Dawn of Life

This time, Lin Yue surprisingly didn't argue with Liu Cuiying anymore, and said, "Okay, then it'll be one year. If things don't go well at work after one year, I'll go back with you."

At this moment, she wanted to keep Liu Cuiying calm, while secretly challenging fate and pushing herself.

That night, Lin Yue tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. She thought about everything that had happened recently: the divorce, her son going missing, her promotion, and now her parents coming to help her. Everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction, but everything also seemed to be full of uncertainty.

After Lin Yue took over the entire human resources department, everyone outwardly respected her, but she knew in her heart that the current team lacked cohesion. Some people were worried about not being liked by the new boss; others were quietly observing whether she was capable or not.

This situation was entirely within her expectations, because in her past work, differing positions meant that clashes and blame-shifting between the HRBP team and the shared service center staff were commonplace. Qian Minmin and Zhang Wei, needless to say, had a long-standing grudge, and others likely harbored their own grievances as well.

Lin Yue reviewed the current team situation, noting that the main challenges lay with Zhang Wei and Qian Minmin. Compared to Zhang Wei, Qian Minmin's situation was less demanding. Furthermore, Qian Minmin was a compensation and performance manager, a role that demands the highest level of expertise within the human resources field.

Although Lin Yue understands the basic logic, she has never actually worked in this position and lacks case experience. At the same time, she has just taken over the department and has an important project on hand, so it is impossible for her to take over the upcoming salary adjustment project as easily as she said at the last meeting.

So she decided to talk to Qian Minmin. Beforehand, she prepared a communication outline, following the "pyramid" principle, listing the purpose of the conversation, the approach, the other party's possible reactions, coping strategies, and the arguments, evidence, and reasoning for each response. Timing is crucial; if the first attempt fails, the second will be twice as difficult.

Lin Yue had arranged a time with Qian Minmin in advance and shared her Feishu schedule with her beforehand. Lin Yue arrived at the meeting room early, reviewed her outline one last time, and then carefully put the notebook away. When Qian Minmin walked in, her expression was serious. She instinctively walked towards Lin Yue, still feeling very wary of her.

Lin Yue gave Qian Minmin a sincere smile, then casually pulled out the chair next to her, gesturing for her to sit closer. Qian Minmin hesitated for a moment, then sat down. The two of them, separated by the cold table in the large conference room, seemed to be negotiating.

Building rapport starts from this moment, Lin Yue said bluntly, "I'm planning to talk to all the managers in the team to sort out the key tasks for the future, and you're the first person I'm talking to."

The purpose was to tell Qian Minmin that this was just a routine work exchange, while also expressing the importance they placed on her.

Lin Yue felt she had laid the groundwork enough, so she looked into Qian Minmin's eyes and said sincerely, "We are not competitors, but partners. The external market environment is too sluggish, and the company's performance has been declining. We are both mothers over 35 years old, and we share a common desire for stability. Of course, in order to provide a better life for our children, we also hope to have the opportunity to increase our income."

Qian Minmin currently has a son and a daughter, and her daughter is only three years old. The reason she was persuaded by Zhang Wei to want to get a share of the final work of the "Competency Model" project was that she hoped to get a high score in her year-end performance evaluation.

She admired Lin Yue for establishing a common goal with just a few words, successfully drawing her into her camp. So Qian Minmin looked up at Lin Yue with expectant eyes, waiting for her to continue.

Lin Yue knew that the real focus of the conversation was about to begin; whether or not she could help Qian Minmin achieve this goal would determine whether they would be friends or foes in the future. So she offered her prepared "bait": "I'm planning to transfer the four-person structure of the SSC team to your name. Because your current salary is relatively high for a manager, there's no room for a raise if you're not promoted. But increasing your management scope is equivalent to increasing your workload, so it would be reasonable to apply for a raise for you at the end of the year."

As expected, a hint of surprise flashed across Qian Minmin's face. Lin Yue continued with a smile, "SSC's affairs are too trivial. I wasn't very familiar with them before. On the contrary, you cooperated a lot. They currently don't have a manager, and they often come to you for help with many things. So you don't need to work out when you take over the unified management, and I only need to ask you for results."

Lin Yue wanted to tell Qian Minmin that her actions weren't merely a new boss trying to win over a capable subordinate, but rather a strategic move aimed at creating a win-win situation. The most stable relationships in the workplace are precisely these mutually beneficial, exchange-of-interest relationships, which are the only way to ensure both parties feel secure.

Lin Yue noticed that Qian Minmin had straightened up from leaning back in her chair and moved much closer to her as she spoke.

Knowing she had almost succeeded, she pressed her advantage, saying, "I'll help you ask the company for a raise at the end of the year. Asking for one so soon after taking on a little extra work will likely annoy the boss, but it'll be different if you bring in results at the end of the year. Besides, I've only been in this position for a short time, and the department hasn't achieved anything yet, so I don't have much say in this yet.

Lin Yue's words were 80% true, and the other 20% were an implication that Qian Minmin needed to first achieve good results to help her secure her position as HR director.

Qian Minmin nodded repeatedly at this explanation. Although it was just a "pie," a "pie" with a goal, an action plan, and a timeline was much easier to digest.

Lin Yue successfully tied the interests of the two people together, and in the end, it even looked like the two women were working together to build a business.

Qian Minmin curled her lips into a smile and said, "Do you have any other requests of me?"

Lin Yue nodded and said seriously, "You're more professional than me when it comes to salary-related matters, so you can make your own decisions regarding work. However, all progress and results need to be reported to me as soon as possible, because the boss will often ask for feedback from the team members. If I don't know, I can't take credit for you when you do something right, nor can I take responsibility for you when you do something wrong."

Then Qian Minmin took the initiative to update Lin Yue on several important matters at hand in detail. To her surprise, Lin Yue was able to offer her own insights on these specific matters, which made her admire and feel more at ease.

An hour later, after leaving the meeting room, Qian Minmin thought to herself: exhilarating and a sense of camaraderie. Just as Lin Yue had said, women have it so tough, and HR is having it so hard. They need to stick together and support each other to get things done.

Seeing that Qian Minmin and Lin Yue had been chatting for so long before returning to their workstations, Zhang Wei kept following Qian Minmin's face, trying to figure out what was unusual about the situation.

However, to his disappointment, he had expected the two women to be at each other's throats, but judging from Qian Minmin's expression, it seemed she was willing to forgive and forget and make peace. He couldn't help but send Qian Minmin a message via Feishu.