When you accept a new job offer and hand in your notice, it’s possible that your current employer will make a counter offer to incentivise you to stay. This typically comes in the form of an increased salary and/or benefits package and is often a substantial increase on your current renumeration.
In today’s competitive job market, counter offers are becoming more common as companies strive to keep their valuable people. However, in many cases the counter offer benefits the company more than the employee. Accepting a counter offer can seem appealing if it means a higher salary with your current employer and it’s nice to feel the love (albeit perhaps a little too late); however, the statistics of people who accept a counter offer speak for themselves:
Figures from the National Employment Association reveal that 80% of those who accept counter offers end up leaving within the next 6 months! Pay increases often don’t fix the other pre-existing issues that led you to look for another job initially, meaning many candidates that do accept counter offers resume their job search relatively quickly as well as missing out on the initial opportunity they were interested in.
Whilst accepting a counter offer may be beneficial in the short term, considering these stats you would most probably be better off moving on to pastures new.
Employers make counter offers as hiring new employees can be challenging and expensive. Replacing staff with new employees is more expensive than retaining existing staff. Often, it can come as a surprise to an employer when one of their employees hands their notice in and so they hadn’t previously considered the need to offer an increased package.
The time taken to find, interview, and on-board new recruits can be underestimated. The actual recruitment of a new employee can be expensive and uses valuable resources; but, the lost productivity of the previous employee can be even more costly.
We would always advise that if there is a ‘fixable’ issue with your employment, then have an open and honest conversation with your Line Manager. That way you give them the opportunity to understand any of your frustrations and the chance to handle it before it’s too late.
Counter offers are frequently used as retention tools, in particular for times when a particular employee leaving is inconvenient. This could be for a multitude of reasons, perhaps because a significant project is yet to come or because several other team members have recently departed for example.
Counter offers can also be delivered alongside emotional leverage about your value to the team and your time spent there. Perhaps your manager will imply that promotion was imminent or that the team would miss you and struggle without your expertise. While many of these comments could be genuine, a good business that values its staff would have made you feel appreciated before you felt the push to leave.
What should you do?
There are important factors to take into account before accepting a counter offer:
1) Broken trust
In many ways, leaving a job is a little like leaving a relationship. Once you have handed in your notice and expressed your desire to leave, the effect on the trust of the relationship cannot be reversed. Consequently, your relationship with your employer may be altered, in particular if you planned to move to a competitor.
2) It’s not all about salary
Although it’s possible you will be happy in your existing role if you decide to stay, it’s probably more than just money that led you to initiate your job hunt. Have you re-evaluated your initial motivation to move? Was that money motivated? The truth of the matter is that you were looking for a new job for a reason. An increased salary or improved benefits package from your current employer might present an attractive offer, but there’s more to job satisfaction than a salary.
3) Deal breakers
If you expressed potential issues to your employer before you handed in your notice – perhaps you wanted a pay rise or increase in responsibility – and these were not dealt with effectively, then it’s likely that issues will persist in the future. These so-called ‘deal breakers’ that made you look for a new role will likely persist if you stay.
4) Job security
Your job security may drastically decrease; if redundancies happen in the near future, you might inadvertently find yourself at the top of the list, after all – you’ve already expressed a desire to leave. Equally, could your company be developing a contingency plan, keeping you on in the meantime while they find a replacement?
Always consider your employer’s motives for the counter offer carefully before making a decision about the next step in your career along with assessing the value of new opportunities!
Will staying at your current company offer you the same long-term personal career development as moving to a new role? Your new employer has likely shown by their job offer and salary that you are valuable to them – could they offer opportunities and experiences that your current employer cannot?
While your existing employer might have offered you more money to stay, these small gains in the short term might not pay off in the long run.
If you’ve made the decision to progress in your career, get in touch to see how we can help!
Tel – 01143211873
Email your CV to – hello@www.glurecruit.co.uk