Employees quit after a few weeks?!?!

[FireSprint.com]

Offer them $250 to quit after their first week.

There's a million bits of management advice you can follow. Clearly defined roles, SOPs, improving morale, etc. All these things are critically important long term. But in the short term, you need to find a team that likes working together. Anything else is a waste of time. If you can't seem to find the right people through the interview process, pay them to leave so you can both move on and build a great team.

Tony Hsieh, the late former CEO of Zappos, famously pioneered the concept of paying new, unhappy employees $2,000 to quit in order to maintain a happy, productive workforce

"The Offer" was to "make sure that employees aren't here just for paychecks," the late Zappos visionary Tony Hsieh told Business Insider in 2016.

www.businessinsider.com

What do you guys think?

 

[balstestrat]

Sounds pretty smart. Is 250 enough or 5000 too much? I don't know but that could fit well as a last part of recruiting process.
Obviously it should be disclosed only after hiring and training. I wouldn't offer it after a week. Everything is still fresh and new but maybe after a month if the pace doesn't pick up.
Then if they wanna stay it could be a bonus after a year.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Yep. The timing and the amount should probably depend on the pay and the role.

Hourly entry level people, or younger folks might take $100 or $200 in a week or two.

Managers or skilled technicians might take $2500 in a few months.

 

[Gino]

When ya think about it, that might be a good idea to begin with...... but if people catch on, they will apply for the job and either hold out for you to up the offer or work like a real sh!t, until ya fire them and they can go on unemployment. Wouldn't it be better to hire someone on a 30 or 60 day temporary case ?? Then, the temporary position ceased to exist and so does that employee.

 

[Stacey K]

That's an interesting concept. Most people would prefer not to be fired and have a termination on their work record so this would be a good alternative.

 

[White Haus]

Interesting. Not sure I'd go as far as offering something like this but I can see the value in it, especially in a larger company.

After months of talking about it, we're finally trying to hire someone. Picked 2 candidates out of a bunch of them and went through phone interviews. Had both scheduled for in-person interviews yesterday..... one of them showed up 30 mins early, barely made it through 5 mins of interview before saying "this isn't going to work, I actually have another full time job". Then proceeded to awkwardly walk out. (WTF)

Second one bailed on interview after confessing that he had lied about having another job already (he specifically said he wasn't working, yet was too busy to reply emails in a timely fashion) , but could maybe make time to come in next week. No thanks.

Should be an interesting journey.....

 

[ProColorGraphics]

When ya think about it, that might be a good idea to begin with...... but if people catch on, they will apply for the job and either hold out for you to up the offer or work like a real sh!t, until ya fire them and they can go on unemployment. Wouldn't it be better to hire someone on a 30 or 60 day temporary case ?? Then, the temporary position ceased to exist and so does that employee.

I have a customer from a high end manufacturing company who told me he hires everyone that way.

 

[FireSprint.com]

When ya think about it, that might be a good idea to begin with...... but if people catch on, they will apply for the job and either hold out for you to up the offer or work like a real sh!t, until ya fire them and they can go on unemployment. Wouldn't it be better to hire someone on a 30 or 60 day temporary case ?? Then, the temporary position ceased to exist and so does that employee.

I do think these cases would be the exception to the rule, but still important concepts to consider.

Also, if someone needs to be fired, fire them. Don't delay.

A concept like Zappos implemented helps get rid of people who aren't real happy, but still performing well enough to do the job.

Just to be clear, we have never paid someone to quit, we have other ways to get the cream to rise to the top as they say. But I do think that this is valid for a small sign shop owner that is dealing with high turnover. Employees that are not in it for the long run are very challenging.

 

[balstestrat]

Yeah it's easy to misunderstand this concept. The easy money people who do shit work shouldn't even be possible to touch that money to begin with.

 

[Johnny Best]

So it pays, $250 or more, to be a lousy employee and not get along with your co workers. That is like a divorce where you find out you don't get along and it cost you almost everything. Things certainly have turned strange.

 

[balstestrat]

So it pays, $250 or more, to be a lousy employee and not get along with your co workers. That is like a divorce where you find out you don't get along and it cost you almost everything. Things certainly have turned strange.

Lose $250 today to not lose $25,000 in the long run?

 

[RabidOne]

I have a customer from a high end manufacturing company who told me he hires everyone that way.

A large company local to me never hires anyone permanently. It is always by contract initially (6 months or a year). If you perform they will offer you a full time job.

 

[rjssigns]

A large company local to me never hires anyone permanently. It is always by contract initially (6 months or a year). If you perform they will offer you a full time job.

Last place I worked for went strictly temp agency for new hires. If you were worth it you got offered a permanent spot. If you didn't work out you were sent packin' with no HR issues whatsoever. Yeah, the temp agency gets a cut, but it's a small price to pay for the convenience of "try before ya buy".

 

[RabidOne]

Last place I worked for went strictly temp agency for new hires. If you were worth it you got offered a permanent spot. If you didn't work out you were sent packin' with no HR issues whatsoever. Yeah, the temp agency gets a cut, but it's a small price to pay for the convenience of "try before ya buy".

Similar to a place I was previously at, except they are involved with a local College Print Production program.
They take students on their work experience every year, and if they are good they hire them.
Fully half the production employees in that shop went through the College course.

 

[FireSprint.com]

Some of you are clearly missing the point. Fire the lousy employee.

Set clear expectations. Train them well. Treat them with respect. And if they are not meeting those expectations, let them go. No severence. No "Bonus"

The offer would be made to an employee that is meeting expectations. Someone that is performing fairly well. Someone who isn't on a corrective action plan.

The goal would be to encourage someone who is thinking about leaving in the near future to just quit now, before any more time is wasted. Open the spot for someone who actually wants to stay.

This won't work for everyone. As I said, we don't do this either. The idea could be useful though. Especially if you find yourself having employees quit after a few months on the regular. Speed up the process of finding the right team for your business.

 

[Notarealsignguy]

It seems like one of those great concepts that never actually play out as planned. It's not anything new, this is essentially a severance package. You offer it to everyone and see who takes the bait. Problem is, there are plenty of employees that are good at what they do and are mature enough to not muddy the water yet hate their job. You don't necessarily want to encourage those types to leave.

 

[Boudica]

When I was hired for this job (going on six years ago now), it was a three month probation period. After 3 months, I would get a raise, and be eligible for performance bonuses.

It turned out to be a good fit, and my boss shortened my probationary period at two months. Got my raise early, get a raise every year, and we are still going strong.

 

[Stacey K]

I thought about this last night Firesprint and I have to tell you a funny story! A friend/acquaintance offered to help me one Friday set-up my in-store spirit store - for free, no pay as she "works from home" Mondays and Fridays and is getting paid anyway. We had a nice time, it was an especially busy period for me with school starting. LOTS of parents in and out, school administrators, business people, etc. She was LOVING being right there in the excitement, talking to all the "important people". It was a big help on top of my normal work load to have someone else there checking people out. It wasn't uncommon for me to have 5-10 people standing there needing help. The overflow ended...but she didn't stop coming in...and then the gossiping started...and the nosing around...and the telling me how to run my business. I don't gossip about my customers, I never tell anyone about bad customers, late payments, etc. It's very unprofessional. Once she stated questioning why a couple invoices were two months old and if they were in trouble with their business or what...that was a red flag.

It's pretty clear the ONLY reason she is coming in is to "rub elbows" and get the gossip. Point in case. I had told her two Fridays in a row when she showed up (without me asking) that I didn't need her help. She seemed to get the point. Then she showed up again yesterday. I told her again, it's Friday, I just need to get my computer stuff done, run some errands, box some stuff up and I'm heading out. As she's out the door, holding it, the booster club gal walks in - she turned around, walked back into the shop and sat there the entire time until she left. Of course this woman had some gossip, which I will NOT repeat but I'm sure my "employee" will. Then she told me, "WOW, you are going need my help with that order, I'll be here next Monday and Friday!" I told her no three times...three times she told me "an extra set of hands and eyes is always needed!" and walked out the door.

So here I have a case where someone is so desperate to rub-elbows and learn some gossip that she is willing to work for FREE. Can you even believe this? I don't care what anyone says, this type of employee, free or not is not the right fit for a small business. I will begin the termination process Monday if she shows up.

 

[Boudica]

I thought about this last night Firesprint and I have to tell you a funny story! A friend/acquaintance offered to help me one Friday set-up my in-store spirit store - for free, no pay as she "works from home" Mondays and Fridays and is getting paid anyway. We had a nice time, it was an especially busy period for me with school starting. LOTS of parents in and out, school administrators, business people, etc. She was LOVING being right there in the excitement, talking to all the "important people". It was a big help on top of my normal work load to have someone else there checking people out. It wasn't uncommon for me to have 5-10 people standing there needing help. The overflow ended...but she didn't stop coming in...and then the gossiping started...and the nosing around...and the telling me how to run my business. I don't gossip about my customers, I never tell anyone about bad customers, late payments, etc. It's very unprofessional. Once she stated questioning why a couple invoices were two months old and if they were in trouble with their business or what...that was a red flag.

It's pretty clear the ONLY reason she is coming in is to "rub elbows" and get the gossip. Point in case. I had told her two Fridays in a row when she showed up (without me asking) that I didn't need her help. She seemed to get the point. Then she showed up again yesterday. I told her again, it's Friday, I just need to get my computer stuff done, run some errands, box some stuff up and I'm heading out. As she's out the door, holding it, the booster club gal walks in - she turned around, walked back into the shop and sat there the entire time until she left. Of course this woman had some gossip, which I will NOT repeat but I'm sure my "employee" will. Then she told me, "WOW, you are going need my help with that order, I'll be here next Monday and Friday!" I told her no three times...three times she told me "an extra set of hands and eyes is always needed!" and walked out the door.

So here I have a case where someone is so desperate to rub-elbows and learn some gossip that she is willing to work for FREE. Can you even believe this? I don't care what anyone says, this type of employee, free or not is not the right fit for a small business. I will begin the termination process Monday if she shows up.

Sever that part of your relationship! I hope she's mature enough, and doesn't get bent out of shape, and turn her love for small town gossip on you. Good luck !

 

[FireSprint.com]

Yeah, seems like you need a restraining order