APTnovel Chapter 495 Improving Welfare
Chapter 495 Improving Welfare
The next morning when Lu Ran entered the company, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the corridor was different.
It's not the kind of tense or dull feeling that's different; it's the kind of feeling where someone wants to say something but doesn't know how to start.
I usually hear people chatting when I pass by the break room. Today, the door was half-open and it was quiet inside, but I could see several people standing there through the crack in the door, holding cups but not drinking, all looking down at their phones.
Lu Ran didn't think much of it and went straight to the office.
When I got to the door, I saw Chen Mo and Zhou Mingzhe already standing there waiting.
The two stood at slightly different angles. Chen Mo leaned against the wall, holding nothing in his hands, while Zhou Mingzhe held his ever-present cup of tea, his expression more serious than usual.
"So early?" Lu Ran took out his keys and opened the door. "Come in and talk."
After the three sat down in the office, Zhou Mingzhe got straight to the point: "Tencent has made its move. Starting yesterday afternoon, we've been receiving feedback that headhunting firms are contacting our mid-to-senior level employees. Not just one or two, but over a dozen people at the same time, most of whom are in technical positions. Zhao Yiming and Lao Wang are on the list, as are several heads of core projects. Xiao Zhang also received an offer, but he told me he ignored it."
Chen Mo chimed in, "Several people in my channel team have also been contacted, but they're all ordinary employees; no one in core positions has been involved. Tencent's move is clearly targeted, primarily aimed at the technical team; operations and channels are just incidental."
"What conditions did they offer?" Lu Ran asked.
Zhou Mingzhe pulled out a few messages from his phone and showed them to Lu Ran: "These are messages Zhao Yiming forwarded to me from a headhunter. The base salary has doubled, stock options are separate, and they've promised an independent team and greater project leadership. The other people received similar offers, mostly starting at double the original amount."
Lu Ran read through the messages, put down his phone, and leaned back in his chair: "Double the effort to poach Zhao Yiming. But Zhao Yiming hasn't replied at all; he's quite determined."
"If Zhao Yiming were only after the money, he would have left long ago," Zhou Mingzhe said calmly, taking a sip of his tea. "The reason he stayed is simple—he can do what he wants here. At TUTU, he can directly decide the direction of the technical roadmap. Even if Tencent offered him double the salary, he'd still have three layers of superiors to report to, and it's uncertain whether he'd even get access to core code."
Chen Mo nodded in agreement: "Besides, we just had a round of salary increases, so a doubling is already a high base. Tencent's cost of poaching talent this time isn't low."
Lu Ran flipped through the list again and found that those contacted were mainly middle and senior management, with almost no sign of lower-level employees being reached. "Does Tencent look down on its lower-level employees?"
"It's not that we look down on them, it's that it's unnecessary," Chen Mo said. "The lower-level employees know too little; poaching them wouldn't be of any use. What they need are people who can access the core logic. People at Zhao Yiming's level know the overall architecture of the AI engine, and Lao Wang knows the implementation path of the underlying technologies. Ordinary developers only know the small piece of code they are responsible for; even if we poach them, we can't piece together the whole picture."
Lu Ran leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment.
Tencent's move is indeed quite direct. You built your advantage on AI technology, right? Well, I'll poach the people who have the technology from you. Without the people, you lose the technology, and the alliance falls apart.
This logic sounds simple, but it can be quite destructive when put into practice.
"Do Zhao Yiming and Lao Wang know about this?" he asked.
"I know. Zhao Yiming sent me a message last night, saying exactly, 'The other party offered a pretty high price, but I didn't reply.'" Zhou Mingzhe turned his phone screen to show Lu Ran. "Old Wang was even more direct, saying, 'If Tencent offered ten times the salary, I might consider it, but one time is out of the question.'"
Lu Ran chuckled.
He was laughing at Lao Wang's "ten times" statement, knowing it was a joke, but it also showed that Lao Wang hadn't seriously considered the matter at all.
"Who else is on the list? Besides Zhao Yiming and Lao Wang?"
Zhou Mingzhe scrolled down the list: "There are two project managers and a data team leader, all core members, but at a slightly lower level than Zhao Yiming. They've all given feedback, saying they received the message but haven't replied. So far, no one has submitted a resignation."
"That means we're still in a state of equilibrium." Lu Ran sat up straight. "But since Tencent has made this move, it means they realize they can't win in a direct confrontation and are trying to undermine us from within. Since they've made this move, we have to respond."
He sat in his office chair for a while, his mind starting to consider defensive strategies.
He knew that the best defense wasn't just about saying "Don't leave, everyone," but about making those who left feel it wasn't worth it.
They just had a round of salary increases, so another increase is unlikely. Moreover, the effect of simply increasing pay to retain employees is diminishing.
He thought of another direction. TUTU's current office environment has never been bad, but it's just "not bad"; they haven't specifically cultivated any "company culture."
Now that Tencent is using money to poach talent, they'll use something else to retain them—making employees more comfortable at the company than elsewhere.
It's a comfort so good that you feel like you'd be missing out if you left.
Lu Ran picked up his phone and sent a message to the head of the administration department: "Come to my office."
The head of the administration department is a woman in her early forties surnamed Wu. She is efficient and doesn't talk much.
After she came in, Lu Ran said directly, "I want to raise the company's benefits even higher. Double the size of the snack area; money is no problem. Build a movie-watching area and show movies every day at lunchtime and after get off work. Create an arcade with all sorts of new games. Add a lounge with comfortable sofas and dim lighting for a good lunch break. Also, give everyone a day off on Children's Day."
The head of the administration department paused for a moment after hearing this: "President Lu, is there a holiday for Children's Day?"
"Yes. It's a holiday on June 1st. Those with children can go home and spend time with them, and those without children can go out and have fun on their own."
"Okay. Do you have a preference for any specific types of snacks in the snack section?"
Lu Ran thought for a moment, and some snacks he used to eat as a child popped into his head: "Ooh-Ooh milk candy, Little Goat spicy strips, beef tendon, Tang Monk meat (a type of candy), Peking duck noodles, Mimi shrimp chips, White Rabbit candy, Maltesers, and crispy noodles. And those sour plum powders and preserved plum candies that cost one cent a pack. You guys can decide what to buy, just make sure people of all ages can find familiar flavors."
The head of administration was scribbling furiously on his phone, then looked up to confirm: "The snack area will be doubled in size, and a new movie area, game room, and lounge will be added. We'll have a day off for Children's Day. Anything else?"
"That's all for now. Please provide the plan and budget, and send them to me for confirmation today." Lu Ran thought for a moment and then added, "By the way, ask the operations department to recommend some movies for the viewing area. Don't just show art films; include more older Hong Kong films, like those by Stephen Chow, so everyone can relax."
The head of the administration department nodded, turned around, and left.
That afternoon, a pinned announcement suddenly appeared in TUTU Technology's internal work group.
The announcement was issued by the administration department, and the title was just a few words: "Notice of Upgraded Benefits".
The main text is short, listing a series of new additions: the snack area has been doubled in size, a new movie-watching area is added with screenings every noon and after get off work, a new game room is added covering most of the new games on the market, a new lounge is added with adjustable sofas and blackout curtains, and everyone gets a paid day off for Children's Day.
The moment the announcement was released, the comments section exploded.
"The snack section has doubled in size?"
"Am I seeing things? Tang Monk's flesh? The Tang Monk's flesh that cost five cents a pack outside my elementary school?"
"Ooh-Ooh Milk Candy! Something we only got to eat during Chinese New Year when we were kids!"
"Children's Day off? I'm 33 years old, how can I celebrate Children's Day?"
"Does the arcade have that latest shooting game? I'm going to try it out later."
"Wait a minute, is this a lounge for real? I used to be able to only sleep on the table at noon, but now there's a bed?"
"What is the administration department trying to do? Turn the company into an amusement park?"
"I just want to know what movies are playing in the screening area. If they're showing art films, I won't go. But if they're showing Stephen Chow, I'm not leaving after get off work today."
"I just saw Sister Wu from the administration department directing people downstairs to bring up several boxes of snacks. The boxes were all printed with things from my childhood."
"Holy crap, I just checked the break room, and the snack shelf is already up, all three shelves are full. I saw Maltesers, Mimi Shrimp Chips, and those one-dollar packs of instant noodles."
"Children's Day holiday? Does that mean I can take my son to the zoo? I promised him I'd take him last Children's Day, but I was on a business trip. This year, at least I don't have to go on a business trip."
"If people with children get Children's Day, what about those of us without children?"
"You're a child too. The company said we're all children."
The group messages were scrolling by incredibly fast, popping up almost every few seconds. Some people were asking about the location of the snack area, some were asking what movies were playing in the movie area today, some were asking if they could team up to play games in the arcade, and some were even making plans to go on a picnic for Children's Day right there in the group.
Ms. Wu from the administration department replied in the group chat: "The snack area will be set up by 4 PM today. The movie screening area will be showing 'A Chinese Odyssey' today, starting at 5:30 PM. Everyone is welcome to come. The game room equipment has arrived and is currently being installed and tested."
After the message was sent, the group chat was flooded with messages again, even more so than before.
Around 4 p.m., when Lu Ran came out of the office to get water from the tea room, he passed by the newly set up snack area and saw seven or eight people standing there.
Some people were examining the packaging of a bag of Ooh Ooh milk candy, some were tearing open a bag of Little Goat spicy strips and eating them, and some were squatting on the bottom shelf searching for Tang Monk's flesh, muttering, "Where is it?"
Another person held up a bag of Peking duck noodles and showed it to their colleague, saying, "I remember this. These noodles don't need to be soaked; they're especially fragrant when eaten dry."
Lu Ran stood to the side, holding his cup, and watched for a while.
He noticed a detail: a male employee in his thirties, who usually didn't talk much in the technical department and sat in the last row during meetings, was standing in front of the snack shelf with a bag of Mimi shrimp chips in his hand today, his lips curled up like a child who had just received lucky money during the Chinese New Year.
Another female employee was examining the production date on a bag of White Rabbit milk candy. A colleague next to her asked, "What are you looking at?" She replied, "The White Rabbit candy I ate when I was a child didn't have this packaging." Another colleague chimed in, "That's because you're mistaken. White Rabbit has always had this packaging." The two argued back and forth for several rounds, and in the end, neither of them convinced the other, but they both laughed.
The movie-watching area was also bustling.
The administration department set up a large screen in the open space next to the conference room, arranged several rows of chairs, and placed a projector in front of the screen.
By 5:30 p.m., most of the chairs were occupied. Some people brought in snacks they had just taken from the snack area, some brought coffee, and others found a corner to curl up with a cushion they had taken from their workstations.
After about ten minutes of watching "A Chinese Odyssey," a male colleague in the front row, who is usually quite serious, burst out laughing. Several people behind him also laughed, but then quieted down and continued watching.
Some people started chatting while watching, talking about watching the movie when they were kids. They discovered that they had entered junior high school in the same year and exclaimed to each other how fast time flies.
There were quite a few people in the lounge, but they were all there to "visit".
There are three separate cubicles, each containing an adjustable armchair and a thin blanket. The room is quite dark when the curtains are drawn, and the soundproofing is also quite good.
After the tour, the unanimous comments from the visitors were, "This sofa is so soft!" and "Can we ask to take a nap here?" Ms. Wu from the administration department explained, "Yes, you can. No need to apply. Just come in."
The arcade area is the most lively.
There are more than a dozen machines inside, including arcade machines, consoles, and PCs, and the types of games are quite comprehensive.
There are one or two games in almost every category: shooting, fighting, racing, and RPG.
A few people were playing that new shooting game; bullets were flying across the screen, and the keyboard was clattering.
There were more onlookers than players. Some were shouting "Reload! Reload!" and others were shouting "Right side! Right side!" The noise was so loud that it could be heard in the corridor.
The news about the holiday on Children's Day spread to the employees' family group chat that same evening.
Several employees posted on their WeChat Moments with a screenshot of the company's "Children's Day Holiday Notice," with captions like "The company is giving us a Children's Day holiday, finally I can spend time with my kids" or "Even people in their thirties can celebrate Children's Day now." In one of the comments, someone wrote, "What company still gives us a Children's Day holiday?" The employee replied with three words: "TUTU."
Lu Ran glanced at the snack section before heading home after finishing overtime work that evening.
Some items were removed from the shelves, but a wide variety of items were put on display, and the gap was quickly filled.
The administration staff left a spare box under the shelf, ready to restock at any time.
He reached out and took a Wow Wow milk candy, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth. It had a strong milky flavor, but the sweetness was slightly less than he remembered. He didn't know if the recipe had changed or if he had just grown up.
He stood there, finished chewing the candy, folded the wrapper, stuffed it into the nearby trash can, and then turned and walked towards the elevator.
It was past closing time, but there were still quite a few people in the building. Some were playing games in the arcade, some were watching the remaining movies in the movie theater, and some were chatting with the people next to them while browsing the snack shelves.
As the elevator doors closed, he heard laughter behind him. He wondered who it was who was saying, "Tomorrow I'll bring my son over to see this snack section and let him see what his dad ate when he was a kid."
As the elevator descended, Lu Ran leaned against the wall and thought for a moment. He realized that although the system had cost a lot of money, the effect was better than he had expected.
Tencent poachs talent by offering double the salary, while TUTU creates an environment that makes people not want to leave.
When faced with the choice between a high-paying but uncomfortable job and a lower-paying but extremely comfortable job, the final decision depends on the individual.
But Lu Ran felt that, at least today, in front of the two shelves in the snack area, in front of the screen in the movie theater, in front of the screen in the game room, and in front of the sofa in the lounge, the scales of choice were tipped in TUTU's favor.
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