The counter offer

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A growing trend is the concept of a Counter Offer – those being a special offer provided to an employee, which tendered their resignation to the company, in an attempt to avoid loosing them. The reasons appear straight forward – you know you have a good employee who knows the company and ‘system’ and it is a lot of work to interview and train a new employee. However, here are a few good reasons not to offer a “counter offer”

  1. There is likely a reason they are leaving the company, if they believe they are entitled to more pay, then why was it you didn’t provide a raise sooner?
  2. Think on how this affect morale of the fellow employees? (He is just staying for the money.)
  3. 80% of employees which accept a counter still end up leaving after 1 year.
  4. Money is never the solution to problems, so there are underlying issues which may or may not be addressable.
  5. How do you think their choice to leave the company will affect you view of them, both today and during the next performance or annual review?
  6. If you had to lay someone off, how much more likely will it be this person?

So what have you really kept or bought? Perhaps a bit more time, which may be worth it – to find a replacement. But otherwise, there is little value in thinking you can keep them around for a long time.