader", the regulations on food procurement, processing, and management state: "Aquaculture products are only purchased from seafood, preferably deep-sea products; freshwater fish and river shrimp should be purchased from the uncontaminated Qingshui River area; Tomatoes, beef, onions, black fungus, soy products, etc." Even the salt stipulates that you must buy non-iodized salt. Because the content of iodine in the foods we often eat is sufficient for human needs, excessive iodized salt may bring some hidden dangers to people's health.

Every "Thanksgiving" in the West, all Desheng employees take an afternoon to celebrate the festival. Usually, Desheng employees have their own emotional condolences, and help each other solve their psychological or emotional problems through heart-to-heart conversations. When Thanksgiving is approaching, those employees who have been helped will buy a gift worth 60-80 yuan for their colleagues who usually give them emotional sympathy. These expenses can be reimbursed at any time by the company. On Thanksgiving Day, everyone gives gifts to each other to express their gratitude.

For those employees who have dreams and want to go out to start a business, Desheng not only accepts their applications for 1-3 years of long leave, but also retains public positions and length of service, and can even provide them with travel expenses to new places and units. If the employee wants to return to Desheng within 3 years, the company can also provide corresponding positions. Of course, employees who want to come and leave will have to pay a price and require conditions. Returning employees must accept Desheng's test of their values, write a letter of commitment that "after reinstatement, they will work harder", and receive refresher training before they can officially return.

In the final summary of "Desheng Staff Reader", there are "58 reasons why I love Desheng", the most distinctive of which is the "dignity and honor" that Desheng brings to employees. Nie Shengzhe believes that to employees: "It is to give them a sense of pride, a sense of dignity as a human being, and a sense of honor for their profession!" Desheng did what he said. Whether it is maintenance or routine inspection for customers, Desheng's employees convey self-confidence and responsibility from the inside out to customers. This is the result of 19 years of tempering in details, and it is also where Desheng's unrepeatable competitiveness lies. Desheng's success continues.

Discussion: Why do "mediocre" employees make successful companies?

"Ferocious" employees make "Ferocious" companies, and "Mediocre" employees make "Mediocre" companies. This is the general understanding of the relationship between employees and enterprises, but is it really so? The businesses in this article provide us with a counter-example. A group of "mediocre and honest people who are not very capable, but do their due diligence", not only gained a sense of professional honor, but also helped the company to achieve success.

Why do "mediocre" employees make successful businesses? What does the so-called "mediocre" mean when it is not mediocre? Does your business have the guts to deal with so-called "mediocre" employees? Please braid your opinion in the comment box below.