Stucky told reporters that she is now working very well in Haier, earning 13 US dollars per hour, working 40 hours a week and more than 2,000 US dollars a month. For South Carolina, where the salary level is generally low, this is already a very high income. Haier also bought medical insurance for stucky. She only needs to pay $65,438+00 a month, and Haier will be responsible for the rest. Now stucky's family has bought a small refrigerator from Haier. stucky bought it at the preferential price given by the factory to Haier employees, and it has been used smoothly. "I like working in Haier, and I like this quiet and peaceful life very much!"
Davis is also from South Carolina. After graduating from high school, the black boy served in the US Army and National Guard for three years. At that time, there was a small refrigerator made by Haier in the army dormitory where he lived, but Davis never dreamed that he would become a Haier person one day. In 2000, Davis resigned from DuPont and went to Haier's American factory. He was soon promoted to the leader of the refrigerator production line. During the time when he first came to work in Haier, Davis had been uneasy and the feeling of uncertain future was entangled in his heart. A few months later, Davis found himself in love with this job. "In all the work I have done, Haier is my favorite place! I believe I still have a chance to get promoted again! "
Jennifer is also from South Carolina. After graduating from high school, the white girl worked as a nurse in a local nursing home. In 2002, she moved to Haier and worked in packaging workshop, compressor workshop and assembly workshop successively. Now she has been promoted to a team leader in the assembly workshop. Jennifer told the reporter very seriously: "Is the team leader a big official? Of course it is! There are two team leaders in the assembly workshop, and each team leader is responsible for 65 workers. Don't you think so? I found that working in Haier has many opportunities for promotion. One day, I will move from the downstairs (factory) to the upstairs (management)! I'm going to Haier to realize my American dream! "
It is a great challenge for Haier to capture the five "mountains" in the United States. In the interview, the reporter learned that Haier has made great achievements in the eight years since it established its factory in the United States, but it has also encountered many difficulties and challenges. These difficulties and challenges, like "hills", have been overcome by Haier American Company, and some still stand in front of Haier people.
The first "peak" is that Haier headquarters and Haier American company have different understandings of efficiency. Paikes told reporters that the efficiency of Haier's Qingdao headquarters is quite high, and Haier's top management set an example and put pressure on themselves. In his view, almost all the top executives of Haier who visit the United States are "workaholics". In addition, Haier has a great influence in China, and many things can be done quickly, so Haier also hopes that the American branch can be as efficient as the headquarters. "Our colleagues in China always urged us to say, can you hurry up! But we also have our difficulties. America pays more attention to rules, and many things must be done step by step. It's no use worrying! What's more, the United States does not have such a huge labor force as China, and it is difficult to recruit satisfactory workers in a short time! "
Ed westhoff, technical director of American Haier Company, feels the same way. He told reporters that in the American refrigerator industry, it takes at least one and a half years from design to production. It will be tested by users for 3 months before it is put into the market. If the user feedback is not satisfactory, it will be modified. In order to speed up the progress, Haier headquarters "requires us to complete the design and production within one year, and requires us to bypass the user test and directly put it into the market!"
Davis, a worker, also told reporters that engineers from China often come from Qingdao to Haier's American factory to "pass on scriptures and send treasures" to American workers. "These China engineers are smart and responsible, but the only thing that makes us uncomfortable is that they always think we are too slow and always urge us to hurry up. Because there are too many things to teach, we often find it difficult to digest! "
The second "mountain" is the visa issue for China employees to visit the United States. Paikes said that at present, all China employees of Haier can only get visas to the United States for three months, and they must leave the United States as soon as possible after the expiration of the three months. According to the relevant provisions of the US visa law, if you want to extend the US visa for an employee in China, you must submit proof that the employee has special skills that cannot be replaced by an American employee.
"Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for us to provide such proof. Therefore, only in rare cases will I apply to the US government to extend the China engineer visa. " Paikes said some helplessly.
The third "mountain" is that the design of refrigerator must consider all the complicated factors related to the national conditions of China and the United States. Westhoff told reporters, "Redesigning the refrigerator assembly line is his biggest challenge." China is rich in labor resources and low in labor cost, so designers don't require high degree of automation when designing assembly lines, and many processes can be completed by hand. The labor cost in the United States is much higher, so the assembly line requires a very high degree of automation and uses as few workers as possible. "So we want to make the refrigerator mold as a whole as much as possible. Until now, we are still thinking about this issue! "
The technical director of the factory said that Haier has a strong after-sales service network in China. Once there is a problem with the user's refrigerator, Haier can send someone to repair it immediately. American users generally want their refrigerators to be "perfect". Once they find something wrong with the refrigerator, they will generally throw away the old one and buy a new one without hesitation. Therefore, for American consumers, after-sales service is not so important, but quality is crucial.
He also said that the different characteristics of Chinese and American consumers require different treatments for the functions of refrigerators. Unlike China people, Americans are absolutely inseparable from ice in their daily lives, so refrigerators sold in the American market must have strong and fast ice-making ability; Unlike consumers in China, American consumers don't pay much attention to the freshness of food and vegetables. Americans like to buy a lot of food and vegetables at one time and put them in the refrigerator, so the refrigerators sold in the American market are relatively large. Haier's American factory used to produce small refrigerators, but now it produces bigger and bigger refrigerators. We have just launched the world's first three-door and four-door refrigerators with variable temperature, all of which are "to meet the needs of the mainstream market".
The fourth "mountain" is that the cultural differences between China and the United States increase the difficulty of management. Grad Reeves, director of human resources at Haier Company in the United States, told reporters that there are similarities in business management between China and the United States, but due to cultural differences, some management methods that are effective in China may fail in the United States.
"At the beginning of the establishment of Haier factory, we introduced the concept of model workers from Haier headquarters, regularly selected the best employees, and posted their photos in conspicuous places in the workshop. We found that American workers did not pay special attention to it. Only then did I know that China people value spiritual rewards, while Americans pay more attention to material stimulation. Later, we made some adjustments in actual operation. In addition to posting portraits of model workers in the workshop, we also issue shopping vouchers to award-winning workers so that they can buy a lot of things for free in the mall. This trick really works. "
Just as in Haier's Qingdao headquarters and Haier's American factory, excellent employees are wearing smiling badges on their chests, but the crying faces of Qingdao factory are invisible here. In this regard, Reeves explained that American companies rarely criticize employees in public, because it is easy to dampen the enthusiasm of employees and may also lead to legal disputes.
The fifth "mountain" is that Haier's brand reputation still needs to be improved in the United States. Although Haier has a certain popularity in South Carolina, from a national perspective, Haier still has a long way to go from well-known brands. In order to improve its popularity, Haier has carried out a large number of publicity activities, including purchasing landmark buildings in new york as its headquarters in the United States.
The president revealed to reporters that Haier has established a cooperative relationship with the NBA in the United States. This summer, the advertisement of "Haier and NBA Alliance" will appear in the mainstream media in the United States. The TV station will also broadcast Haier's advertisement in every half of the NBA basketball game. Speaking of which, Paikes took out a basketball from the bookcase in the office and said to the reporter with a smile, "This is our gift to you, with the design of Haier and NBA league on it. Remember, this ball can have the signature of an NBA star! "