It sounds like a joke, but if it is, then one company is laughing all the way to the bank. Instead of focusing on being hip or trendy, Zappos, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada is weeding out employees that aren’t a perfect fit with their culture and determination to provide amazing customer satisfaction.
Video courtesy of Harvard Business Review and used with permission:
New employees are offered 4 weeks of paid training. During that time they are immersed in the company’s culture, strategy and drive to over-deliver on customer service. Every aspect of their business is focused on the customer, from their stock of over 4,000,000 styles of shoes, handbags and accessories to their promise of 4-day delivery that they often exceed by delivering over-night.It is after a week or so, that Zappos makes its astonishing offer. Employees are offered pay for the period they have worked and a $1000.00 bonus if they choose to quit.
Why would they make such an offer? It’s a test of potential employee dedication. If they take the money, then they are not the perfect fit that Zappos is looking for. Talking on the phone with customers, sometimes for hours, is a hard job.
The Zappos call-center employees have no scripts, no time limits and just one goal. Making the customer happy. In this highly energetic company culture, not everyone is a perfect fit and they are willing to pay to find out sooner rather than later.
The implications of this strategy are immense. Employees can make or break a company because companies don’t form relationships, people do.
Filling your company with the right people can take it from the mundane to the memorable. How much would you be willing to pay to do that?
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