The counter offer
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”
- 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?
- Think on how this affect morale of the fellow employees? (He is just staying for the money.)
- 80% of employees which accept a counter still end up leaving after 1 year.
- Money is never the solution to problems, so there are underlying issues which may or may not be addressable.
- 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?
- 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.