WHY COUNTEROFFERS DON'T WORK

We get a call from a person who wants to leave their job two or three times a month primarily because the counteroffer that they agreed to three or four months earlier had, agonizingly, not worked out.?Their approach is usually accompanied by anger, disappointment, and disgust that they are back looking for a job with more determination than ever. The perceived promises in the counteroffer they accepted did not materialize, and they are committed to leaving their job...this time.

"Buying" an employee back when they try to resign, a counteroffer, rarely works out, even in the short run. 98% of the time, the employee leaves within six months, often with more acrimony than the first attempt. Counteroffers rarely work out because:

1. Management makes a counteroffer to solve an immediate problem. You got caught with your pants down. It could not have come at a worse time. You had to do something quickly. You put your finger in the dyke. Later, you realize you were blackmailed. You were held up by an employee who was unhappy and leaving. You needed them more than they needed you. You wake up and realize you were "managed!" And you are damn mad about it!

2. The relationship that you had with this employee is different now.?This employee, in essence, fired you and the company.?Or, at least, tried. As with anyone else, you and your company do not like being fired.?It dawns on you a few days after your counteroffer was accepted that this person does not give a flip about you or your company.?You did what you could to hang on to them, but we are not " all in this together " anymore.?

3. Money and title, the two most popular tools used in a counteroffer, are temporary. ?Most of the time, the adjustments you made to keep this person are cosmetic and will rarely overcome the underlying reasons why the person wanted to leave in the first place.?Your company, the job, personalities, etc., may have been given a couple of minor changes, but your company’s underlying nature has not changed.?After the "glow" of the importance of money wears off, your employee is mentally and emotionally right back where they were before.

4. Now that the "tail " has wagged the dog, everyone in your company, despite what you think, knows what this person did, and it is just a matter of time before others try it in their way.?You and your company have lost the respect of the employees aware of the counteroffer. The fear of this happening again is driving you nuts.

5. The moment’s emotion forced you to make this person feel special.?But how long is that feeling of euphoria going to last? What is going to happen when it wears off?

6. An employee leaving never comes at a good time. You will eventually ask yourself, “How could they do this to me?... It could not have come at a worse time…What am I going to do if they do it again? So, when (. not if) will this person do it again? If that happens, I will look like a real schmuck, and nobody will respect me as a manager."

7. Normally, for the counteroffer to succeed, you had to involve other managers, including one or two levels above you.?What will they think of you if this happens again, not only with the person you just bought back but with others in the organization??Even though they all bought into it because they had to, you will be held responsible for all the problems this has created.?When/if this person eventually leaves anyhow, your management acumen will be questioned.

8. Good companies keep people from buying back.?In your heart, you know that.?So, the insult to injury is that not only were you blackmailed, but you know that you and your company are not considered well-managed.

9. The employee you bought back probably got a significant salary increase.?That fact will eat at you, and when the salary reviews come around again, you will remember how you were leveraged.?You are going to feel like the employee already got a raise.?The employee does not feel that way at all.?They are going to expect a raise like everyone else.?It is a "no-win "deal.

Counteroffers rarely work.?It was a good idea at the time.?If you must do it for sheer survival, start looking on a confidential basis for your employee's replacement. We know because we work with hundreds of "confidential" searches annually.?Many times, they are "successful" counteroffers being replaced.?

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