So you work at this big co. How about you leave your job and come work for us and we may fire you after a month?
The best people are never on the market. You have to get them before they even leave their existing company otherwise someone else will
During that time both the employee and/or the company can terminate the contract giving a small notice - one week in every country I've worked, but it might be different in other places. In most companies you don't even have access to some (or all) benefits - pension, healthcare, shares... - until you pass that period.
I don't know about your experience, but from where I come from it's almost a fact of life and one of the things you have to weight when looking to move to a new position.
- one-month trial period - one-year contract - permanent contract
For senior people, the trial period is more of a formality as they are often quick to become productive in the organization. Of course, when after a couple of months it is discovered that the new senior and management do have a fundamental difference of opinion with regard to the future of the organization, professionally, or even personally, the end of the one-year contract is the moment to part ways. This can be initiated by employer, employee, or even both, but that depends on the situation.
Our team consists of experienced and above-average educated developers. We are not looking to attract that one 10x developer, nor do we desperately need a senior developer now. We sort of have too many senior level developers; our retention is high. Anyway, we are looking for similarly educated and experienced people that fit our team, and we offer a culture where such a person can thrive. We prefer to take a while longer to find and grow a great match rather than to gamble on potential talent that might leave again soon.
On the other hand, we do need new developers, particularly specialists, and we have gotten to the point that we are willing to take more risk. But the organization as a whole is still figuring out how to grow beyond a 10 person post-startup development team towards a 100+ person company (we merged with our biggest partner).