Case Story 4 : Line Manager – WeChat and WeSupport lessons a helping hand in managing young workers
Liu Qifang , 47 , understands the struggles and hardships faced by line workers all too well , especially those separated from their kids . Her working life began at the age of 17 when she left her hometown in Hunan Province to take up a job at a glove-making factory . Between her role as a factory worker , Qifang managed to raise two kids who are now enrolled in college . Since 2007 , Qifang has been working as a line manager at a ceramics factory in Dongguan , where she lives in a Wi-Fi covered factory dorm with her husband .
WeChat is one of the few apps Qifang has on her smart phone . At the very beginning , very few of her same-aged friends used WeChat , as most of them were like her : not adept at using smart phones . But when she saw how young people were using WeChat to message and video chat with their families , she decided to give it a go . As she works far away from home , Qifang rarely gets to see her kids . WeChat however , helps to bridge the distance . Before she got the app , her communication with her kids was limited to one call a week . Now she hears their voice , reads their messages and sees their photos on a daily basis . She ’ s thrilled that she can be in touch with her children on a daily basis .
What ’ s more , WeChat has become an indispensable communication aid to her . Thanks to WeChat , she now interacts with friends more and she uses it to send messages to workers when it ’ s not so appropriate to talk to them about certain issues face-to-face . “ This method helps to avoid unnecessary conflicts and misunderstandings ,” she tells us .
Qifang now directly supervises 47 workers on her line ; among them are five workers under the age of 25 . When we asked her whether she has encountered any difficulties with managing the young workers , she replied : “ Management is a kind of art . If you are doing it from your heart , it is not difficult at all . But if you are not focused , you may get lost .”
CCR CSR ’ s posts on line managers are among the few articles she has read on WeChat . She says these have given her great inspiration in management and communication and she feels they can be applied in practice . According to Qifang , the relationship between her and the young workers is very good , which she believes is due to her communication style : “ I always explain to them very patiently when they have technical problems at work . When they have done a good job , I will praise and encourage them at the morning meeting .” Qifang rarely has conflicts with her workers . Whenever there is a problem , she reports it to her supervisor and together they pragmatically solve the problem , thus avoiding wasting time on futile arguments .
Being so far away from home and new to the factory environment , Qifang thinks it is very normal for the young workers to have negative emotions from time to time . When she notices that workers are depressed or not concentrating on work , she gives them a buffer period , some space and she makes sure not to blow the issue up in front of other workers . She then talks to the young workers in private , allows them to speak out and then finds an appropriate solution . Quite often , the problem is that young workers think their tasks are much harder than others and that they have to put in so much more effort than others . This perception leads them to believe that they are not fairly treated and results in negative attitudes . In such situations , Qifang will adjust the work arrangement and rotate their tasks so that everyone can learn new skills and share the workload .
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