Chapter 60: Strong Medicine

Faced with Li Xian's proposal to solve the problem through a "salary mechanism," everyone expressed their disappointment with a collective sigh.

They had hoped for a better solution, but the approach of using salaries to motivate workers was an old trick. The bureau had tried various methods of salary incentives before.

Take the tile factory, for instance.

Quarterly assessments, annual evaluations, model worker awards, production skill evaluations—so many methods had been tried.

But were they effective?

They worked initially when everything was new, but eventually, things returned to the way they were.

Moreover, as the saying goes, there should be rewards and punishments, but in the tile factory, rewards were possible, but punishments were not.

After working in the same factory for years or even decades, workers formed small cliques. Some were even related, and when the factory made decisions detrimental to employees, it often led to collective resistance from entire workshops or even the whole factory.

The law does not punish the masses, and factory leaders, to maintain unity, often let issues slide.

As the supervisory unit, the Commercial Bureau was well aware of these situations. So when Li Xian suggested changing the status quo through salary mechanisms, they lost interest immediately.

Yang Hongshan also smiled wryly, "Li Xian, don't tease me. Relying solely on salary changes to motivate these people is impossible."

He proceeded to recount the various salary incentive systems and their effects from the past.

Hearing his description and grievances, Li Xian smiled, "The mechanism I'm talking about is different from your previous reward and punishment systems."

"Well, explain how it's different," Qian Zhenye, who had originally intended to leave, urged.

Li Xian drew a circle on the paper. "All the salary systems set by the bureau before included bonuses for model workers, outstanding workers, and various other awards, but these mechanisms had limited effects."

He shook his pencil. "Let me give you an example. How many model workers can a factory have? At most two or three, right? These people work tirelessly for a year, and how much bonus do they get?"

"Our factory's model worker bonus is 300 yuan," Yang Hongshan immediately replied.

Li Xian tossed the pencil on the table and said, "Exactly. A person who works much harder than others only gets an extra 300 yuan a year, which is less than two months' worth of salary. If it were me, I'd rather not get this bonus and just enjoy an easy life."

Everyone understood this logic, but with the current salary standards at the forestry bureau, what could be done?

Seeing the苦色 on Yang Hongshan's face, Li Xian continued, "Let's put aside the issue of whether rewards are effective. Factory Manager Yang, your factory has many bonuses for model workers, outstanding workers, and skilled workers. But I want to ask, how is the basic salary calculated?"

"For production workers, it's based on working hours. With an eight-hour workday, the basic salary is 85 yuan a month, and the external work experience salary ranges from 30 to 50 yuan. And…"

Yang Hongshan detailed this with familiarity, but Li Xian had lost interest in listening. He raised his hand to interrupt, "So, in your factory, whether I perform outstandingly or not, I get the same pay for eight hours of work. At most, if I'm more experienced, I might earn a bit more each month. So why should I work hard?"

Hearing his question, many people in the office sighed.

The situations he described were not unique but were common across all production units in the forestry bureau.

Especially in subordinate enterprises, this kind of "do as you please" attitude was widespread.

But what could be done?

Seeing Li Xian's aggressive stance as he laid bare the current salary mechanism, a staff member of the Commercial Bureau couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop talking about useless things. The situation is what it is. If you have a solution, share it. If not, go outside and announce the temporary halt to the tile factory's privatization and get the workers back. We haven't even had a holiday for the National Day because of this mess."

Looking at the complaining person, Li Xian shook his head and smiled. "If I didn't have a solution, would I be here talking to you?"

He picked up the paper again and said, "Actually, all the problems we've discussed stem from one reason."

"What reason?" Wang Zhiye, who had been holding her head and was unable to contain her curiosity, asked.

"Workers lack motivation! They work for the factory, not for themselves."

Hearing this theory, some people present fell into contemplation.

Qian Zhenye pondered for a while, feeling that it made sense but couldn't quite grasp the logic. He asked, "What do you mean?"

"In my view, the causal relationship between work and reward should be: I put in the effort and receive corresponding rewards, which support a better lifestyle. A better lifestyle motivates me to work harder to maintain or improve my situation.

But now, at the tile factory, whether I work hard or not, I can't significantly change my living standards. So workers become complacent, and complacency spreads, leading to a situation where everyone is just going through the motions."

This theory opened the eyes of everyone present! 

Though blunt, it made sense upon reflection.

Many of those present remembered how, when they first started working, they were enthusiastic and full of ambition, eager to make a mark and excel.

But after a few years, they realized that ideals were often rich while reality was harsh. Gradually, they learned from the older, more experienced workers how to flatter superiors and cut corners.

The reason was a sense of hopelessness, where work didn't lead to a better future, and laziness became a common mindset.

Amidst these reflections, Li Xian raised his voice and offered his solution, "So, we need to overhaul the salary system. We should ensure that those who are willing to work hard and achieve results receive compensation that matches or even exceeds their contributions. For those who are just coasting, instead of penalizing them, we should use a robust and fair salary mechanism to pay them less or even nothing, showing them that idling away their time won't lead to any benefits. We need to make sure that all workers understand that performance and effort matter!"

Hearing this resolute theory, the way everyone looked at Li Xian changed.

Yang Hongshan was completely captivated by this theory, his face flushed with excitement. Wang Zhiye, forgetting her headache, pressed on, "You've said a lot. How should the specific salary be structured?"

Having spent nearly half a month at the tile factory, Li Xian was well-acquainted with its situation. He immediately drew a pyramid structure on the circle of the paper, creating a performance-based salary model tailored to the factory's departments: workshops, sales, and distribution.

Although the departments differed, the work models were similar. Instead of calculating salaries for the entire workshop, the new system was based on individual performance, combining a low base salary with piecework and performance goals to significantly increase performance-based pay.

Additionally, an incentive system was implemented. Workers who met the factory's targets would have unchanged piecework wages. Those who did not meet the targets would see reduced piecework wages, while those who exceeded the targets by 50% or more would have their piecework wages doubled.

After Li Xian explained this somewhat complex but understandable mechanism, Yang Hongshan immediately calculated the seasonal production situation according to the new system and was stunned: "Wow, under this system, high performers would earn almost 200 yuan more than low performers in a month!"

"That's exactly the effect we want!"

Seeing his astonished expression, Li Xian smiled.

"Will the workers agree to this?"

Wang Zhiye was also surprised by the significant wage differences. In her experience, she had never seen such a large disparity in wages. Considering the workers' earlier aggression, she was worried.

Looking at the crowd outside chatting loudly in the shade, Li Xian smiled.

"As long as the system is well-designed, most workers will be interested in it. For those who aren't interested… that's something you'll need to handle. But I believe the majority of factory workers will find this new salary system appealing!"

…

In the office, after a thorough review, everyone agreed that Li Xian's method had some feasibility. After Yang Hongshan made adjustments and refinements to the salary mechanism based on the factory's actual conditions, Qian Zhenye instructed the police to invite the five worker representatives back in.

In front of the five representatives, Yang Hongshan explained the new salary mechanism. After understanding it, the representatives were outraged!