Have you thought through the counter-offer?

For the candidate: well-done, you got the job, so what happens next??

For the current employer: oh dear, trusted person wants to leave, what do you do??

For a candidate, resigning is just the first small step towards leaving. They must be clear about the statement being made and the reasons for it. A great sense of relief may be felt, having carefully negotiated the various interviews, presentations and meals with the prospective new employer. An acceptable offer has been received and there is now a certain cathartic feeling having resigned. But the individual may not be prepared for the almost certain prospect of a counter-offer.?

Headhunters devote significant time to counselling candidates in preparation for this eventuality. It is understandable that the lengths to which their current employer may go, in order to keep them, immensely flatters individuals. But is this in the best interest of the employee or because the employer is aware of how hard it will be to replace them??

Resigning is usually an emotive situation. An individual who already feels slightly guilty about resigning can be susceptible to coercion. A classic scenario is when an individual resigns and is told that the Managing Partner / Senior Partner / CEO / Chair would like to have a chat with them. However senior the candidate is, these powerful figures can turn on the charm and the very fact that they are taking time to see an individual can be very flattering. The resigning employee will begin to wonder if the old place isn’t so bad after all and maybe they should stay. The firm will be wondering whether it is really worth keeping them on and for how long they will stay.?

Employers should be very mindful about using counter-offers. Quite often in the heat of the moment they fail to consider the internal ramifications of their actions.? Offering a special deal, or promoting one individual, is not always an inspired move. It can give rise to a culture of crisis management; one where employees feel that resigning is the best way to achieve aims that really should have been discussed and negotiated via a review / regular feedback session.?

Counter-offers can be very tempting. A promotion, fancy job title, substantial hike in compensation or a promise of “something exciting soon”, can be very alluring. However, too often employers, once they have turned the resigning candidate, find a way to renege, obfuscate or postpone.?

Executive search and recruitment companies have undertaken extensive research evaluating whether candidates who accepted counter-offers are still with their original employer. The findings indicate that at least 80% of candidates who accepted a counter-offer leave voluntarily within 6 months of the acceptance, and nearly one in ten are let go within a year. The employee who, don’t forget, went as far as resigning, tends to find that their reasons for being prepared to leave have not gone away and the employer can harbour resentment.?

When faced with a counter-offer situation, an employee should decide whether the content of the offer would have emerged if they had not resigned. An employer should evaluate whether the departure of the individual will really damage the business, or whether retaining them and structuring a special deal could have internal repercussions that could prove even more damaging – nothing is kept secret for long.?

One last observation.?

At the point of resignation the trust between employee and employer is broken and, whatever happens, the relationship will never be the same again.