The article in the url below summarizes a recent article in Harvard Business Online (‘Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit—And You Should Too,’ http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/taylor/2008/05/wy_zappos_pays_new_employees_t.html) about a firm I hadn’t heard of before—Zappos. For the similarly uninitiated:
“Zappos delivers shoes, handbags and other products ordered over the Internet. Delivery is free and fast, and customers can return unwanted products at no charge.”
The article praises Zappos for its exceptional customer service and argues that the reason it is so consistent in this area is due to the employees it hires (Issues: Employee Relations, p118; Wages, p204):
“After a few weeks of intensive training, new call-center employees are offered $1,000 on top of what they have earned to that point if they want to quit.”
Zappos reasons that those employees who take the firm up on its offer do not have the level of commitment it is looking for, while those that refuse it are more likely to be enjoying what they are doing. Quite a refreshing approach to employee retention!
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Shoe Seller's Secret of Success
By DAN MITCHELL
650 words
24 May 2008
The New York Times
Late Edition - Final
5
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/technology/24online.htm
