Counteroffers

Making a decision to leave an employer is never an easy one. It is an emotional process that involves our natural fear of change. Even making a positive move by accepting a new position, for all the right reasons, can be a little scary. Anxieties about leaving a familiar job may cloud your thought process.

For that reason, it is your best interest to become educated on the prevalence and impact of counteroffers. And since counteroffers can create confusion and buyer's remorse, it is particularly important to understand what's being cast upon you so you can guide your decision in the right direction.

Many candidates may be unfamiliar with the term “counteroffer”. A counteroffer is an inducement - concrete or implied - from a current employer aimed at convincing an employee to stay after they announce their intent to leave. Counteroffers are made by employers in response to an employee’s notice or threat of resignation.

Counteroffers are commonly delivered in the form of flattery. For example:

• You can't desert the team and your friends. You will leave them hanging.
• You're too valuable. We need you.
• We were just about to give you a promotion and a raise. It was confidential until now.
• The president/director wants to meet with you before you make a final decision.
  

Counteroffers can be in the form of compensation:

• A promotion with greater responsibility and money
• Promises or future considerations
• A modified reporting structure

Accepting a counteroffer can have many negative consequences.

Here are eight logical reasons for NOT accepting a counteroffer:

1. Counteroffers are usually nothing more than stall devices to give your employer time to replace you or make a transition on their timetable.
2. You are obviously unhappy or dissatisfied with your job. You just made your employer aware of it. Your loyalty is now suspect.
3. When promotion time comes around, your employer will remember who is considered loyal and who is not.
4. Once word gets out, the relationship you enjoy with your co-workers will not be the same. You could lose the personal satisfaction of peer-group acceptance.
5. Most organizations, at some time or another, go through difficult times that require cutbacks or a reduction in workforce. Your employer could begin the cutbacks - possibly starting with you.
6. The driving force, the main issue that motivated you to look for another job, is still present, regardless of any change in compensation or short-term, Band-Aid fix.
7. Company culture, practices and policies seldom change. The circumstances that caused you to consider a career move remain.
8. Statistics show that if you accept a counteroffer, the probability of your voluntarily leaving in six months or being let go within one year is extremely high.

Remember: individuals usually accept counteroffers when they are caught off guard – when they least expect them or when they do not understand the tactics involved or the potential outcome of accepting counteroffers.

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