Taking the Counteroffer: A Potentially Costly Choice
Brad
Last month, we polled our LinkedIn community on taking a counteroffer after giving notice at your current place of employment. The votes came pouring in:
63% of respondents said “too little too late” when it came to counter offers
34% said “it depends on the offer”
3% said “yes, it’s easier to stay than start over”
Before we dive into why we’re staunchly in the “too little too late” category, let’s acknowledge that there might be a time in which a counteroffer truly is in your best interest. Best case scenario? You tell your manager you’ve accepted another offer. Your boss/company comes to their senses, offers you everything you want and need, and you remain content in your current role.
Worst case scenario? Your boss counters as a means of buying time to find your replacement, then you’re out of a job and a potential opportunity. Sixty percent of hiring managers have said they believe that any employee is replaceable, and almost half admit to using counteroffers as a Band-Aid for bigger ailments.
THE REALITY OF COUNTEROFFERS
Chances are the reality of counteroffers is somewhere in the middle. According to research by LiveCareer, more than half of employees who accept a counteroffer end up leaving their company within 2 years, anyway. Furthermore, one or more of these scenarios is likely to occur when accepting a counteroffer:
Eroded trust:
Both the manager and the employee are now in a position to question trust. As an employee, your first thought might be:
“Why weren’t these resources available to me before? Why did it take me potentially leaving for them to give me what I’ve been asking for?”
And, whether fair or not, your manager may be left feeling like they’ve been backed into a corner and may question your motives.
Nothing Changes:
If your desire to explore other opportunities isn’t strictly motivated by finances, then it’s important to evaluate whether a counteroffer can truly change or alleviate the aspects of your job that make you unhappy: company culture, benefits, work/life balance, career progression, role responsibilities, etc.
Unwanted Attention:
The eroded trust mentioned above may put you on your company’s radar in a negative way. You may be viewed as disgruntled, flighty, or disloyal. When the going gets tough, and jobs are on the line, there’s real potential you may be on the list of employees to be cut.
Delay of future raises/promotions:
Fair or not, a counteroffer may be viewed as a raise or promotion, leaving you unable to lobby for future raises and progress in your career as planned.
OKAY, BUT I HAVE A COUNTEROFFER IN FRONT OF ME. NOW WHAT?
What needs to change for you to stay? Something prompted you to answer the recruiter’s call, hit the job boards, or ask around your network for potential opportunities.
Ask yourself:
“What do I need to succeed in my role?”
“What’s preventing me from succeeding in my role at this organization right now?”
“Is this fixable with a counteroffer?”
If the answer to this last question is not an unequivocal “yes”, then it’s time to acknowledge the counteroffer isn’t going to fix the issue.
MOVING FORWARD
From there, write down what’s on your wish-list. That’s one of the first questions we ask our candidates, because we want to know what you want in your next role. Think about what you need and what you value:
Is it additional resources or team members?
Have you naturally outgrown your role responsibilities?
Is there advancement in your company?
Do you feel comfortable with the organization’s employee resources, benefits, and diversity initiatives?
How important is work/life balance?
What’s your relationship with your supervisors and your direct reports?
Where would you like to be financially?
We know the idea of making a change in your career can be daunting, and if you’ve got a counteroffer on the table, it might even be enticing to stay put. Here at Custom, we’ve been fortunate to place many people who were in the same boat at one time or another. Rarely have we had someone tell us they regret not taking the counteroffer, and the results of our LinkedIn poll echo that sentiment.
Whatever you decide to do, you’ll be glad you took the time to consider your options, and if you need help working through those tough questions, you know where to find us!