You’re Hired: Now Quit

Say you’re hired for a new job. At the end of a four-week training period, your new boss offers you a big bonus to quit right then. Would you stay on the job, or take the money and run?

Zappos employees interact on Twitter.

Think of it as an employer’s test for whether you’ve come on board for the money or for love of the job.

That’s the strategy online shoe-retail giant Zappos is using to cultivate a more committed customer service staff. Zappos, which has banked on strong customer service to grow its business, offers all of its new call center employees $1,000 to walk away after training. Apparently, new hires turn down the buyout offer 90 percent of the time.

Judging from the glowing customer testimonials on their website, Zappos’s gambit seems to be paying off.

The Harvard Business Review has more.

(HT: CT2)