“It’s a hard job, answering phones and talking to customers for hours at a time. So when Zappos hires new employees, it provides a four-week training period that immerses them in the company’s strategy, culture, and obsession with customers. People get paid their full salary during this period. “
….
“After a week or so in this immersive experience, though, it’s time for what Zappos calls “The Offer.” The fast-growing company, which works hard to recruit people to join, says to its newest employees: “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus.” Zappos actually bribes its new employees to quit!
Why? Because if you’re willing to take the company up on the offer, you obviously don’t have the sense of commitment they are looking for.”
This sounds like a really fantastic way to run a company, and breed loyalty. I wonder if this is a publicly traded company. In my experiences with large corporations, I could never see them using this kind of approach. As it is, training is minimal, and they would have never made this kind of an offer.
However, one comment written below this article kind of fit into the corporate culture that I am used to -
“Companies always want people who are willing to work long hours and be paid in ‘enthusiasm’.”
I absolutely love this idea. A thousand dollars is a cheap alternative to retaining an employee who goes through the motions and simply doesn’t want to be there. I wonder if the person who hires the person who takes the $1000 notices any repercussion based on the fact that they hired the wrong person. This would completely change the dynamic of recruiting and hiring process. It’s not likely that you would settle for someone just to fill what appears to be an immediate need.
