Zappos bribes employees to quit

I've written about Zappos, the customer-obsessed etailer, in the past - for example, this post - because I think they're an important site for all experience practitioners to know.

Then a few weeks ago, members of our Councils voted Zappos a Copernican Award.

But this is a new one to me. From Bill Taylor, here's what happens at Zappos during a new employee's training 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. It’s hard to describe the level of energy in the Zappos culture—which means, by definition, it’s not for everybody. Zappos wants to learn if there’s a bad fit between what makes the organization tick and what makes individual employees tick—and it’s willing to pay to learn sooner rather than later. (About ten percent of new call-center employees take the money and run.)

This is much like what Chip Conley writes about in Peak - the employee experience is just as important as the customer experience. (Read my interview of Chip.)

(Thanks to David for the article pointer.)

• May 20, 2008
• IN: Customer Experience
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