Should You Take That Counteroffer?

So you’ve just got off the phone with your recruiter and you’ve received a job offer- congratulations! When you go in to hand your resignation, you find that your current employer puts up a fight for you and comes back with a counteroffer. What do you do? Accept it? Or should you go?

When faced with a counteroffer, you can be put in a difficult situation with many different factors to consider. The choice you make will have a significant impact on your career, so it’s a decision that can’t be taken lightly.

First off you need to consider why your current employer has made you a counteroffer. Nine times out of ten, companies make counteroffers because recruiting a senior level employee is expensive, and not because they’re worried about losing a valuable staff member. When a senior member of staff leaves a company, it can cost the organisation as much as 213% of the employee’s salary to find a replacement. Not only will the company be faced with recruitment fees, but also a drop in productivity as well as training expenses.

Therefore, it isn’t surprising that almost half of companies offer a counteroffer when an employee resigns. In a candidate-driven market like IT, where skill shortages make it very difficult to find and recruit new employees, it is even more common.

Why you might be tempted to accept a counteroffer

A substantial number of candidates accept counteroffers. When faced with one, it can seem like the right decision as you won’t have to learn new working methods at a different company or build relationships with new colleagues. At the end of the day you already know the ins and outs of your current company, and how to do your job exactly. Add to that extra money and it certainly makes it attractive to stay.

However, from our experience as well as studies, 80% of candidates that accept a counteroffer leave within six months, and 90% within the year. This only points to one thing: money isn’t always enough to overcome the issues that made you start looking for a new position in the first place.

Why you should turn down a counteroffer

A very small percentage of candidates want to leave their role, solely because of money. So, it’s likely that you were looking for a new role because of other reasons. However, these reasons don’t magically disappear once you are on a higher salary. You need to stop, take a step back and consider what made you want to leave in the first place. You need to think carefully about what made you look for a new role in the first place and whether a higher salary compensates enough to make you happy staying with your current employer.

Will Anything Change?

When you started looking for a new position, it may have stemmed from feeling restricted, or underappreciated. Perhaps you were passed over for a promotion or were simply not given the opportunity to progress you career. Maybe you voiced these concerns to your employer, and they weren’t addressed satisfactorily. If this is the case, then it’s highly likely that these issues will not go away after you accept a counteroffer. And if that happens, you will eventually hand in your resignation again- this time for good.

Damaged Relationship With Your Employer

When you accept a counteroffer, your relationship with your current employer it’s likely the relationship gets damaged. At the end of the day, you told them you were leaving, and are now only staying once you’ve been offered more money. Your employer can start questioning your loyalty and whether you’ll be resigning the second you receive a better offer. Some candidates end up feeling “pushed out” of their workplace after accepting a counteroffer. And sometimes, employers will start looking for someone to fill your position before you can find a better offer.

You May Become Expendable

After accepting a counteroffer, if your company hits hard times and needs to make redundancies, you may find yourself at the top of the list. Your employer may take your already expressed desire to leave as a sign that you aren’t as loyal or as committed to the organisation as other employees. And as mentioned before, your current employer may have only brought you a counteroffer in order to buy time before finding a replacement for you.

A New Opportunity Can Boost Your Career

While any decision relating to your career comes with its own risks, that can also be said for accepting a counteroffer. When you turn down a counteroffer and move to a new organisation, your career could reach a new level. Moving somewhere new could bring better career development opportunities and in the very least give you a chance to take on new challenges which could expand your skill-set.

Deciding

Making a final decision about whether to accept a counteroffer or not is certainly challenging. But if you take a step back and consider all aspects and make a pros and cons list you should make the right choice for yourself. If you find that you need more information regarding your potential new employer, then pick up the phone and speak with your recruiter. They’ll be able to give you all the facts you need to make the best, informed choice for your personal and professional growth.

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