Forget the standard office fruit bowl or Friday drinks. A Melbourne-based creative agency is redefining workplace incentives with a suite of extravagant, personalised perks that include cosmetic procedures, luxury cars, and a lucrative cash offer to quit on day one.
Beyond the Ping-Pong Table: Radical Rewards for Hitting Targets
The social media agency Kill Boring Dead, led by chief executive Marcus Willis, came to prominence after employee Rosie Brown detailed the "unhinged" benefits on TikTok. As the firm's Head of Strategy, Brown explained that rewards are directly tied to ambitious quarterly KPIs and are negotiated individually.
"We get to choose what works for us in terms of perks," Brown told the Daily Mail. "And that way, the company invests back in things that people actually love and care about." This philosophy has led to some remarkable incentive schemes.
For Brown, meeting her targets means an annual budget for Botox treatments, an idea that originated from a joking question to her boss. Another sales team member is working towards a massive goal with the reward of a brand-new Jeep. The entire company is also striving for a collective target that would result in an all-expenses-paid team trip to Thailand.
The £5,000 First-Day Exit and Wellbeing on Your Terms
Perhaps the most startling policy is the 'offer to quit' extended to every new starter. At the end of their first day, employees are given $5,000 (approximately £2,600) to leave if they feel the company's culture and expectations aren't the right fit.
"If that doesn't align for them... we'd rather they not even start," Brown stated. The agency views this as a prudent investment to avoid costly mismatches later on. To date, not a single new employee has taken the money and left.
Further personalisation is seen in the annual wellbeing budget offered to all staff. Worth several hundred dollars, it comes with no strings attached. Employees have used it for massages, fitness classes, gym gear, and even gaming consoles, based on their personal definition of wellness.
A Philosophy of Anti-Mediocrity in a Competitive Market
CEO Marcus Willis explained that when he rebranded the agency, he vowed to avoid mediocrity in everything, from client work to internal culture. "I wanted the experience to work here to feel just as creative and exciting as what I want my clients to feel," he said.
He argues that incentivising personal, often indulgent, goals creates powerful motivation. While other businesses might see such perks as frivolous, Willis ties every reward directly to a business-growth KPI. "That means everyone comes into work super engaged," he noted.
Operating in the competitive retail and FMCG sector with clients like Red Rooster, Willis believes this unconventional approach is why his small agency frequently out-competes larger rivals. "The monetary value is the same, but when the employee has chosen the perk themselves, it's more meaningful," he concluded, asserting that exciting rewards for exceptional work make perfect business sense.
