After being on this job for some time now, you have found a new job, which shows you a great potential. You have accepted the offer from new company. Now when you are resigning from the present company – they are giving you a counter offer, which seems to be a much better deal than the one you have accepted. Sounds like a known situation. Well, the counter offers are very common in today’s competitive industry. However, before jumping onto that lucrative counter offer – think twice. As in most cases counter offers are not a win-win proposition. There are more negatives of counteroffers than the positives.
Why your employer is giving you counter offer?
Your present employer may be giving you that counter offer – but are they happy about that? Most of the employers give counter offers in compulsion, as they do not see any other viable alternative in the short term. Initially the employers feel good because they didn’t “lose” the employee. But in back of their minds, they feel like the employee has blackmailed or cheated them. And that is where the deal is lost.
Counter offers and loyality
Employers perceive your effort to resign as disloyalty (many company have “loyalty” awards to long serving employees). What if you have got a good deal in counter offer – you are not loyal. So just wait for next performance appraisal and see, who is going to get the promotion? The person who threatened to resign? Not likely. And when it’s time for salary hike, is someone who “blackmailed” management going to get a big one? Very unlikely.
Pitfalls of accepting counter offers at job
Employees who accept counteroffers are never trusted. And who knows that the counter offer is just a short-term strategy to ensure business continuity. The employer may immediately begin search for a replacement as per their convenience. Then at an appropriate time the “unfaithful” employee may be eased out.
Most employers refrain from giving counter offers, as it may start a culture of Resign and Renegotiate (R&R) in the company. Other employees will take clue and follow the same. And even if they are compelled to give it now, they will ensure that you are not treated well to set an example for other employees.
Bottom-line – Never accept counter offers
I advise most of my candidates not to go for counter offers in their best interests. If the company wanted to give them a better offer – why they have not given when they were with the company? So if you have not yet resigned try talking to you boss and see if they are willing to give you a better deal (without threatening to quit).
Counter offers are a trade-off, which is only good from the company’s point of view. If a critical project is accomplished, a milestone is achieved, a contract is won; the counteroffer did its job for the employer. Beyond that employee can imagine his value in organization?
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