As one of the world’s leading toy makers, Hape puts great emphasis on talent development in order to drive innovation, build a dynamic corporate culture and promote sustainable growth. Recently, to help newly-recruited graduates transition to life at Hape effectively, the Human Resource Management Centre (referred to as HRM hereafter) has introduced the Double-mentoring Program.

“I was quite nervous and perplexed when I entered the workplace, but thanks to my two mentors – who directed me like a lighthouse – I’m now able to better fit in. I was used to college life before, with teachers and tutors looking after me, so I was happy that there was a transition between college life and the company.” – new toy designer Shuya Pan commented. As one of the new recruits, the HRM selected the veteran designer Huang Ni as her mentor for her daily work, and their manager, GuoKai Yang, as her second mentor. They volunteered to sign an agreement and promised to spare some working time to teach and help their apprentice. Through these interactions and a series of team building activities, they’ve now gotten to know each other and work well as a group.

Aside from Shuya Pan, nine newly-recruited graduates finished their first tutoring term recently, and expressed their gratitude towards their mentors at a Summary Ceremony on Apr. 15th, 2022. Four apprentice delegates from Technique Dep., OEM and QA Dep. shared their first-term outcome and experiences, receiving congratulations and encouragement from their mentors and leaders. On May 10th, the HRM held another ceremony, compensating mentors for their extra work with bonuses summing up to ¥25500.0.

Speaking of the benefits of the Mentoring Program, Victor Yang, the head of HRM remarkedd, “Firstly, the program has reduced the turnover rate among green hands; over 50% of the 2021 graduates have settled in, which is much higher than we expected. Secondly, the program will inject impetus to the team and enhance morale.” Additionally, the Vice President, Jason Zhou, spoke highly of the move and shared his opinion, “The mentorship has been a great tradition, and now we introduce it again in combination with our own conditions and needs. It’s good to see passions sparked, as we toy makers need such enthusiasm.”

Peter, the founder and CEO of Hape, shared his career story at the ceremony: “I saw you have signed a tutoring deal, in my opinion, we all need to sign a deal with ourselves: ‘what do I want?’, ‘what knowledge and skills do I have in order to realize it? Review your plan every several years and make adjustments. Planning may not lead to success, but as long as you improve ‘step by step’, there’s chance. Meanwhile, we shall stay open-minded and be confident to go out and seek new opportunities in different countries and industries. After all, we ought to make a better self.”

The Mentoring Program is a favorable extension of Hape’s wider talents strategy. In the future, the HRM will continue to optimize career paths for all Hape staff, forging a dynamic talent pool that will ensure Hape’s sustainable growth.