The Truth About Counter Offers:
Why is it that your current company only ‘sweetens the deal’ when they find out that you are leaving? There are many misconceptions about counter offers, so be sure that you are well informed before considering accepting one.
COUNTER OFFERS:
What is a counter offer?
A counter offer is an improved offer to your role/salary to dissuade you from leaving after you submit a letter of resignation.
What can counter offers include?
Counter offers can come in many different forms:
- Salary increase
- Promise of a promotion
- New responsibilities
Why do companies make counter offers?
Companies usually make counter offers for self serving reasons.
These could include:
- Your resignation coming at a bad time
- Your resignation making your boss look bad
- Not being easy to replace you on such short notice
What do companies typically tell you when they put out a counter offer?
Companies rarely tell you the “real” reason why they are offering you a counter offer. Typically their offers are structured to their benefit so that they can dissuade you from leaving.
Typical reasons include:
- Not realizing that you were unhappy
- Telling you that a promotion for you had been in the makings
- Telling you that they were planning on giving you a raise
- Telling you that they have heard bad things about your prospective employer
Why counter offers should be turned down.
There are many reasons to support turning down counter offers.
These include:
- Counter offers are most often a means of stalling your departure to give your employer more time to find a replacement for you.
- After submitting your resignation you are viewed as a “flight risk.” Your employer now knows that you were prepared to leave and as a result you are now considered outside the circle of trust. This will impact future decisions regarding promotions and merit increases.
- If your peers find out about the counter offer they may be resentful which can affect your working relationships.
- Statistics show that those who accept counter offers usually voluntarily leave within six months (due to the same circumstances for initially looking to leave still being there) or are let go within one year due to loyalty with their employer being broken.
