In traditional corporate structures, an employee's salary level is generally determined by their position, with higher positions commanding higher salaries. Except for a few exceptional talents or in sales roles, salary inversions, where a leader earns less than their subordinates, are uncommon.
However, under the new system and structure designed by Boss Huang, salary is no longer related to one's position. For instance, Boss Huang clearly stated in the announcement that whether it's a research institute director, a project leader, or a newly regularized employee, everyone receives a base salary of 10,000 RMB per month.
This applies to everyone except interns; everyone’s base salary is the same, unless they are penalized by the company.
But this is only the base salary. In addition, there is the positional salary.
The positional system introduced by Boss Huang in the announcement is divided into 24 levels. Each level provides an additional positional salary. For example, at Level 1, the additional positional salary is 200 yuan; at Level 2, it's 400 yuan, and this figure increases up to Level 5.
However, starting from Level 6, the increment changes to 500 yuan, continuing up to Level 10. This means that at Level 10, one can receive an additional 3,500 yuan in positional salary each month.
After Level 10, there is another threshold. From then on, the salary increase per level becomes 1,000 yuan, with each subsequent level increasing by 1,000 yuan more than the previous one.
For example, the additional positional salary for Level 11 is 4,500 yuan, Level 12 is 6,500 yuan, Level 13 is 9,500 yuan, Level 14 is 13,500 yuan, and Level 15 is 18,500 yuan.
Similarly, Level 16 marks another threshold, as the attached positional salary directly increases to 30,000 yuan, then to 40,000 yuan, 60,000 yuan, and 90,000 yuan. By Level 20, the attached salary for that position reaches an astonishing 150,000 yuan.
This is significant because your annual salary would reach 1.92 million yuan, a figure beyond the reach of ordinary people.
However, don't forget there are still four more levels, and at this point, the positional salary enters the million-yuan bracket.
Level 21 is 1 million yuan, Level 22 is 5 million yuan, Level 23 is 10 million yuan, and Level 24 is 50 million yuan. These are figures beyond aspiration.
The announcement also clearly explains how to advance one's position: by consuming contribution points to upgrade. Each level upgrade requires a certain number of points, and the salary awarded at each level corresponds to this number.
For instance, Level 1 requires 100 points, Level 2 requires 200 points, Level 10 requires 3,500 points, Level 15 requires 18,500 points, and Level 24 requires a staggering 50 million points.
However, upon advancing each level, the deducted points are permanently deleted. Therefore, upgrading through contribution points will be a very lengthy process. According to estimates from Boss Huang's secretariat, a normal employee working diligently for a year can earn approximately 1,000 points.
This means that in one year, an employee can advance from Level 1 to Level 5, which appears to be a rapid progression.
But if you consider 10 years, that's about 10,000 points. In other words, working continuously at the company for 10 years would roughly allow one to advance to Level 9.
And working a lifetime, say 40 years, would only allow one to reach Level 14, still falling short of the Level 15 threshold.
An ordinary person who spends their entire career at Jiangnan Group would reach Level 14, receiving a positional salary of 13,500 yuan. This is just over double the base salary, which isn't a great deal considering a lifetime has been invested.
Of course, this applies to ordinary employees leading ordinary lives and achieving ordinary results.
If an employee is slightly more capable and works smartly, it's estimated they can earn around 2,000 points per year, allowing them to reach Level 16.
About one in ten people would fall into this category, meaning 10% of future employees would reach Level 16.
Among these 10% of employees, there will be even more outstanding and intelligent talents. These talents might earn an average of about 5,000 points per year, enabling them to reach Level 18.
Such talents are the elite, representing the mid-level of the company. For a company as vast as Jiangnan Group, a mid-level executive earning around 1 million yuan annually is not excessive, as most internet companies in 2020 had similar salary levels.
Of course, if these talented individuals further excel, creating formidable contributions each year to reach Level 20 in their lifetime, with an annual salary crossing the 2 million yuan mark, they would be considered top-tier executives.
Such individuals, in the vast Jiangnan Group, would not exceed 100 people. This is also a normal proportion for a large company.
After all, if everyone on Zhihu has a million-dollar annual salary, it's not surprising that a large company has over a hundred high-level executives earning more than 2 million yuan annually. Even so, their annual salary expenses would only be around 200 million yuan, less than a fraction of what Boss Huang earns.
As for those who can reach Level 21, with an annual salary exceeding 10 million yuan, they would be considered top figures at Jiangnan Group, ranking among the company's highest decision-making levels. Naturally, such individuals are even fewer.
In addition to the positional salary, there is also honor.
According to the announcement, after the positional system is implemented, all employees will receive a corresponding positional badge. This badge must be worn on the chest and serves as an employee's identification. No one is allowed not to wear it.
The appearance and color of each positional badge are different, allowing any employee to instantly discern another's position.
As per company regulations, within the company premises, if two employees are within 2 meters of each other, and one is not actively engaged in work, the employee with the lower position must bow slightly to the employee with the higher position to show respect.
The employee with the higher position must respond with a smile and a nod, expressing goodwill. Anyone failing to do so, if reported, will have their basic work points deducted. If their basic work points for the year fall below 90%, their contribution points for that year will be completely cleared.
Therefore, any normal person, even your superior, must bow to you if your position is higher than theirs.
Besides this etiquette, the importance of position is reflected in various aspects.
For example, when the company distributes benefits, those with higher positions will receive them first.
When the company organizes travel, those with higher positions will go first.
When the company's employees travel together in a vehicle, all window seats will be prioritized for employees with higher positions.
In summary, during any internal resource allocation within the company, those with higher positions will receive preferential access to the best resources or priority choices. This is a significant hidden benefit and form of respect.
This positional respect will undoubtedly captivate countless employees. While this respect may seem to be worth nothing, the motivation it provides is often stronger than mere financial gain.
The biggest potential issue with such a positional system seems to be what happens if a leader appropriates your credit. After all, personnel in the position department cannot constantly monitor your work, and your work achievements are definitely reported upwards by your leader.
If a leader maliciously fails to report your work achievements, or reports them inaccurately, it could lead to new dissatisfaction and conflicts.
In response, the announcement also provides strategies.
Firstly, a leader's contribution points are derived from their employees' contribution points. For all achievements and merits completed by an employee, the leader receives corresponding leadership contributions, approximately 10% of what each employee earns. Therefore, a normal leader would absolutely not underreport an employee's contributions, as doing so would reduce their own earnings.
Regarding the issue of misattributing credit, i.e., giving your achievements to someone else, the announcement frankly admits there is no perfect solution. However, it encourages all employees to retain evidence of their work achievements.
Simultaneously, the company's website will publicly display all employee contribution points and their origins, except for classified information.
If you discover that your contribution points have been underreported or transferred to someone else, you can directly report it to the positional department and submit your evidence.
Once the report is successful, not only will all your contribution points be returned, but the leader responsible will also have 100% of their basic work quota deducted. Unless their basic work quota completion for the year exceeds 180%, they will be directly dismissed by the company.
To prevent widespread false reporting, any reporter found to have filed a false or unsubstantiated report will have their position level deducted by one level, a severe punishment.
Overall, the additional compensation brought about by this positional system is slightly more than the normal salary, at most an increase of about 20%. However, it can more than double the combat effectiveness of all employees in the entire group.
After all, the entire contribution point and position system ensures that all ways of earning points are quantifiable and have defined conversion standards. As long as you complete the company's assigned tasks and strive for excellent results, you can visibly accumulate contribution points, and your superior cannot snatch your points.
Finally, the announcement states that the previous contributions made by employees to the company will not be ignored. The company will compile all current data, calculate the contribution points for all existing employees, and distribute them simultaneously when the positional system is launched.
Upon seeing this news, the few researchers who were furious and considering resigning due to KPI pressures immediately retracted their plans.
What a joke. With the introduction of this positional system, they could expect a salary increase of at least one or two thousand yuan. Moreover, the entire positional system appears quite user-friendly, and completing basic work targets is not difficult. Anyone leaving now would be a fool.