I came from Wall Street where bonuses are typically given out at the end of every year. Companies reward employees for a job well done, hoping that it will be an incentive to retain their top talent. But at Mavens, a cloud-consulting company for the health-care industry, they'll pay you a bonus to quit.
Why on earth would they do that?
For the same reason, says CEO and co-founder Prasad "PK" Kanumury: To retain top talent.
The quitting bonus is only an option for new hires. It expires at the end of the first 45 days of employment. If the job isn't what a person expected or they decide they're unhappy; they have the right to accept 10 percent of their base salary as a bonus to leave the company.
The thinking goes that, if an employee is unhappy with the job, they're going to be looking for a job anyway – while they're on the company clock.
"A lot of people don't want to quit a job without having one already lined up," Kanumury said. "It's all about the money. They have to pay their bills. We'll pay your bills while you look for another job. Leave. Don't waste our time because you're looking for another job anyway."
This may sound counterintuitive to spend money on talent that leaves the company but it's actually a policy that helps employee retention at Mavens, which, at this 50-employee company is at nearly 100 percent. Everyone who is there wants to be there, Kanumury said. That is evident in their rating on job site Glassdoor: With more than 50 employee reviews, they have 5 out of 5 stars. 100 percent would recommend the company to a friend. And 100 percent approve of the CEO.
"From a business perspective of managing the bottom line — it's more fiscally responsible," Kanumury said. "The investment in someone to be prepared to do the job is tremendous and I'm cutting my losses pretty quick if someone doesn't want to be here. If they take the bonus then, I don't have to train them on everything we do. It's an advantage for us."