Handling counter offers


by NES Group - Date: 2007-11-30 - Word Count: 524 Share This!

You have successfully created interest from an employer with your CV, impressed them during interviews and negotiated a salary and benefits package that reflects your capabilities. You have received written confirmation of a job offer and have handed in your letter of resignation to your current employer.

So how do you prepare for the possibility that your resignation might be met with a counter offer from your employer who doesn't want to lose the skills and experience you have brought to your existing role? Whether it is in the form of a salary increase, additional company benefits or a promotion, a counter offer involves your current employer attempting to rival the one you received from your potential future employer to try to persuade you to stay.

Reasons that companies make counter offers include: not wanting to have to fill a vacancy within the timescale dictated by your notice period; cost implications, such as advertising fees, agency costs, training expenses, etc that will be incurred as a result of your departure; lack of time to re-recruit; organisation of necessary cover while a replacement is being sourced; the loss of staff reflecting badly on the company and affecting morale; and the time taken to bring a new recruit up to speed.

It is very flattering to receive a counter offer, but experience suggests that over 70% of employees who accept these leave within a year. Remember your initial reasons for deciding to move on and ask yourself whether the counter offer really is what you are looking for. Is an increase in salary really enough to keep you long term or do you need a new challenge? If your original employer had been keen to ensure you didn't look elsewhere, would they not have provided adequate incentives to keep you there before it got to this stage?

It is important to look beyond what might at first seem like a better deal and think about what it is you are looking for in your career moving forward. There will probably be good reasons that you are accepting a new position and you should keep these in mind when considering a counter offer: a pay rise is only likely to be a short-term incentive so try not to let it cloud your judgment.

If you do decide to refuse a counter offer, ensure you take charge of the situation. Thank your employer for the opportunity but reiterate your intention to leave. Deliver your written resignation to your manager in person, as this will help you to stay in control. Let them know that you have considered the merits of the two positions and have chosen the new one. State specifically that you neither seek nor want a counter offer and hope instead for an amicable departure.

If, after considering the counter offer, you do decide to accept it and therefore remain with your current company, it is important to remember that even though you have accepted, your resignation has not been forgotten. You will need to work to regain your employer's faith and a good deal of effort will be required to recreate the trust within your company.


Related Tags: incentives, employer, replacement, resignation, persuade, counter offer

NES is a leading global technical recruitment business providing professionally qualified contract staff to blue chip clients across the world in the oil and gas, infrastructure, rail, power and IT sectors. Founded in 1978, a committed workforce has facilitated the company's success and continues to ensure that NES experiences ongoing growth in terms of customers, geography and sector. Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

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