Reasons for Not Accepting a Counter Offer

US News gives the following reasons why you should think carefully before accepting a counter-offer as follows:

• You could damage your relationships. When you take a counter offer and stay with the company, your loyalty will constantly be questioned.


• You’re likely not ready for the responsibility. An increase in pay is typically accompanied with additional responsibilities.


• It doesn’t solve anything. When you stay on at a job for the money, this doesn’t address the underlying issues or reasons causing you to want to leave in the first place.


• You could lose both jobs.

This is a good list IMO.

Let's take some time and cover what should be done before you'd ever reach this point:

• Let's say you hate your job (for whatever reason). Assuming you're a good performer (average and poor performers have lots less clout), you need to take the issue to your boss or another company representative who can do something about the situation.


• Be sure you exhaust all alternatives. Don't simply mention the issue in passing and expect it to be handled. You'll need to work at it and make sure people know it's a serious issue for you.


• If the company helps alleviate the situation, then life is good and you can stay at the company.


• If the company cannot or will not change the situation, even though you have tried all avenues to get the problem rectified, you have two choices: stay and bear it or plan to leave.


• If you plan to leave, you'll start the job-hunting process. If you get to the point where you get an offer, you'll then need to decide whether or not you want the new job.


• If you take the new job, you've then decided that it's better than the old job. So when you tell the old company you're leaving, you know that the new gig will be better. You'll also know that you did everything possible to make the old job work, and they wouldn't help you at all.


• So if they make a counter-offer, why do you think the job situation will be better? Simply because they offer more money? Or because they promise to make changes? Remember that you tried everything to make it better before you looked for a new job and the old company wouldn't work with you. Do you really want to work with people like that? Can you really trust them? Do you think you'll get what they promise? Maybe, maybe not.

Now let's look at the situation from the employer's perspective. Here's what I would do if confronted (as a boss) with the situation of an employee resigning:

• If the employee had made his objections clear prior to the resignation, then either I didn't want to make the changes he requested, couldn't make them, or decided he wasn't worth the effort. So I shouldn't be shocked when he resigns.


• If it was a key employee -- a very good performer in a vital role -- I would make a counter-offer and try to do whatever I could to keep him around. I'd then have to reconsider my thoughts on changing the issues around him wanting to move. If he really was a star, it's likely I'd re-double my efforts to make him happy and keep him around long-term. I wouldn't trust him completely (thinking he could bolt at any moment) and I'd likely take steps to make sure someone else fully understood his job just in case he left later.


• If it was an average to poor employee in a vital role, I'd try to keep him around with a counter-offer. Then I'd move someone in to learn his job over the next month or so, then fire the original employee if and when I had reason to (I certainly wouldn't trust him from here on out). And if he left later, I'd let him -- knowing I was covered by the other employee.


• If it was an average to poor employee in a non-vital role, then I wouldn't make a counter-offer and would see the opportunity to upgrade my personnel.

I have never been in this position as an employee, but I have as an employer. I once came into a job where I managed a three-person staff. The #2 manager (second in the department to me) thought she should have been promoted instead of the company hiring me, so a couple weeks later, she came into my office and resigned. In addition, she also submitted the resignation letter for employee #3 (they were both leaving to work at the same company). So I went from a four-person department to a two-person one in the span of 10 minutes.

Both of these employees were in vital roles (#3 reported to #2). They had not brought their problems to me in advance, but then again I wouldn't have likely been able to meet #2's requirements, so it's a moot point.

I got some great advice from my boss at that time and here's what I did:

• I talked to employee #3. She was a great employee with a good attitude and actually did most of the work in the department (#2 just was a figure-head who told #3 to do all the work.)


• #3 didn't really want to leave the company but she had been told by #2 that I was going to fire the whole department and bring in my own people. That's why she resigned. I assured her that I wasn't going to do that, that I wanted her to stay, and that I was willing to offer her #2's now vacated role (at a much lower salary than #2 was currently making, though #3 didn't know that -- it was a nice raise for her.)


• #3 ended up accepting the offer and ultimately became one of my best employees ever.


• We let #2 go (in fact we escorted her out of the building the day #3 accepted our offer -- #2 was going to a competitor) and ended up with a better, smaller, less costly department. It was a win all the way around.

So, what’s the point of all this? Here’s my take: You should think very carefully before you take a counter-offer, and only do so if you're a great performer in a vital role. Otherwise accepting such an offer could put you on very thin ice.

Anyone out there ever take a counter-offer? Was it a good decision or not?

Comments

[mdb]

I never took a counter offer, I did go to my manager when I had a another company going after me, that worked out well - but I never went to interview or submitted my resignation. I knew I had the job if had to take it, but was happy where I was and told my manager that - I received a 33% raise to stay.

[Jon]

I've never actually received a counter offer. The first time I switched jobs, my boss actually agreed that it was a good decision as work for us was slowing down with no signs of picking up.
My second job my boss asked if I was leaving for more money. I told him "no, not really", and they never offered anything. I think if I had said "yes", they definitely would have counter offered. But the work environment still would have been the same, only worse as they expectations would have been higher.

[Kris @ Everyday Tips and Thoughts]

I have often wondered how it would work out if someone got a great counter offer and stayed. I have never actually seen it happen. It seems like once you get to the point of actually quitting that your mind would be pretty made up.

[Adam]

Twice I have given previous employers an opportunity to make a counter offer. Both said that they were unable to counter, so I left them. An employer not making a couter offer shows how little the employer valued me.

[DM]

Similar to Adam, I gave my previous employer the opportunity to counter offer. They never did. I had already decided I'd leave at that point, but was curious to see if they would at least match the offer I had from the new company.

[Jen]

My belief has always been that once a person decides to leave, they are better off leaving, because there was obviously something not working for them. For those people who resign just to get the counter offer - they will never be loyal and a solid long term investment.

I personally would never accept a counter offer. When I gave my notice at my last job, there was no question I was leaving and they knew they couldn't match the job or pay. Even if they could have, I wanted out and no amount of money would have the work environment or situation better.

At the same company we had someone give notice twice and each time her manager's manager provided a counter offer and she stayed. Her manager never fully trusted her after the first time and continued to have less interest in helping her build her career. Ultimately she left 5 months after she accepted her second counter offer.

[The Antichick]

I got a counter offer once, and took it, and it was the right thing to do. HOWEVER, the circumstances were pretty specific. I had at one point given my boss a promise that if I was ever given an offer to leave, I would give him an opportunity to counter. I was pursued by a company (I hadn't gone "looking" for a new job, but went to talk to them) and they offered me a LOT more than I was making.

Because I promised, I gave my boss the opportunity to counter. Come to find out, there had been across-the-board raises for my department in the works for some time because we were underpaid, and he couldn't tell me that. He was able to push through my raise, and then shortly afterwards the raises for the entire department, in part because of my competing offer.

I stayed with that company for a long time, and only left when the parent company started going down. When I called the other job to let her know I was declining her offer (I'd never accepted it, was just thinking about it), she cursed me out for taking a counter offer and not taking her offer. I was REALLY glad I didn't at that point.

[LL]

I have accepted a counter offer, but also under specific circumstances. It was rumored that the company was planning to shut down the office where I worked, and another company offered me a job (I hadn't been looking yet). When I resigned, the company I worked for said they were willing to let me work from home when the office closed, and they asked me what else I would want in order to stay. I asked for a small raise and a bonus (in case they reneged and fired me when closing the office). I didn't ask for a large raise, because I didn't want to take unfair advantage of the situation. It's been a little more than a year since that happened, and I think it was a good decision.