Chapter 161: Spending Money to Buy Time

"Manager Joyce, I'm here to ask your company to help me recruit some talents."

Xia Yu spoke slowly.

"Mr. Xia, please tell me what kind of talent you need and any specific requirements."

Robert Joyce smiled and said, signaling a staff member nearby to prepare for note-taking. The staff member immediately nodded and picked up a notebook to record the details.

"First, my newly established book publishing company is missing a general manager. My requirement is that this person should have experience working in some multinational publishing companies and be proficient in publishing, distribution, book appraisal, and management. The stronger the capabilities, the better!"

"If the person is from a branch or a senior executive of Pearson or Penguin Publishing, that would be even better!"

"These are the requirements. The payment will be according to your normal fee standards."

Xia Yu smiled and spoke calmly.

Upon hearing Xia Yu's extensive requirements, Robert Joyce's eyes brightened. The more conditions there were, the more challenging the task and the higher the price, which he was more than happy to accommodate.

However, even with these conditions, the business was not simple. If he secured it, the rewards from the bonus pool would definitely be substantial.

As for the difficulty of recruitment, Robert Joyce felt confident given his experience.

"Understood, Mr. Xia. Besides this, do you have any other recruitment needs?" Robert Joyce asked with a smile.

"Yes!"

Xia Yu nodded, causing Robert Joyce's eyes to light up further, and his smile to broaden.

"Please go ahead!"

"I also need a manager with experience in managing a comic company, specifically someone who has worked in the Japanese comic industry. Preferably a Chinese person, but if none are available, a Japanese person is acceptable, provided they don't harbor any animosity towards Chinese."

Xia Yu continued.

This talent was to be recruited as the general manager of the comic company. They needed to be familiar with the Japanese comic scene and have connections there. When Jiuding Comics entered the Japanese market, familiarity with the industry would significantly reduce difficulties.

"Alright, Mr. Xia. Is there anything else?" Robert Joyce asked with a more serious expression.

"Lastly, I need some talents from the Japanese comic industry. First, Chinese comic artists. Second, comic trainers proficient in English or Chinese. The more, the better!"

Xia Yu made his final, and most challenging, request.

Robert Joyce's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing Xia Yu's request. This final task was difficult and the profit margins were low, making it less appealing. It could be seen as a thankless job.

However, given the size of the first two requests, he couldn't afford to reject the third one. Otherwise, he might risk losing the other two deals.

"Mr. Xia, your last request is indeed very challenging, but we will do our utmost to fulfill it!" Robert Joyce said sincerely, though whether he truly felt that way was only known to him.

Xia Yu anticipated this reaction and smiled, saying, "Manager Joyce, I understand the difficulty of the last request, but I can offer a different compensation method that I believe you will find satisfactory."

Robert Joyce raised his eyebrows in interest upon hearing Xia Yu's words.

He smiled and made a gesture of listening.

"For these two types of people, I won't use your usual fee standards. Instead, I'll offer you a recruitment fee: for each successful recruitment, I will pay you 10,000 HKD. There's no upper limit!"

Xia Yu said with a smile, looking at Robert Joyce.

Although this requirement had a high cost, Xia Yu didn't mind. Even if he hired a hundred people, the total fee would be only 1 million HKD. However, if he handled it himself, it might take an indefinite amount of time and might not even yield results.

With the time saved, Xia Yu could have already earned millions through these talents.

The sooner he recruited them, the faster his comic company would become established and start making money!

Spending money to buy time was well worth it for Xia Yu!

Robert Joyce was taken aback for a moment, then his face broke into a delighted smile, clearly pleased with Xia Yu's terms.

Seeing Robert Joyce's reaction, Xia Yu was not surprised. It was part of his calculations.

This is where the fee structure of headhunting companies comes into play.

Large firms like the top five headhunting companies primarily focus on recruiting high-level executives and directors. For instance, Spencer Stuart often dominates the executive search market for Fortune 500 companies.

These top-tier talent commands high annual salaries, and headhunting firms charge service fees based on 20%-30% of the annual salary of the hired talent, which translates into substantial profits.

However, the final type of talent Xia Yu requested was mid- to lower-level, with much lower annual salaries. For instance, a person with an annual salary of 10,000 HKD would result in a fee of only 2,000 to 3,000 HKD based on the standard 20%-30%. Considering the difficulty in finding such talents, this fee structure might not be profitable, which explains why Robert Joyce was reluctant.

But now, with Xia Yu offering 10,000 HKD per successful recruitment with no upper limit, it became profitable!

Moreover, since Xia Yu intended to recruit a large number of these talents, Robert Joyce knew that the more people he could recruit, the higher his profit margin and the lower the per-person cost.

Thus, this business opportunity was entirely feasible!

"Mr. Xia, no problem. Our company has over a dozen offices in Japan. I will inform them and do our utmost to recruit the talent for you!"

Robert Joyce said with a beaming smile.

Xia Yu nodded with a smile and reminded Robert Joyce, "Oh, by the way, Manager Joyce, while you are helping with the recruitment, we will also be posting job advertisements externally. We are in urgent need of personnel."

Xia Yu said this with a slightly helpless expression.

Robert Joyce's expression tightened as he grasped the underlying meaning of Xia Yu's words. He immediately responded seriously, "Mr. Xia, please rest assured that we will make every effort to find the right talent for you as soon as possible!"

"Thank you for your help!" Xia Yu said with a smile.

His final statement was intended to prompt Robert Joyce to work diligently. If Xia Yu recruited the people himself, he wouldn't need their services anymore, so there was an incentive for Robert Joyce to speed up the process.

"Mr. Joyce, could you please calculate the advance payment?" Xia Yu asked.

Reputable headhunting companies typically require an advance payment to cover recruitment costs and ensure smooth operations. As one of the top five headhunting firms, Glorious International naturally followed this practice.

"Certainly, please wait a moment!"

Robert Joyce replied, standing up to get the specific cost calculations.

After a short while, Robert Joyce returned with a form and handed it to Xia Yu.

Xia Yu reviewed it, nodded in approval of their fee structure, and then signed the agreement and paid the advance.

"Mr. Joyce, my company has other matters to attend to, so I'll leave now. I hope you can expedite the process. I'll need a lot of talent in the future. If this cooperation goes well, I anticipate many more opportunities for us to work together!"

After a sip of tea, Xia Yu stood up and said with a smile.

Robert Joyce responded with a serious face, "Mr. Xia, rest assured. We won't disappoint you! Looking forward to our next collaboration!"

"Have a good day!" Robert Joyce accompanied Xia Yu to the door and gave a slight bow as a farewell gesture.

Xia Yu nodded with a smile, then left with Yan Shining.