Cultivating Amidst a Hiring Fiasco

(Minghui.org) As the end of the year approached, a security guard in our company’s property management division resigned. The department manager asked HR to recruit someone promptly, to avoid any issues with the company’s security. As HR manager, I quickly assigned Supervisor Sun to start the process. Because the company has a good reputation and the security position does not require high qualifications, we received many applications. Seeing Supervisor Sun interview applicants daily, I felt optimistic, believing we would fill the position before the New Year. However, some unexpected events occurred.

After over two weeks of interviews, Supervisor Sun recommended several candidates, all of whom entered the probationary period with the approval of the security team leader. Unfortunately, every one of the trial employees resigned the next day without exception. When asked why, each hesitated and said, “The salary is low, the work is tough, and the requirements are so high. I can’t do it.”

My instinct told me that something was amiss. The “low salary, tough work, and high requirements” were nothing new; they had been the reality of the job for many years, and we had no problem with previous hires. Dissatisfaction with the requirements wouldn’t occur overnight. There was only one possibility: the security team didn’t want any new employees. But why?

With this question in mind, I asked Supervisor Sun to talk to the security team leader. However, he repeated what the resigned new hires had said. I then spoke with the property manager, who echoed the same points as the security team lead. But everyone in the company knew that the property manager was inept and was often pushed aside by the powerful security team leader. So we could not obtain any useful information from him.

The recruitment deadline was approaching and, as HR manager, I knew I would be called out at the company’s weekly meeting for not filling the position on time; the property manager and General Manager Wang would be unhappy because we were struggling to hire someone for such a simple position. It was difficult for me because I couldn’t explain why this was happening.

Just when I thought I was stuck, things took an unexpected turn. Supervisor Sun told me that a relative of one of our employees would be interviewing, and she had arranged for him to find out what was happening in the security team. As expected, we quickly learned all the details the next day. As soon as he joined the team, everyone treated him “nicely” and took turns influencing him: “This position offers a low salary, requires a lot of work, and comes with high demands. More than a dozen security guards have already come and gone. You were fooled. Do you still want to work here?”

Faced with this negative representation, even a fool could see that the only choice was to quit immediately. I felt a chill when I heard his report and realized that the security team had set up a trap to deter all new hires. By creating the impression that the security position salary was too low to attract staff, everyone on the team would then receive a salary increase. The security team used this underhanded tactic to shift the blame onto the HR department.

Taking the blame was a minor matter for me, but tarnishing the company’s reputation in such a competitive market was a serious concern. The property manager was clearly unaware of his subordinates’ misconduct and kept blaming HR for being ineffective and unable to hire staff. Feeling a sense of injustice, anger welled up inside me. There was no time to hesitate—I had to report this to management right away.

I immediately went to General Manager Wang’s office to inform her of what I had discovered. Wang holds a high opinion of me and usually agrees with my proposals. So I was confident she would reprimand the security department. Unexpectedly, General Manager Wang responded angrily: “You’re all shirking your responsibilities and finding fault with the other party. Let me see how you resolve this!” I was stunned. At that moment, the words “you’re all finding fault with the other party” resounded in my ears.

I’m a cultivator, and I needed to look within. I tried to perceive my colleagues as practitioners in my Fa-study group who were offering me advice. Were my anger, grievances, and blame in line with the mentality of a cultivator? I had completely forgotten that I was a cultivator and should approach problems differently than ordinary people.

Wasn’t looking inward the magical tool for us cultivators? It should work when encountering problems anywhere. Instead of complaining, blaming others, or shirking responsibility, I needed to look inward to find what I had done wrong. I would undoubtedly find the best way to resolve the issue. I stood up and quietly left. I already knew what I should do.

After returning to the office, I quietly reviewed the details of the entire incident and identified my problem. Instead of simply hiring a new employee when a position becomes vacant, recruitment professionals’ first step should be to check whether the workload should be divided among existing staff to improve efficiency. When issues arise, an in-depth investigation should be conducted to find the root cause and resolve the problem, rather than simply pushing it up to management.

From a broader perspective, when a department encounters a problem, it should be utilized to prevent systemic issues throughout the company, rather than just addressing a symptom. In light of this, I recognized several shortcomings. There was no reason for me to blame the leaders of other departments. When I shifted my focus to myself, I concentrated on finding a solution .

I promptly arranged for Supervisor Sun to conduct a salary survey across the industry, focusing on security roles, so we could compare ourselves to our competitors. We discovered that the salaries for security positions in our company were indeed low. I then tactfully discussed the workload of security positions with the property manager, highlighting the possibility of reducing staff.

This resulted in my submitting a Salary Adjustment Report for the upcoming year to management, including reasonable plans for the salaries of various departments and positions within the company. Among them, the security team adjustment plan involved reducing the security staff by one and increasing each member’s monthly salary by 300 yuan. After calculations, the salary increase would cost less than the salary of a single employee. This plan not only saved the company money but also made the security team’s employees happy. More importantly, through this crisis, the company adjusted its overall salaries, enabling it to maintain its competitive edge in this competitive market.

A few days after submitting the report, Ms. Wang called me to her office. She complimented the plan and discussed some details. After our talk, she smiled and teased me, “Look at you smiling now, how beautiful! When you first reported the security team problem to me, you hardly looked like yourself, you were so upset and angry.” In thinking about my mindset that day, I realized how ugly I must have looked. I was filled with self-righteous indignation and now felt ashamed. Fortunately, I woke up in time and resolved the matter with a cultivator’s mindset.

Through this incident, I have reflected on my work and gained a deeper understanding of my cultivation.

At the end of each year, the chairman of the board conducts in-person performance reviews for middle and senior executives, so everyone feels anxious. This year, I used a PowerPoint presentation to convey my key message during the review: In comparing our situation with our competition and the complex market, I emphasized the importance of using my desire to improve myself as an example to help make our workforce more efficient.

During the performance review, I noticed the chairman looking at my presentation with a solemn expression. In the final review session, he praised my clear thinking on the issue: “Under the circumstances, being able to look at issues that way shows a kind of courage. This approach, which starts with oneself to find a solution to the problem, is truly unique. If all middle and senior executives at the company could think and act like the HR Manager, the company’s development would be unlimited.” Of course, he gave me a very high score in my review. General Manager Wang also looked at me approvingly. They all knew that I practice Falun Dafa.

In the blink of an eye, Dafa has been spreading worldwide for 33 years. Dafa practitioners follow the Fa’s principles as guidance, and incorporate cultivation into every aspect of their lives. When I look inward and take the success of others as my goal, I experience Dafa’s profound greatness.