Chapter 79: Building a Trainee System
Encountering Jiang Huiyuan was completely unexpected, giving Jiang Shu the pleasant feeling of finding money on the street.
Suddenly, there was an extra person.
Unbeatable!
After Director Jiang and his group left, Jiang Shu also learned about the negotiation details from Li Duohui. Upon hearing that she had even resolved the cafeteria issue, Jiang Shu was extremely satisfied.
Is having a capable subordinate really this enjoyable?
Tsk, it's truly good.
"I heard Director Jiang say that you will personally attend the September audition, Director Jiang?" Li Duohui asked, looking at Jiang Shu, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Yes," Jiang Shu replied.
"Okay," Li Duohui nodded. "S.M has already sent over the debut plan for Red Velvet. It's in your office now."
"Hmm, what about IU?"
"She's involved in the production of debut-related matters," Li Duohui answered.
The company only had three groups in total: the debuted IVE, and the two soon-to-debut Red Velvet and IU. This information was easy to remember.
"Very good," Jiang Shu nodded. "You've met Director Jiang, so you know I want to move the company as soon as possible, right?"
"Yes, I already know. I will formulate a relocation plan as quickly as possible."
They couldn't move everyone at once; a portion of the company still needed to be on duty to maintain normal operations.
"As soon as possible," Jiang Shu nodded, raising his hand to check the time. "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."
"There's one more thing," Li Duohui called out to Jiang Shu. "It's about trainee grading. Our company's trainees are gradually increasing, but there isn't a clear grading system for them yet. What do you think…?"
"Trainee grades…" Jiang Shu frowned.
Someone like Jiang Huiyuan was purely for building connections; her actual skills weren't even enough for a D-level intern trainee. If they implemented a grading system, it would be very troublesome.
However, for an idol entertainment company to grow and strengthen, a scientifically managed trainee system was essential.
After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Shu made a decision.
"Let's plan according to the existing trainee system."
They couldn't lose sight of the bigger picture; a trainee system was still very necessary.
"Then, the trainees you brought back…?" Li Duohui hesitated.
"They will be a separate category of trainees, independent of the trainee system. Let's call them 'Exclusive Trainees.' Exclusive Trainees will be personally selected by me, have no set grades, receive the same treatment, and no one else can interfere."
"Such privileges might lead to laziness among these trainees," Li Duohui said with a frown.
Isn't this purely a system for privileged trainees? They wouldn't have to worry about promotion or demotion, nor would they have to worry about whether they could persevere. If the outcome is the same whether they slack off or train hard, would they still train diligently?
"It's fine," Jiang Shu said with a slight smile. "Exclusive Trainees will have an annual assessment, with me as the chief examiner. However, they will also participate in the monthly trainee assessments and be included in the rankings."
Li Duohui suddenly understood Jiang Shu's intention.
This was to leverage the girls' sense of shame.
The annual assessment for Exclusive Trainees was Jiang Shu's way of controlling their entry and exit.
Participating in monthly assessments alongside regular trainees was to motivate these Exclusive Trainees. Exclusive Trainees would naturally be envied and even resented by regular trainees, and if their performance in the monthly assessment was worse than regular trainees, their sense of shame would naturally drive them to train harder.
And if they gave up completely and had no shame, that was fine too, wasn't there an annual assessment?
"Okay, I will prepare a trainee system proposal for you as soon as possible."
After all, she came from a formal company; everything required a proposal.
You know, as a subordinate, Jiang Shu deeply detested writing proposals and wished he could tear apart any leader who made him write one.
But as a leader, proposals were indeed useful. What one wanted to convey was clear at a glance, and after reading a proposal, one could get a suitable solution or implementation plan.
Of course, the premise was that the proposal was written by a competent person, not someone just padding it with words.
Those who padded their proposals were simply wasting both parties' time; it would be better not to write them at all.
Li Duohui was clearly not in that category; she had extensive experience in writing proposals.
"Hmm," Jiang Shu nodded, stood up, opened the door to Li Duohui's office, and walked out.
Li Duohui watched Jiang Shu leave, then picked up the phone on her desk.
"Have Minister Kim (Director of Trainees) come to my office."
After speaking, Li Duohui hung up the phone and quietly waited for Minister Kim's arrival.
…
DM Entertainment's relocation also attracted the attention of some media outlets. In terms of popularity, DM Entertainment was far behind the Three Greats, but because of IVE's existence, many media outlets were still paying attention to DM Entertainment.
This time, DM Entertainment's decision to move to a building in Samsong-dong also became widely known through media reports.
Taking advantage of the relocation's popularity, Qu Fan also released the news that Jiang Shu would personally attend this year's second-half trainee audition.
Even people who liked K-pop rarely paid attention to auditions, as they were just for trainees. However, there were some who enjoyed watching such auditions, and furthermore, the trainees participating in the September audition were particularly surprised that the President of DM Entertainment would personally attend.
In previous years, auditions were always attended by the Director of Trainees from each company, occasionally one or two company directors, but it was the first time a company president had personally come, especially the President of DM Entertainment, who was currently riding a wave of popularity.
Many trainees who passed the preliminary rounds became excited, anticipating the scenario where they would be noticed by Jiang Shu at the audition.
Auditions were a two-way selection between entertainment companies and contestants. Perhaps this president would notice them?
However, a small number of contestants were dismissive of Jiang Shu's personal presence. After all, other companies sent their Director of Trainees, but you, the President, came personally. What does that mean? Are the Directors of Trainees from other entertainment companies supposed to be on par with your DM Entertainment's President?
This instantly lowered the perceived status and prestige. Many contestants came to the audition aiming for the Three Greats. Jiang Shu's personal presence would not make these contestants feel valued; on the contrary, it would only make them look down on DM Entertainment, believing that this entertainment company had made the audition a very important matter, implying it lacked strength.
But such people were ultimately a minority. Most contestants participating in the audition simply wanted to be signed by a company.
Under the anticipation of entertainment companies, contestants, and audiences, the September 2018 Trainee Audition arrived as scheduled.
Thanks to Old Bookworm, my book friend, for the 100 Qidian coins reward!