Jul 13, 2016
Handing in your resignation is in no way a natural process, even if you’re sure you want to leave and you know it’s the right thing to do, there will always be some overlying feelings, and that’s understandable. Whether you’re feeling nervous or excited, there is something I’d urge everyone I work with to think about. Your company’s reaction! I urge you to be patient, your employer may offer you a counter offer as they lose a lot more than you realise if you leave.
Regardless of your personal relationships, there are a few facts that face any business losing a member of staff. The first thing that would come to mind is that it is cheaper to keep you than to find someone new. This in mind, I give you ‘The Counter Offer!’
This could include anything from a salary increase, extra holidays, promotions, better bonus, company car, etc. Regardless, most companies will try and solve ‘your’ issues there and then.
This is because the cost of finding, interviewing, negotiating starting packages, training, time for cultural adjustment/getting up to speed is all infinitely more costly than giving a few extras to a great member of staff.
I’m often shocked when candidates feel flattered, or consider a counter offer from their current employer’s. Hence I find myself writing this blog.
I recruit solely within the development space (.Net), and it may differ between markets, but almost every candidate I work with gets a counter offer. If you’re a kick ass developer with a great skill set, that has so much to offer in such a candidate short market; the world is your oyster. (Cheesy, I know)
At the end of the day there are a few things you should think about:
1. If you were a valuable employee and genuinely indispensable, you shouldn’t want to leave in the first place! Why has your company waited until you’re leaving before offering a better package?
2. Will accepting a counter offer change the factors that made you look elsewhere? Remember you’ve just put yourself through a couple of tough interviews and no doubt technical tests
3. Chances are the reasons you want to leave will still be there six months down the line, except now they know you want to go!
4. Where does the extra money from a counter offer come from? Perhaps your next pay rise? If you did accept the counteroffer, it’s worth thinking about what you’d need to do to get your next pay increase /promotion?
5. Is burning the bridge with your prospective new employer worth it? The market is pretty small, and people talk within this industry. It could close other doors in the future
6. Statistics show that over 60% of individuals who accept a counter offer will quit within the first six months, 97% left within 18 months, but very few people stay.
My gut feel is that if you’ve taken the time to explore new opportunities, put yourself through technical tests, and multiple interviews, you must have seriously felt like you couldn’t achieve your career goals with your current employer. Otherwise, why not talk to your manager about your frustrations?
A counter offer is no doubt a very emotional process, and sometimes it could feel like it’s much easier to stay where you are, but ultimately you’re moving on to better things for you, and that’s where your loyalty should lie now!
If you find yourself with a counter offer on the table, I urge you to think about the above and Google ‘Counter Offer’ and research some completely objective advice on accepting.
