To be or not to be … that person who accepted the counter-offer

The old adage is truly not a myth. People don’t leave jobs because of bad pay. They leave bad situations.

As the economy shows some signs of new life, employees are perking up to the signs that hiring is picking up at companies looking to position themselves for the recovery. For companies who are operating on the employment margins, this new reality is a threat to the stability they have enjoyed much through the fear of unemployment with current staff. Hiring and training new staff is expensive, and the knowledge that walks out the door can be invaluable to a company.

Some companies are compensating – or, better said, over-compensating – by presenting departing employees with a counter-offer.

What is an employee to do?

While there are various reasons an employer would present a counter-offer and an employee may consider accepting it, there is a greater question that should be asked.

How would accepting this offer define me as an employee, and what does it say about my employer?

Employees have much to consider when looking at new job opportunities – camaraderie, competent leadership, belief in the company mission, advancement opportunities, and respect. Compensation or advancement are only part of the equation.

Companies using counter-offers as a tool to retain employees are only commoditizing the skills and creativity people bring to the job. What happens when someone comes along who is willing to do it cheaper, even if not better? If you are worth the offer now, why weren’t you worth that before?

Employers presenting a counter-offer are only doing it for their benefit, not yours. It could be a stall tactic to keep an employee until a competent replacement is found, or it could be a tactic to make retention rates look good for that fiscal quarter. Statistics have shown that more than 80 percent of people who have accepted counter-offers no longer work with that company six months later.

Whatever the reason, the simple fact is that good companies don’t do counter-offers, whether by policy or good business practice.

And good employees don’t accept them. Consider what it says to employers and recruiters who lose candidates to a counter-offer:

• This person used me. In the age of networking and databases, this could get people blacklisted among a small world or recruiters and hiring managers. No one wants to feel like they have been used.
•  This person is a fidelity risk. No matter what a current employer says to an employee when presenting a counter-offer, the trust and sense of loyalty has already been broken.
•  No matter the situation, this person can be bought. Maybe that is a little harsh, but employees accepting counter-offers are not changing the situation that forced them to seek a new job, they are only changing the rate of pay for which they bear the situation. Counter-offers are only short-term gains for employees, not long-term growth strategies.
•  Threats do not build respect. If you have to threaten an employer to leave to get a raise or a better assignment, how often will that threat need to be used in the future?

 The last point brings us back to the employer, both the new one and the old one. Good companies recognize value. Those who are extending offers for new employment see value in an employee’s skills, and that should carry a lot of weight in considering a new job. Companies that wait until employees consider a new job to make more lucrative offers are not demonstrating good business practice that should make an employee feel comfortable about where they work.

Marni Hockenberg, principal of Hockenberg Search, serves as a trusted search consultant to companies who need to upgrade their talent and fill mission critical positions. To tap into Marni’s expertise for your next hire, or to view current searches, click here to connect.