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129 Zenefits Staff Quit After Offer from CEO

23 points by nikunjk 10y ago

awinder 10y ago
How many people would leave their job for severance pay? Even if they enjoyed their job? I think I could swing into a job in under 2 months but still feel like I'd have to dislike my work a lot to do that...
- x0x0 10y ago
  Don't forget zenefits used to be 1600 and is now down to 910. At this point, there's a good chance they're the last round of layoffs that comes with a severance. My experience at previous companies is this: if someone offers a buyout, volunteer. Only the first round gets good packages. By the 3rd round you're lucky to end up with the pay you're owed.
  - caseysoftware 10y ago
    I've seen this mindset but for a different reason. While buyouts are supposed to get rid of the lower performers, it often doesn't work that way. If the offers go to everyone, many of the best qualified people know they can a) get a job quickly and b) are looking at N months of paid vacation/extra pay, so they jump. Even worse, they know who the good people are so when they land the new job and need to recruit, they know who to target. A decade+ ago, I was at a company and we were made offers. I was on the fence but decided to watch three specific people I deeply respected. When two of them left, I was next. The third was a few days later. In under 4 months, almost the entire tech staff turned over and many of us have worked together since.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - brianwawok 10y ago
      So the moral of the story is don't make offers, just fire the chaff?
      - caseysoftware 10y ago
        Maybe fire, maybe target the offers to people you actually want to leave. There is probably fallout involved in that one as people figure it out but is it more/less than your top people leaving?
  - Smeevy 10y ago
    That's good advice right there. I volunteered for a layoff 15 years ago and it was the one of the best decisions I've ever made. I received two months severance and had time to really think about what I wanted in my next job. The severance for the next group was two weeks.
- muzz 10y ago
  Not sure if you're saying that 2 months is ample incentive to leave a job you like, or not enough unless you really hate it. Those seem like opposite things.
- Justsignedup 10y ago
  Advantage to the company: If shit is hitting the fan, people want to leave, the goal is to offer them to leave and tell you, than leave and you be unprepared. If they don't take they money, you know they are committed, if they do you have a better idea of your actual dedicated employee numbers.

23 points by nikunjk 10y ago

How many people would leave their job for severance pay? Even if they enjoyed their job? I think I could swing into a job in under 2 months but still feel like I'd have to dislike my work a lot to do that...

x0x0 10y ago
Don't forget zenefits used to be 1600 and is now down to 910. At this point, there's a good chance they're the last round of layoffs that comes with a severance. My experience at previous companies is this: if someone offers a buyout, volunteer. Only the first round gets good packages. By the 3rd round you're lucky to end up with the pay you're owed.
- caseysoftware 10y ago
  I've seen this mindset but for a different reason. While buyouts are supposed to get rid of the lower performers, it often doesn't work that way. If the offers go to everyone, many of the best qualified people know they can a) get a job quickly and b) are looking at N months of paid vacation/extra pay, so they jump. Even worse, they know who the good people are so when they land the new job and need to recruit, they know who to target. A decade+ ago, I was at a company and we were made offers. I was on the fence but decided to watch three specific people I deeply respected. When two of them left, I was next. The third was a few days later. In under 4 months, almost the entire tech staff turned over and many of us have worked together since.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - brianwawok 10y ago
    So the moral of the story is don't make offers, just fire the chaff?
    - caseysoftware 10y ago
      Maybe fire, maybe target the offers to people you actually want to leave. There is probably fallout involved in that one as people figure it out but is it more/less than your top people leaving?
- Smeevy 10y ago
  That's good advice right there. I volunteered for a layoff 15 years ago and it was the one of the best decisions I've ever made. I received two months severance and had time to really think about what I wanted in my next job. The severance for the next group was two weeks.
muzz 10y ago
Not sure if you're saying that 2 months is ample incentive to leave a job you like, or not enough unless you really hate it. Those seem like opposite things.
Justsignedup 10y ago
Advantage to the company: If shit is hitting the fan, people want to leave, the goal is to offer them to leave and tell you, than leave and you be unprepared. If they don't take they money, you know they are committed, if they do you have a better idea of your actual dedicated employee numbers.