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Zappos moves toward a boss-less model

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shared a company-wide email on March 24 telling employees that the company would be moving toward a boss-free model.
/ Source: TODAY

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shared a company-wide email on March 24 telling employees that the online shoe retailer would be moving toward less corporate hierarchy and increasing self-organization among employees.

Reported by Quartz, the company-wide email (which was more than 4,700 words) in March outlined that employees who don't want to stay on with the unconventional corporate strategy, and meet certain criteria, can opt to leave the company and receive at least three months' severance.

Tony Hsieh CEO Zappos
Tony Hsieh, ZapposZappos.com

The system, called "holacracy," will involve self-governed "circles," or teams, as opposed to a pyramid of managers and employees.

"The tasks of management ― setting direction and objectives, planning, directing, controlling and evaluating ― haven’t disappeared," Hsieh wrote. "They are simply no longer concentrated in dedicated management roles."

The company is known for less-than-conventional corporate practices, especially offering new hires $2,000 to quit if they realize that the company's culture isn't for them.