Zappos means business, offers new employees $2,000 to quit
By Justin Montgomery
Many people don’t realize just how big Zappos has grown in recent years. The enormous online shoe and accessory retailer will likely boast over $1 Billion in revenue this year- up from a “measly” $70 million just five years ago. Why? Customer service is beyond that of almost any other company, and to prove it, the company offers its new hires an interesting proposition after one week of service.
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 are not only paid their full salary during the training, but after a week or so of the experience, 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 $2,000 bonus.” Zappos, in essence, bribes its newest employees to quit for a large bonus, to simply test their loyalty and willingness to immerse themselves in the Zappos culture.
According the CEO, only 2-3% of people take the offer. The other 97% say no deal—they choose the job over the instant cash, which is what Zappos is ultimately after. “The Offer” suggests a rare company that believes if you really want to amaze your customers, a great way to start is to amaze your employees and inspire them to amaze everyone who comes in contact with your enterprise, according to BusinessWeek.
Being that stellar customer service is what propelled Zappos to the top in the first place, this type of offer really doesn’t surprise me as much as it should. By weeding out the employees that likely aren’t going to work out in the long run, they’re saving a lot of money by getting it out of the way early. A week’s worth of salary plus $2,000 to get a bad employee in and out is a much better option than spending months or even years working on an employee to try and make things right when it could have all been done in just one week. No wonder Zappos has propelled themselves into a billion-dollar company in such a short time.
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