14 DAY TRIAL // League of Legends developer Riot Games is paying new employees to quit, with a brand new program that it just rolled out this week, appropriately called Queue Dodge.
The company announced that it wants to give recently hired employees an attractive way out in case they don't like Riot's "unique" culture. The company says that it would prefer to resolve work-related clashes easier with Queue Dodge than have people hang on for the paycheck in spite of not liking to work there.
Queue Dodge offers new employees an escape hatch, being allowed to depart anytime during their first 60 days with Riot Games, with compensation of 10 percent of their annual salary, up to $25k / €18k. The offer only extends to new hires in North America for the time being.
"Now, we don't want to actively push people out or dare them to leave, but we do want to provide a well-lit, safe exit path," the announcement begins.
"We operate on a foundation of shared mission, values, passion, trust, and mutual respect. If someone gags on the unique flavor of our culture, they'd be doing themselves and the company a disservice to hang on just for the paycheck," it goes on.
The company cites an initiative of online shoe and clothing shop Zappos as inspiration, where employees were paid to quit their job, and enforces its commitment to making sure that the people working for them do so for more than just a paycheck.
The Queue Dodge initiative will allow the company to gather people that believe in its long-term vision, people who want to be part of its culture. Although Riot Games already has a rigorous interviewing process in place, it still fails to "ensure a great fit every single time."
"Culturally aligned people and teams are more effective, and alignment around mission and values allows us to better serve players. We've designed Queue Dodge to help self-identified mismatches move on in an open, positive, and constructive way," the company states.
Riot Games is a company known for its unorthodox approach, transforming a free-to-play game into a worldwide phenomenon that rakes in hundreds of millions each year, just from optional cosmetic upgrades.
The company is also known for having invented the fist bump, a much more sanitary and stylish alternative to the antediluvian handshake, which unfortunately is not yet out of style, although we no longer carry multiple sharp weapons around wherever we go.