Stop - Don't Accept That Counteroffer!

Job change is in the air in 2023 – and tech layoffs notwithstanding, companies are hiring. January 2023 was the biggest month for new hires in years. According to CNBC, nonfarm payrolls increased by 517,000 in January, over three times the Dow Jones estimate of 187,000.

According to LinkedIn, the average job changer gets a 15% pay increase for changing jobs.

In this active hiring environment, many candidates can expect to get a counteroffer from their current employer when they give notice on the job. But should they take it?

Counteroffers Can Be Dangerous

The problem with counteroffers is that when you give notice and your employer offers you more money to stay, to accept the counteroffer you must decline the offer from the employer you’ve been interviewing with.

Now you have a question to ponder: why turn down an offer from a company that hasn’t underpaid you to stay with one that has?

To accept the counteroffer you’ve got to burn a bridge with an organization that offered you a fair market wage – and remain with an organization that underpaid you for long enough that you went through all the hassle of a job search to earn what you’re worth.

Change can be scary, but that’s not a logical move. On top of that, studies show that people who accept counteroffers leave their employer within a year anyway.

There are more reasons not to take a counter offer.

Get the full list (and advice on what to do if you get a counteroffer) in this week’s episode of the Work Related Podcast, at this link:

Also on the podcast:

·??????What is salary compression, and how does it affect me?

·??????The Great Thank-You Note Debate

·??????How to become a career coach with my help

Manager's Dilemma: When Does Concern For The Team's Well-Being Become Intrusion Into Their Lives?

Question:

Hi Liz, I care about my team members and I want to help them reach their professional goals.

At the same time, I’ve gotten feedback that I’ve made employees uncomfortable with my questions at our one-on-one meetings (questions like, “What are your long-term career goals?” and “Which areas of your life are you working on improving?”)

Where is the line between compassionate inquiry, and meddling in my employees’ personal lives?

Answer:

The rule of thumb here is that it’s always fine to offer support and create trust so that employees will ask for your help if they need it.

You don’t need to inquire about their personal lives (“what are you working on improving?”) to let your teammates know that you’re happy to help them.

That’s where the boundary is. Offering help is great, but asking about their lives outside of work is off limits.

When you ask an employee about their long-term plans, you put them in an awkward spot.

If their long-term plans don’t include working in your company (or perhaps, working at all) they shouldn’t be pressured to disclose that.

You may be happy to support them in their goals, but they can’t assume that the organization feels the same way.

Your well-intentioned questions could easily be unwelcome. Stick to asking employees questions like these:

·??????How can I help you succeed here?

·??????What obstacles can I work to remove for you (bad processes, lack of training or resources, etc.)?

·??????How can I support you best?

·??????What do you need from me this week?

You never need to inquire about an employee’s personal life.

Question:

Okay, that makes sense – but what if an employee is struggling on the job? Should I ask them if there’s anything going on at home that I could help with?

Answer:

You can offer help without knowing whether anything unfortunate is going on outside of work.

?You can say, “[Jane], your closed-case numbers are off this week. What do you think is the issue? How can I help?”

It would be an overreach to assume that there’s a problem at home, and there’s no reason to ask about that – especially since most issues with goals and metrics are related to workplace communication and process issues.

Here's to you and your growing leadership muscles!

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Here’s to your growing flame –

Liz and the Human Workplace team