KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — A US software company is paying employees US$5,000 (RM20,912) to quit if they find themselves not up to the job.
The company’s reasoning for the move was to keep top talent across the industry, as well as maintain a strong company culture, Insider reported.
Trainual chief executive officer Chris Ronzio said with today’s market, hiring teams have to move quickly to assess candidates and get them through the process to a competitive offer, so it was impossible to be right all the time.
It is a software company in Arizona that helps small businesses onboard, train, and scale teams,
“The offer to quit allows the dust to settle from a speedy process and let the new team member throw a red flag if they’re feeling anything but excited.”
Ronzio started the pay-to-quit policy in May 2020.
At the time, the company was offering employees US$2,500 (RM10,456) to quit after two weeks if they had any sense of doubt before raising the amount to US$5,000 recently.
None of the 38 people they hired since the policy was implemented has taken the offer.
“We looked at our average salary when we considered changing the amount and ultimately figured that if somebody is making US$80,000 (RM334,600) or US$100,000 (RM418,250) a year, then US$2,500 might not be significant enough,” Ronzio said.
“They could decide to stay while they look for another job because they’ll make more staying. So we adjusted the number with that in mind.”
As an employer, Ronzio said he was responsible for building an inclusive culture.
He believed that giving employees a financial incentive and the power to “fire the company” sent a compelling message in culture building.
“It’s a powerful thing for them to turn down the cash, opt in, and commit. And it sets the stage for a great working relationship,” he said.
It also holds the hiring team accountable because there’s a cost to the business if they get it wrong, Ronzio said.
The logic behind the two-week window is that there’s less disruption to the business than there would be after a longer period of time, when the company has invested more in the employee.
