Let's talk about counter-offers...

Let’s talk about Counter Offers…


With the market as competitive as it is right now, companies are doing all they can to hold on to their employees - extra benefits, pay reviews & team-building days are prime examples of this.

Some companies are a little more reactive when they detect their staff are unhappy, though.

The last resort for companies when an employee tries to leave, is to bring out their secret weapon:

The Counter Offer.

I spoke to a candidate yesterday who was looking to leave their current company due to a misalignment on vision from management, changes to structure and culture – all things out of their control.

We identified new opportunities where they’d feel more alignment with the team, culture & challenges they’d be undertaking. These are all jobs which ticked the candidate's boxes.

Problem solved, right?

Well, no not really.

I then asked the candidate what would happen in the scenario that if as they attempted to leave, their current employer matched (or slightly bettered) the offer from somewhere new.

They paused and went into deep thought…

They then admitted they’d likely stay put for a marginally better offer than a new challenge.

Following this, we broke down how trivial the increase would be and I walked them back through the reasons they’re looking to leave. We both identified something:

Money doesn’t solve these problems at all.

They realised they'd remain unhappy just on a marginally better salary, and decided against this option immediately.

The problems would remain the same and arguably if the company valued their employee, it shouldn't take them threatening to leave to trigger a pay increase.

Counter offers can seem very appealing short-term, but in reality they just kick the REAL problems 3-6 months down the road.

Does anyone agree?