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WHY IT’S NEVER A GOOD IDEA TO ACCEPT A COUNTER OFFER

Jane McNeill Director, Hays Australia

Madoka Matsumoto
Published Date2 Years Ago
 

Gone are the days when a salary-boosting counter offer would successfully retain a resigning staff member. Today people leave jobs for a range of reasons, which are seldom addressed by a counter offer.

From looking for a new challenge to career advancement, a desire to work with newer technology or within an organisation where they can contribute and feel valued, people change jobs for a range of reasons.

Why then would a pay rise, new job title or additional benefits be anything other than a superficial tactic to convince you to stay?

If you receive a counter offer, it’s worth considering the reasons why you initially looked for a new role to begin with. They must have been serious and genuine since you not only looked for a new job but applied, were interviewed and accepted a position elsewhere. These are not the actions of someone satisfied in their current role.

Of course it is flattering when your boss makes a counter offer upon hearing of your decision to resign. But if you look at the situation objectively, you’ll see that recruiting a replacement for a vacated role can be time consuming. We are all time-poor, your boss included, so if there’s even a small possibility of avoiding interviewing, onboarding and training up someone new, your boss will take it.

However the statistics show counter-offers rarely work. A survey of 2,752 organisations, representing over 2.6 million (2,686,179) employees, conducted as part of our 2016 Hays Salary Guide in Australia & New Zealand, shows that of the staff they counter-offered, 46 per cent left anyway, four per cent stayed less than three months, 21 per cent stayed between three and 12 months, and just 29 per cent stayed longer than 12 months.

Those in the latter group have employers who actively seek to address the reasons that drove them to accept another job. Rather than offering a hollow new job title or a few additional benefits, they make real change that motivates, engages and develops the career of their employee.

But the majority of people are not so lucky and find themselves resigning again within a year. Their original motivations for looking elsewhere are not addressed, meaning their career is in limbo and engagement and motivation are low. Added to this is the broken trust that now exists with your boss, which can be very difficult to deal with.

While every situation is unique, I would urge you to consider your original motivations for leaving and question if the counter offer is really worth remaining for.

 

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AUTHOR

Jane McNeill joined Hays in 1987 as a graduate trainee in their London head office after graduating with an MA (Hons) in Psychology from Edinburgh University. She began her career recruiting accountancy & finance professionals, before spending 11 years recruiting senior permanent professionals for London’s banking & finance sector. During this time she quickly progressed through management roles and in 1992 she was appointed Director after leading the London city business to a phenomenal post-recession recovery.

Jane transferred to Perth, Western Australia, in 2001. Over the next decade she grew Hays’ business in that state from a team of 15 to nearly 250 staff. She also established and managed Hays’ banking & financial services business.

She was appointed to the Hays Australia & New Zealand management board in 2007. Now based in Sydney, Jane oversees Hays’ operations in both NSW and WA. She is responsible for 400 staff located in two states that are separated by a five-hour flight and a three-hour time difference. At the same time, she retains her keen interest and passion in banking & financial services recruitment by adding national responsibility for Hays Banking and Hays Insurance to her remit.

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