THE COUNTER OFFER… To Accept or Not??

It is not unusual for an employee who has tendered their resignation to be faced, often unexpectedly, with a generous counter offer from his/her current employer. (Particularly if they hold a key role or have valuable expertise or skill sets which the employer can ill afford to lose).

As flattering as such a proposition may be, employees are wise to carefully weigh up the pros and cons of accepting.

Often consideration of what to do with such counter offers boils down to these two, very distinct schools of thought:

1. Accept it because its better to stay with the devil you know, and, after all it was only because of the better money on offer that made you look at an alternative position in the first place……wasn’t it !!??
   
2. Under no circumstances accept the counter offer, why should it have reached the point in the employment relationship where it took your resignation to achieve some (usually long overdue) recognition from the current employer?

Experience has shown us that more often than not, acceptance of the counter offer is an unsuccessful move – not only for the employee but also for the employer.

We have made the following observations over time:

• Counter offers which introduce new factors to improve job satisfaction and clear the way to improved future prospects previously thought blocked are the exception rather than the rule.
  
• Those who accept counter offers from their current employer are never quite sure going forward as to whether they have done the right thing, there always remains that lingering doubt…what if ….?
  
• Regardless of any promises made, the present employer will not markedly change philosophies and attitudes overnight. So, more often than not people who accept counter offers find themselves back on the job market usually between six to eighteen months later for …. surprise surprise, exactly the same reasons which caused them to look elsewhere in the first place!
  
• Employers who have found themselves in the position of having to make a counter offer to retain someone, somehow never feel quite the same trust, respect or loyalty towards the employee who accepts.
  
• Frequently, and as a direct result, a succession plan is discretely and immediately put into place by the employer, often using the person who accepted the counter offer to unknowingly develop his/her own replacement whilst at the same time mitigating the risk for the employer.
  
• Having accepted a counter offer, employees find it even more difficult than ever to extricate themselves from positions and look at career opportunities elsewhere at a later date.

Barry T Knight - This article first appeared in “Knightview” in November 1985