Counteroffers

Few things can destroy business relationships quite as quickly as counteroffers.  Yet, if you are a valued employee, chances are you’ll encounter them more than once in your career.  The relational damage (and often career damage) that can be caused by counteroffers can be eliminated through some best practice adherence by the employees themselves.

Best Practice examples:

• Address any employment issues in a professional way with your current employer.  Do you need more income?  Is there an interpersonal issue?  Are you deserving of a promotion?  Whatever it is that is driving your motivation to make a change, give your employer the opportunity to resolve it before you invest your time  – and other peoples time – in a search.  If the employer has the ability to resolve your  issues satisfactorily when you are still fully engaged in your work, then you’ve saved yourself and other people a lot of time.  If they can suddenly meet your needs after you resign, then you know that your value to them is not what it should be.

• Once you begin a search, do so with the conviction that you have done everything you can to resolve the issues that are precipitating the search.  This is when you make a firm decision that you will not be entertaining a counteroffer – at the beginning of your search.

• If  unexpected changes at your current employer occur that may impact your search, you should suspend your search activities and get final resolution and commitments before you start collecting offers from other companies.  It’s far better to terminate the process earlier in the cycle than after you have received and accepted an employment offer.

Candidates need to understand that companies extend offers in good faith.  An employment offer is usually a formal actualization of a verbal agreement – a handshake.  There is a character issue at play here that is very important.  It’s also important to understand that managers often need to send requests for offer generation “up the ladder” – to their bosses and Human Resources – for signature approval.  It often reflects poorly on the manager once an offer gets that kind of exposure and is then rejected,

Counteroffer Considerations

Why are you worth more money today, than you were yesterday? If you are worth more, then why didn’t you receive the raise based on your performance and merits?

Your present employer is often “buying time’ with a raise, until a replacement is located, at which time your position with the company is either weakened or no longer needed.

The company may feel they have been “blackmailed’ into giving the raise. They may forever view you in a different light. You may now be a marked person. The likelihood of further advancement is extremely limited for someone who has given notice. Even if you stay on, you may be one of the first people to be laid off when business is slow.

Will more money change everything at your current job? Carefully consider all of the reasons you began your search in the first place. Does the counteroffer offset these reasons?

Obtain what you feel you deserve, and what you are worth from your employer before you resign, or even seriously begin a job search. It will gain you more respect, yield better (lasting) results, show you what your employer really thinks of you, and be much more productive for your career.

If you should seriously consider a counteroffer, ask for all the details to be confirmed in writing.