League of Legends Maker Says Here's The Cash, New Hire, Now Quit

[Karloff]

League of Legends Maker Says Here's The Cash, New Hire, Now Quit

Sometimes things just don't work out, and when that happens Riot offers Queue Dodge.

There are times when, in spite of a rigorous testing and interview process, a new hire just doesn't work out. Often it's obvious in the first 60 days whether or not this is so, and League of Legends maker Riot Games has a new scheme in place for when that happens. It's called Queue Dodge, and it's pretty simple: you can claim 10% of your annual salary, up to a max of $25,000, and you quit. Hasta la vista. Sayonara. Count your cash and scram.

"If someone gags on the unique flavor of our culture," says Riot, "They'd be doing themselves and the company a disservice to hang on just for the paycheck." Every company has a culture of some kind - the way things are done around here - and Riot's no exception. If you don't like the Riot way of life, then just turning up day after day isn't doing anyone any favors, least of all the company. Teams can fall apart if one or two people are checking out, mentally speaking; just waiting for payday and not contributing. Queue dodging weeds those people out, at a small but acceptable cost.

Hiring is a subject Riot CEO Brandon Beck takes very seriously. "Hire the right people, especially in leadership roles," he says [http://d3-2.design3.com/40022/design3_brandonbeck_presentation.mp4] (at about 22.00 onward). "I cannot stress this enough. Get the right people on the bus, and you will crush."

Queue Dodging is not an idea that's unique to Riot - it admits it borrowed the concept from Zappos - and it isn't company-wide just yet. Only North American hires can benefit from Queue Dodge, for now. The folks in Moscow [http://www.timeout.com/travel/features/1177/the-ultimate-dublin-pub-crawl] will have to console themselves some other way.

"We don't know yet how many people might choose to Queue Dodge," says Riot, "But we'll learn from this and make better hiring decisions as a result."

Source: Riot Games [http://www.riotgames.com/articles/20140619/1304/announcing-queue-dodge]


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[Metadigital]

Riot is supposedly the best game company in the US to work for, and it's stuff like this that speaks to that.

It also makes this a great company to not work for, actually. A win / win I hope.

 

[Thyunda]

Why do the hyperlinks just lead to drink?

 

[Fasckira]

Pretty good idea, though half the people I've worked with in the past who've just been turning up for a pay cheque are rarely the same kind of people to opt for this (and especially in the current job market).

Why do the hyperlinks just lead to drink?

Context: as Queue Dodge is unavailable to them, they will need to turn to drink instead. Thats the joke.

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

Can this apply to Solo Rank Queue as well? Sometimes I "gag" on the "unique flavour" of the LoL Community . . .

 

[seditary]

Is that really the best way to put it? 'Gag on the unique flavor of our culture' just sounds dirty.

 

[bearlotz]

Does anyone else find the title just a wee bit misleading? I looked into this expecting to see new employees getting the boot left and right with a small bribe to keep them quiet about it, and instead I find Riot offering new employees who don't like working at their company what basically amounts to a job search stipend.

Can this apply to Solo Rank Queue as well? Sometimes I "gag" on the "unique flavour" of the LoL Community . . .

We all have those days, I've started making far more liberal use of the "mute" button recently. It's done marvelous things for my blood pressure...and the life expectancy of my monitors...

 

[gamegod25]

"Hire the right people, especially in leadership roles,"... "I cannot stress this enough. Get the right people on the bus, and you will crush."

Sounds like pretty wise advice for any company. Having watched many a game company flounder (such as Red 5 studios and their sluggish, aimless development process with Firefall) I can definitely see the quality of leadership making or breaking a company.

 

[MCerberus]

Is that really the best way to put it? 'Gag on the unique flavor of our culture' just sounds dirty.

[Freud Intensifies]

OT- I can't help but wonder if Riot would be able to pull this off if it were publicly traded. They're owned by Tencent, but they're generally allowed to do things that sound like they aren't good for the bottom line because they don't have to bow to high dividend demands.

 

[Qvar]

Oh look, it's another Escapist article with sloopy title aimed at making a gaming company look bad.

 

[Pedro The Hutt]

Remember people, instead of making a newbie and a senior get along, no matter how right the newbie might feel in being wronged, just pay them a month's worth of pay and tell them to get lost because heavens forbid the "culture" gets changed. Riot, now working on making the company's culture as stagnant as their sole title's metagame.

 

[Malbourne]

I've heard about Zappos and its hiring policies. I think that's the company that offers a lump sum of cash to a new employee (like $2,000?) if they leave immediately. Part of the theory is that the employees that stay on enjoy working at the company and want to invest their employment in the long-term. In the end, it's cheaper to pay off less faithful employees because training becomes easier, employee loyalty is stronger, and the company monitors its human resources more effectively in the short-term.

 

[Ferisar]

Remember people, instead of making a newbie and a senior get along, no matter how right the newbie might feel in being wronged, just pay them a month's worth of pay and tell them to get lost because heavens forbid the "culture" gets changed. Riot, now working on making the company's culture as stagnant as their sole title's metagame.

Doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the wrongs or rights of a situation. If someone comes to work without any reason to be there, then there's no reason for them to be there.