Steal an Employee Company Raids: How to Poach a Worker and Escape the Boss

A company raid in Steal an Employee runs on one repeatable loop: enter a business your speed already beats, hold E to grab a worker — an arrow marks the nearest one you can take — then outrun the angry boss back to your own office. Seat the employee at one of your desks, wait out their training timer, and they're hired, earning money for you from that point on.

The company raid loop at a glance

Every raid follows the same route from door to desk:

Roadmap

1. 1

   Enter a company your speed allows

   Businesses stay effectively locked until you're faster than the staff inside. Once you clear the gate, walk in among the workers.

2. 2

   Hold E to grab a worker

   An arrow points at the nearest worker you can grab, so there's no guessing which staff member is available.

3. 3

   Trigger the boss

   The moment you take someone, their boss gets angry and starts chasing you.

4. 4

   Outrun the boss to your office

   Getting away is a raw speed race between you and the pursuer.

5. 5

   Place the employee at a desk

   Drop them at a desk in your office — the game confirms the poach with 'You poached their uh worker.'

6. 6

   Wait out training

   When the training timer finishes, the worker is hired and starts earning money for you.

Entering a company: speed gates and picking a target

Raid access is a speed check on two levels. The company comes first: businesses stay locked until you're faster than what's inside. On screen, Nova Corp Global Trade only opened once the player was "barely faster" than its staff, a later company "requires 270k speed," and the bank stayed out of reach with "I just don't have the speed for it yet." Some targets also display a recommended speed — one showed a 10,000-speed recommendation while the player sat at 80 speed. The gate applies per worker as well: "Okay, I can't steal from you. I could steal your last worker, though."

Speed isn't static — "Each time you walk, you get faster," on top of training and trails — so a company that rejects you today becomes reachable later. Inside, aim for rarity rather than grabbing at random; one run went after a specific employee because he had a golden aura around him. The endgame Axiom Robotics company adds one more door condition beyond speed: "Clearance required. Three names at the back door opens." What earns that clearance isn't shown on screen, so treat the Axiom back door as its own unlock problem rather than a normal speed gate.

Grabbing an employee and carry capacity

The grab is a single input, and the UI handles the targeting:

Tips

Hold E next to your target

Stand beside the worker you want and hold E. The on-screen hint spells it out: 'Hold E. The arrow points at the nearest worker you can grab.'

Trust the arrow marker

The arrow removes the guesswork about which staff member is currently grabbable.

Carry more than one per run

Multi-carry is real: 'We've got two more slots, so why not use them to the fullest?' Each free slot is another employee you can pull on the same raid.

Check your satchel

Carry space is tracked by a satchel. At the Axiom back door, the message 'Your satchel is empty. We can actually get another one.' shows an empty satchel allows another pickup.

When the boss becomes a threat

The boss reacts the instant you take someone — "The boss gets angry" — and the stolen employee's own boss starts pursuing you. Getting away is a raw speed race. With enough speed, the pursuer simply can't close the gap: "But I'm too fast. Too fast for you. Not going to happen." Against a slow boss the outcome is just as one-sided: "Is he fast? He's not fast. He can't make it."

If the boss is the faster one, it catches up mid-run — "Why is he catching up? He's not supposed to be catching up." — and a caught player loses the worker on the spot: "Hey, buddy. You're not quick enough." This guide treats the chase as one phase of the raid loop; what decides it is the same relative speed you used to get through the door.

How a successful run ends

Escape only pays once the worker is seated and trained:

Mechanic flow

1. 1

   Get home with the worker

   Cross back to your own office with the employee still in hand.

2. 2

   Place them at a desk

   Set the worker down at one of your desks: 'All right, let's put him here. You poached their uh worker.'

3. 3

   Let training run

   Wait out the training timer: 'Wait for your training to complete.'

4. 4

   Collect a hired earner

   Once training finishes, the employee is hired and starts producing income for you.

One number needs a caveat: the starting figure narrated for a freshly trained worker was 36 in both observed runs, but with different units — "$36 per minute" in one and "36 bucks per second" in the other. The two don't agree, so read the actual payout off your desk once training completes instead of planning around a fixed starting wage.

Common failure points and restock timing

Raids fail in a handful of predictable ways, and emptied companies come back on a schedule:

Mistakes to avoid

Problem

Not enough speed for the target

Fix

'I don't have enough speed to get them. Or do I?' — back out, raise speed, and return. Speed grows passively as you walk on top of training and trails, so a locked target now can open later.

Problem

Caught by the boss mid-chase

Fix

You lose the worker — the boss taunts 'Hey, buddy. You're not quick enough.' Escape is a raw speed race, so confirm you can clearly outrun a target's boss before you grab.

Problem

Kicked out of the company

Fix

'Did they just kick me out?' — the shown ejection hit right as a player went for a golden-aura worker and cost the attempt. Whether ejection follows every failed grab or only certain targets isn't spelled out, so expect it as a possible cost of the attempt.

Problem

Raiding at night

Fix

'Offices are closed at night and they send everyone home.' There's nobody to grab until day returns, so run raids during daylight.

Problem

Rival players racing you

Fix

Other players target the same staff — 'Oh no, somebody's already taking his employee as well,' and one run ended with 'They took all of them.' Move on employees the moment they're available.

Problem

Company already emptied out

Fix

Emptied companies restock on the day cycle: 'More employees are going to come in two days.' Time your return to the new-day countdown — 'New day in 4 seconds, boys... This is our moment to get those employees in.' — when fresh staff walk in.

Mistakes to avoid

Problem	Fix
Not enough speed for the target	'I don't have enough speed to get them. Or do I?' — back out, raise speed, and return. Speed grows passively as you walk on top of training and trails, so a locked target now can open later.
Caught by the boss mid-chase	You lose the worker — the boss taunts 'Hey, buddy. You're not quick enough.' Escape is a raw speed race, so confirm you can clearly outrun a target's boss before you grab.
Kicked out of the company	'Did they just kick me out?' — the shown ejection hit right as a player went for a golden-aura worker and cost the attempt. Whether ejection follows every failed grab or only certain targets isn't spelled out, so expect it as a possible cost of the attempt.
Raiding at night	'Offices are closed at night and they send everyone home.' There's nobody to grab until day returns, so run raids during daylight.
Rival players racing you	Other players target the same staff — 'Oh no, somebody's already taking his employee as well,' and one run ended with 'They took all of them.' Move on employees the moment they're available.
Company already emptied out	Emptied companies restock on the day cycle: 'More employees are going to come in two days.' Time your return to the new-day countdown — 'New day in 4 seconds, boys... This is our moment to get those employees in.' — when fresh staff walk in.

The prompts, speed recommendations, and door messages above are as they appeared on screen during the observed runs. Recheck grab interactions and company access requirements in-game after updates — those are the details most likely to shift.