Yesterday I wrote about Zappos' practice of offering a $2,000, no-questions-asked bonus to new hires who complete a four-week training program and feel they're not a fit for the e-tailer.  As you can see in the original post below, Jim and Michael had some great thoughts on how this employee engagement best practice can positively affect a company's culture, morale, and productivity.

However, Michael also notes that he believes his employer would not choose to implement a measure such as "The Offer" "due to scale."  He also asks two great follow-up questions:

1. Does this type of program strike you as industry specific?
2. What are the factors that are making it catch on?

I pasted my post from yesterday into a discussion thread on Winning Workplaces' LinkedIn group, and Michael replied to me with his same comment there – that he thought his employer would pass on the initiative.  In response to my LinkedIn question, I also heard from Norma, who had this to say:

I saw this article [from BusinessWeek] and brought it to the attention of my execs to get their thoughts.  One partner was intrigued because he oversees ops and realized that the cost to ensure we have a committed employee up front is probably still less than the cost of turnover altogether.  The other partner was turned off by it because he felt this was an extreme method for retention.  He also said that while he agrees that many people will know in their first 30 days whether or not the culture is for them, many more will wait until 6 months or so to leave a company because they would have wanted to give the company a chance before just walking away or ensure they have something else first, especially in an economy we have today.  I personally think it is an innovative idea and could be very positive given the right circumstances.

I found her description of her firm's partner who is against the leaving bonus quite revealing.  At issue:

• Is 30 days enough time to accurately gauge a company's culture and an employee's adjustment to it?
• How does the state of the economy skew the success (retention rate and employee tenure after implementation) of this practice?

Like Michael, Norma seems to suggest that industry may be a barrier to entry.  (Does anyone out there have industry data on adoption of this type of bonus?  Or is it just too new/too soon to tell?)

I invite you to join our LinkedIn group – it's free and a great networking tool – and add your thoughts there to this intriguing question.  And here, too, if you wish!