Minimally invasive medical: young companies need young talents

Microinvasive Medical Devices (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a high-tech enterprise in Shanghai, is mainly engaged in the research, manufacturing, sales and service of various high-tech minimally invasive interventional medical products. Although the company has been established for only 6 years, annual sales have exceeded 100 million yuan. Its main product - coronary drug stent system, has accounted for more than 30% of the domestic market share; PTCA balloon catheter and coronary stent system (including drug stent) won the first prize of the 2004 Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award. As a young high-tech company, it has achieved such impressive results thanks to the company's high emphasis on talents. The reporter recently interviewed Mr. Bloomberg, the company’s human resources director.

Recruitment plan: more than 100 people per year

According to data from the Southern Institute of Medical Economics, my country’s demand for medical equipment is very huge. The current annual sales of my country’s medical equipment market is 54.8 billion yuan. Among them, high-end medical equipment is about 10 billion yuan, and the growth rate has remained above 15 in the past two years. However, the overall level of medical equipment in our country is currently low. Among the nearly 180,000 medical and health institutions across the country, about 15% of the products are still products from around the 1970s. Basically, they have reached the age of upgrading. Therefore, the medical device market has great potential. great.

Although minimally invasive medicine has not been established for a long time, it has developed rapidly. When it was established in 1998, the company had only a dozen employees. After nearly seven years of development, it has established offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places. Among the current employees, there are nearly 50 R&D personnel alone. Looking at the age structure of the personnel, 77.36% of employees are under 30 years old. Since 2003, the company has recruited more than 100 new employees every year, and this year is no exception. There will be recruitment plans for nearly 150 people, and more next year.

Corporate talent recruitment: both internal and external efforts

Minimally invasive talent recruitment uses internal selection and external recruitment as the main means.

The first is internal selection. Except for some special positions, once the company launches a new position, it will be selected from within first, so that capable employees have the opportunity to move and change. At the same time, employees are constantly encouraged to challenge themselves during the selection process. Director Bloomberg gave an example: During the company's performance appraisal last year, the production manager was transferred from his post because he failed to meet the standards and went to work as a R&D engineer in the technology department. Although this person's position was transferred, the company did not leave him alone, but encouraged him to carefully analyze and summarize past gains and losses while doing a good job in his current job. When a job vacancy arose, the company encouraged him to compete openly and fairly with other candidates, and he eventually returned to the manager's position.

The second is external recruitment. After the company has completed internal selection and sorted out job vacancies, it will start external recruitment. The specific methods are to publish recruitment information through well-known recruitment websites, search in the company's talent pool, use headhunters to search, etc. It also includes school-enterprise cooperation. With the expansion of business, the company is actively establishing cooperative relationships with some well-known domestic universities to provide internship and employment opportunities for students majoring in marketing, marketing, machinery, medicine and other majors.

Since the company’s research and development direction is in the field of cardiac intervention, professional talents in this area are rare, so the company can only recruit talents.

Talent selection criteria: “Soft abilities” are more important

As a high-tech medical device company, Weixin has a very clear technical orientation, so professional R&D technical talents are the focus of recruitment. At the same time, as the company's business expands, there is also a large demand for matching marketing, production management, and quality talents. The company's recent key recruitment positions include: R&D engineers, quality data analysis engineers, on-site quality engineers, production supervisors, process engineers, marketing specialists and other positions. The hardware requirements for the position mainly include: a bachelor's degree or above (some positions require a master's degree or above), relevant major or work experience, English CET-6 or above, and proficient application ability.

For the above types of talents, "hard standards" such as professional ability, professional background, and technology are naturally the prerequisites for recruitment. But what the company values ??more is the fit between talent value and company culture. Bloomberg has emphasized many times that the company has a complete training system. If the ability is not enough, the company can train it. However, if the skills are excellent but are incompatible with the company's cultural atmosphere, the company will resolutely abandon such people. Generally speaking, the company focuses on two "soft" abilities when selecting talents:

1. Motivational ambition. Every new employee is asked the same question: What motivates you beyond monetary rewards? What the company hopes to examine with this question is the work mentality of the candidates. Because only with a positive attitude towards work can you truly like the work you do and have the enthusiasm and passion for work.

2. Comprehension. The company has the responsibility to drive employees to develop together, so as soon as each employee joins the company, the company will develop a complete training plan for them. "Of course, whether it's 'promising' and whether it's 'savvy' is also important," Bloomberg told reporters with a smile. But Bloomberg also pointed out that although understanding may be born with it from a certain perspective, some things may also hinder understanding and make people "stupid", thereby hindering their own future. For example, some people overestimate themselves. Under such circumstances, they cannot objectively recognize themselves. Because those who think too highly of themselves often fail to see the experience and strengths of others, they are unable to appreciate the brilliance of others, which invisibly hinders their own development. Another example is that some people have too strong personalities and are too flamboyant, and external forces do not support them at all. There is no way to influence them, and it is difficult for such people to have a future. Because people who are talented, tolerant of others, and have a spirit of cooperation are the people that the team really needs.

With the above two points, excellent learning ability is also essential. In this sense, companies currently tend to recruit fresh graduates.

Development space: Integration of training and promotion mechanisms

After entering minimally invasive medicine, what training opportunities and career development space are available for employees? Bloomberg said that the company has a complete training system and promotion rules, and the two complement each other.

1. New employee training. The company has a "New Employee Growth Manual" specially written for new employees. On the first day, week, and first month of joining the company, employees’ line supervisors and relevant personnel from the human resources department will have a face-to-face conversation with them. Through the "Handbook" and conversations, new employees can quickly understand the company's development prospects and become familiar with corporate regulations, including performance appraisal methods and salary plans. The most important thing is to let them clarify their work goals, know what the company's expectations are, and where there is room for development. In addition, the company also provides new employees with one week of professional training.

For employees who have joined for more than one year and have development potential, the company will provide a certain percentage of tuition reimbursement subsidies to encourage them to continue their studies in order to achieve greater development.

2. Management training. The company has a training program for middle-level managers and above. Key employees will be sent to the joint talent training bases of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and other well-known universities to further their studies. Improve their comprehensive management skills through training and work practice, including communication, leadership, performance management, time management, motivation, coaching, delegation, goal management, etc. In addition, there is training on how to coach others in career planning. In the company's performance management system, supervisors are required to discuss short-term and long-term career plans with direct subordinates every quarter, determine the skills that need to be mastered this year and 1-2 years later, and be able to reach a written understanding and agreement on specific matters. Plan to make career planning targeted.

3. Promotion channels. The company does not want all employees to squeeze into the "executive promotion" path, so it has set up different promotion channels for different positions and departments. For example, for technical R&D personnel, from technicians to senior engineers, promotion requirements and conditions are clearly defined at each level to inspire employees to challenge for higher positions.

In addition, the company encourages fresh graduates with professional backgrounds such as bioengineering, mechanical electronics, and mechatronics to work at the grassroots level, starting from a technician. Only those who are familiar with grassroots work can open up promotion channels faster and better. Of course, the salary system established by the company is no longer tilted towards the executive level. A senior engineer may earn a higher salary than his administrative supervisor. This system avoids the phenomenon of "promoting a bad manager and losing an excellent R&D employee".

In addition, the company has always adhered to the principle of promoting middle-level cadres mainly internally. The company has established a promotion mechanism for reserve cadres, and arranges courses for them to improve their professional quality, improve their management skills, establish decision-making and strategic thinking, and establish goals and plan their own abilities. Generally, if a cadre is to be promoted, the company will start preparations a year ago and arrange a training plan for the candidate so that he will gradually assume greater responsibilities and bear greater pressure. Companies teach their leadership teams that if you want to advance, the best way is to train your successor. Because only a person who can delegate and give others sufficient room for development is an excellent leader.

Source: China Human Resources Network