This is another example of Zappos putting the money (show me the money!) where their mouth is. Basically, any employee who is in good standing and has been with the company for 90 days can grant a $50 bonus to another qualified worker just because “You Feel They Deserve It!” How cool is that?

I’ve passed out quite a few of these and you know, cynical me is almost convinced it is better to give than receive. Yeah, yeah – the money is not coming directly out of my pocket – see, I am cynical. And on that note, yes there have been some chuckleheads who didn’t quite work “to the spirit and intent” of the program and changes were soon made after the original rollout. So much for the downside.

The upside is we can quickly and directly recognize the people we know make Zappos a better place. Another part of the program is that we are encouraged to present the award sheet “in the most creative way possible” to the recipient. I’ve tucked a couple into empty beer bottles and then used my capper to seal it up. Today I presented one to Renee in Training (the best department at ZAPPOS!)



I taped the folded up form to a CD that had a funny title. I was going to gently toss it to her like a Frisbee but then I saw a red toaster lying around. (Random Red Toaster = Classic Zappos) so I dropped the CD into the toaster, walked over to Renee and ejected the CD. She’s accustomed to such antics from me. So why did I feel Renee deserved this Award? Two reasons, first, (and mostly) because she has done such a great job with our Las Vegas Encounter program for our Kentucky people. And second, because her cube has provided some great photo ops for me.

So what are the other examples of Zappos showing the money? Well, the 10% employee bonus bought a big bunch of credibility.

And did you know that when our Customer Loyalty Team new hires are in training, they are told that if Zappos wasn’t what they expected, they can opt out be paid a severance sum to help tide them over. Did you ever hear of such a thing before? You’d be impressed how few people take the offer. When I was in new hire training, a few confided that they were tempted, but no one took it.

Another example is that all employees go to new hire training. Not only does this mean we are away from our “real jobs” for 4 weeks, but Zappos also loses some job applicants because they either cannot complete the program or they “refuse to do phones.” It’s best to find this out as soon as possible because they probably aren’t Zappos culture matches. Zappos feels in the long run it is worth it for everyone to be firmly grounded in our Customer Service philosophy and practices. And people who refuse to “do phones” just aren’t the type of people for the Zappos culture. I was amazed how nice you, our customers, all were when I was in training. Thank You!

Howzit, faithful followers?!

I really hated to title this latest HR / Training pulsating post as I did, (waaaay too many ABBA references his week for some reason), but what choice did I have??? Feast your ogling ojos on this:


That’s Zappos HR’s very own ninja prom queen, Heaven “Heavenless” T. showing us what she’s got. ‘nuff said.

Oh wait, that’s not true!! I also managed to score a pic of Jamstar’s recent glittering gift from one of her joie de vivre vendors:



Perhaps coming to a Zollar Store near you!! Sweeeeeet……

Some parting notes!

Jobs@zappos! Come getcha some!

Special thanks to Tony “Gender Bender” H., Zappos CEO, for letting me post Heaven’s performance here, instead of snatching it from my archives for his own sinister purposes, and waiting ever so patiently for me to get it out. Yer the best Tony. Love ya. Mean it.

Coming Soon!
-How HR’s Monthly Outing literally rocked! (promise this one’s coming really soon)
-An update from Training! (sorry, really needed to get Heaven’s routine up!)
-Zappos.com: Powered by Hope! (and another Dancing Queen!!)
-Random Rozzy Thoughts! (building anticipation…it’ll be worth it!)
-The Benches Are Here!!!!! (or, “Why We Love Rozzy and Rebecca L.!”)
-What’s all this about Twitter, then?!!

Until we meet again, “Yes! A brain transplant!...I don’t need it; take my brain!”
~drroo
(follow me on twitter!)

Item!
Have any ideas on how this crazy, kooky thing we call a blog could evolve? They don’t even need to be good ones! Have a burning question, or a need to wax philosophical? Need some sage advice? I’m here for you, citizens of the intarweb, and my sustenance is your comments!!!

Salutations, rapturous readers! I hope this merry missive from yours truly finds you reasonably chirpy! There was no wayI could let the week come to an end without one last update, as there was a boat-load of stuff that happened in Zappos.com's HR and Training teams since last we spoke!

So much culture, so little time…

Much of that boat-load had something to do with Jamie N., Zappos' resident Cruise Ship Coordinator! Also called “JamStar!” by those who know her best, she creates and coordinates myriad and momentous employee-related events, activities, and programs…kind of like Julie from the Love Boat, but without that 80's perm and with a bit more of an edge.

Our 4th Annual Zappos Employee Picnic was the largest to date, and ridiculously successful…


The calm before the crazy.

Kris Z. and Angela M. realizing they’re clearly outclassed. (Not that there’s anything classy about Bryan T.’s utter abandonment of all civility…)

L to R: Steve P., Mark G., Steve H., Fred M., Meghan B., and Eileen L. Winners of the Team Challenge!

...and JamStar just couldn’t resist making some mischief along the way:

“Ever since HR’s very own Dave H. won the typing contest, there have been vicious rumors aboutHR rigging results. Some of us decided to fight back. We held a raffle at the picnic, drew the winners yesterday, and sent the following email:

---

Congratulations to the following folks lucky enough to win a prize in the Picnic Raffle:

• 1 Play Station 3 (Valued at $400) = Dave W. from HR
• 1 Stainless Barbeque Grill Station (Valued at $200) = Drew K. from HR
• 2 Flip Video Camera (Valued at $155 each) = Rebecca R. and Hollie D. from HR
• 1 Espresso Coffee Maker (Valued at $100) = Christa F. from HR
• 2 Polaroid Digital Camera (Valued at $90 each) = Jacob P. and Rosalind S. from HR
• 1 Margarita Madness Machine (Valued at $80) = Eric V. from HR
• 1 Shell Gift Card (Valued at $50) = Heaven T. from HR

Wow, it looks like HR really swept the grand prizes. Luck of the draw I guess.

---

“Phones started to ring, inboxes started to blow up. It was great! Just some of the comments: Cheaters!...Jamie, that's statistically a little suspicious…this is gonna really upset people that everyone in HR won and no one else, wow…rofl!...You should send a follow-up picture of HR loading everything into someone's trunk.

“We let the team off the hook and sent the list of the real winners out. This caused another flood of emails: THAT WAS GREAT!!!... You guys are too much!... Here we all were with out mouths agape, when we got your second email…You punks!... You should have heard the grumbling goin on over here!!... Nice trick. LOL”

PS: For those of you questioning whether Dave H. actually won the typing contest last week, he's happy to go mano a mano with anyone doubting his skills. You name the time and place.

Meanwhile, the trail-blazing Training team was having an out of this world Las Vegas Encounter! Super Trainer,
Adrienne “Abductee” C. probes into greater detail for us: “Remember the exchange student program in high school? Zappos does! Every 3 weeks or so, we fly 5-10 employees from the fulfillment center (our warehouse) in Shepherdsville, Kentucky out to Vegas, put them up at the local Station Casinos hotel, and give them rental cars to run wild around town!

“They spend a week with us in our corporate office learning how the ‘other side’ lives and works. They visit
different departments and get to do some hands on stuff. Before this group left to go home, they wanted to do a parade around the office. You know how much we love parades!http://blogs.zappos.com/!!

“Sharing their Kentucky-ness by bringing the Derby to us Vegans!"

“A Vegas trip isn’t complete without visiting the sign!”

Some parting notes: Jobs@zappos! For all my friends!

Have any ideas on how this crazy, kooky thing we call a blog could evolve? They don’t even need to be good ones! Have a burning question, or a need to wax philosophical? Need some sage advice? I’m here for you, citizens of the interweb!

Coming Soon:

• How HR’s Monthly Outing Literally Rocked!
• Random Rozzy Thoughts (yer gonna love this)
• The Benches Are Here!!!!! (or, “Why We Love Rozzy and Rebecca L.”)

Catch y’all on the flip side, and remember: “We gotta find that troll!”
~Ddroo!

Welcome to the very first pulse-pounding post from Zappos.com’s HR and Training departments! For all you feverish fans out there, this is the place to learn about the activities, events, and just plain wackadoo things that we do, straight from the source!

So without further ado, let’s get to it!

From Shannon “Shanadoo” R., one of our truly amazing Recruiting Assistants:

“Early one morning, while pondering the state of the world, Eric, Jacob and I bantered back and forth about holding a company-wide typing contest. The more we talked, the grander the plans became….and the more real! Soon the call went out to all Las Vegas Zappos.com employees:

So Your Momma Can't Dance and Your Daddy Can't Rock & Roll---But CAN YOU TYPE?! Thus, the first ever typing competition becomes a reality!"
Below is a video account of our first ever typing contest!

In other news, Training Manager, Rachael B., has a weird thing for bubbles. I sit facing her and I can tell you I’ve never seen anyone sooo excited over bubbles. My phone and desk are permanently encrusted with bubble residue. To share her bizarre fascination with the rest of the company, she got HR and Training together and a Bubble Parade was born! In true Zappos (and HR / Training) fashion, wackiness ensued…

Here’s the bubble head herself, the lovely Rachael B, in the midst of the parade!


HR and Training in full bubble regalia. ‘Nuff said.


Some parting notes:

What makes Recruiting blow milk out their collective nose:

Coming Soon:
-Zappos.com Annual Employee Picnic! (oooh…)
-HR’s Monthly Outing! (ah….)
-And, Random Rozzy Thoughts!! (wha…???)

Oh, and we’re hiring!!!

Today was an exciting day here in Creative Services; three of our
fellow CS'ers completed their last day of CLT training, and we couldn't
be more proud of them! Fabio A, Kris K. and Phil S. completed their
last day in the four week training course.
CLT (Customer Loyalty) Training consists of three weeks of classroom
time and a full week on the phones that trains all of our fine CLT
Staff! All Zappos employees, no matter what their position, go through
the training. This allows us all to see into the world of CLT and the
WOW that they deliver on a daily basis.
Phil, a graphic designer, Kris, a production assistant, and Fabio, a
web producer, graduated in style, and all of us in CS would like to
say: "Right on, fellas! Proud of ya!"
And to all of our new CLT team members, for those about to WOW, we salute you!!!!!!
-Brett H.

Sounds kind of est-ish doesn’t it? This is the somewhat mysterious name for our orientation and awareness program on Las Vegas operations for our Kentucky Fulfillment Center staff. Groups of around 5-8 people will
come out to Las Vegas for a 3 ½ day visit.

After this program they’ll actually have a more complete understanding of Zappos Las Vegas than many people who work here. Most of the departments will give them a brief presentation and then give them a shadowing
session with experienced people. They also meet most of our senior management, catch up with old friends and make new ones.

So of course it is not all just presentations and staring at computer screens. This is Zappos afterall. One of the freeform activities is “Building Bingo” where they have to roam the building, locate certain people and get questions answered. And after hours there’s the wonderfully wide world of Las Vegas entertainment.

Here’s a picture of this week’s group of 7 in the HR Kissing Booth.

We regularly have inhouse Tech Seminars conducted by Reps from our vendors. This gives our CLT reps the opportunity to see many of our brands firsthand, learn about them and get questions answered direct from the source. This means they are better prepared to answer your questions as well as suggest items of interest.

And yes, we do get promotional items at these seminars. One of the most popular items I've seen is this t-shirt being modeled below by Graham and Nicole from our Merchandising group.

The front says "It's OK to use the f word again" and the back says "FLORSHEIM." Our Florsheim rep, Richard, came up with this concept a while back and recently had these shirts made up. Judging by the reception at Zappos, I'd have to say they are a "F"antastic success!

Hey I'm taking liberties with the famous song by Kansas in the title of this post. So early this afternoon, Brian K. comes over and says "Hey you have to see what's going on out front!" Turns out the Merchandising Assistant I (MA1) class was celebrating the glorious t-shirt weather today and having a culture building session by doing street chalk art about our 10 Core Values.

Several months ago I was very impressed to learn that Zappos has an inhouse training program for the Merchandising Dept. It takes you from MA1, MA2, then MA3. After that you become a Buyer 1, Buyer2, Buyer3 and then Buyer. We're talking required reading (remember all those book cases in our front lobby), classroom discussions and tests.

So I think it only fitting that the first picture shows our Core Value #5.

Zappos Core Value #5 Pursue Growth and Learning.

Here's Chris, the Instructor for today's class, getting CSI'd by one of the students. Chris is a real character. Maybe one day I'll show you a picture of him in his "jester elf" costume.


After they outlined Chris, I think someone dragged him off to use as a training dummy for the WAFA class. Next, Kelly, Ashley and Karrie filled his outline with more core values.


ZAPPOS, POWERED by Core Values!