For HR in small and medium-sized enterprises, 'Start with yourself'.
I happened to search for the meaning of 'Start with yourself' (Kai yori hajimeyo) and was deeply impressed.
This was a perspective that HR in small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, should have. Enhancing your company's reputation and appeal is the secret to attracting excellent talent.
Instead of grumbling that 'no excellent people are coming,' why not start with yourself?
Start with yourself
If you want to invite capable people, first treat those who are already near you well. By extension, it means that when it comes to doing things, the person who proposed it should be the first to execute it.
At the end of the 4th century BC, during the Warring States period in China, the state of Yan, located around present-day Beijing, was in total chaos due to misgovernment and was driven to the brink of destruction after being invaded by a neighboring country. In such a situation, King Zhao, who ascended to the throne after his late father, believed that inviting capable people was necessary for the country's revival and asked his advisor, Guo Kui, for the method. Guo Kui replied, 'Start with yourself (as a first step, please treat me, Guo Kui, who is right in front of you, well).' The idea behind this was, 'If it becomes known that even someone like me is treated well, those with more talent will think they will be treated even better and will gladly come.' In fact, when he did so, capable talent gathered under King Zhao, and he was able to achieve the revival.
This is an excellent proposal from Mr. Guo Kui. He is no ordinary person.
Mr. Guo Kui also left behind another idiom: 'Buying the bones of a dead horse.'
Buying the bones of a dead horse
A metaphor for treating even trivial things well in order to obtain something excellent. It is also a metaphor for being enthusiastic about seeking talent.
It was the end of the 4th century BC, during the Warring States period in China. In the state of Yan, which had been driven to the brink of destruction, the newly enthroned king was searching for excellent talent for the country's revival. So, his advisor, Guo Kui, told this story to sell himself: 'Long ago, a king wanted to obtain a famous horse that could run a thousand miles in a day, so he gave his servant a large sum of 1,000 gold pieces and sent him out to find one. However, the servant returned after buying the bones of a dead horse for 500 gold pieces. To the enraged king, the servant said, 'If word gets out that you spent 500 gold pieces even on the bones of a dead horse, people will surely appear to sell you a living, famous horse.' Sure enough, within a year, three exceptional horses were gathered. If you are now seeking excellent talent, why not start by treating me well?' When the king did so, excellent talent gathered one after another, and Yan successfully achieved a brilliant revival.
Mr. Guo Kui was no ordinary person, but aren't these two idioms the secret to recruitment? Small and medium-sized enterprises lack name recognition and have limited funds to treat employees well. However, they face the dilemma that without excellent people, those funds will not increase. Why not first face your own employees and treat them well? Having your own employees work energetically leads to talent retention. If your talent retention is strong, you can invest in education with peace of mind. And if you can create a virtuous cycle where profits also increase, your company's reputation will rise, and excellent people will gather.
Please do not be trapped into thinking that preferential treatment is only about salary and benefits. Those are hygiene factors. I think it is important first that 'people who are working hard do not feel like fools.' You must not give preferential treatment based on the loudness of a voice. There are surely people working hard behind the scenes. Please find them. The pride employees have in their work leads to the company's brand.
Do not be trapped by customs or regulations. What does it mean for your company to value its employees? Why not think about it once?
'Start with yourself'
If talent is important to your company, first invest in the employees who are working hard there. If that becomes the company's appeal and reputation, excellent talent will gather. That is what it means.
I hope you feel, 'Okay, let's start with ourselves, let's buy the bones of a dead horse.' But this is by no means something to say to your employees. It would be the worst if they thought, 'Am I the bones of a dead horse?!'...
Thank you for reading.
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