How to handle accepting or declining your current company’s counter offer
By: Merredith Donahue, Partner of Great Plains Solutions
Congratulations on your new offer of employment. It is time to tell your current manager of your intent to accept the new position. It is important to keep in mind there are any number of ways your manager may react. He or she could express pleasure for you, or perhaps surprise and dismay, sadness or even anger over your decision to quit. Another distinct possibility is that you may be offered a counter to stay with the company. This could include a salary increase, additional responsibilities, the promise of direct reports, a new project or any combination of multiple guarantees that make it seem like the right decision to stay. There are a number of things to consider before accepting a counter offer including your reasons behind looking for a new opportunity in the first place, the impact of that decision if you decide to stay in your current role, and, the integrity surrounding your actions during this process.
One of the most important things to think about before you accept the counter is; what were your reasons for looking for a new position in the first place? Was it just the money, or, were there other issues? Have all your concerns been addressed with the counter offer? If you think your boss is incompetent or a bad manager but he or she has just offered you a big salary increase to stay, you will find that the money won’t make your boss a better manager. Additionally, you may want to consider why it took your announcement that you had received another offer for your boss to come up with the additional cash, responsibilities, time off, etc. Are you just getting your regular increase early only to be passed up at review time?
Consider what may happen to your current environment should you decide to stay. What are your manager’s motivations for presenting the counter offer? Could it be a reaction of panic over who would complete your work should you leave or perhaps how much it would cost to replace you? It is also important to consider if offering you the counter is a temporary stopgap for your employer as they look for a qualified replacement. In the best case scenario the counter offer is presented because somehow your manager overlooked how valuable you are and the offer solves all the issues that had you looking in the first place. Is that a likely scenario?
Additionally, if you have discussed your intent to leave or look for another position with any of your co-workers, the entire situation could become grist for the rumor mill. This may not seem important at the time, but people have long memories and should there ever come a time for cuts both your coworkers and managers will remember your willingness to leave. It is also possible the terms of your new offer whether they are public or merely rumored will cause some resentment between you and your coworkers.
On the flip side of this scenario, let us consider what effect this process may have on your potential employer. It is important to alert your current employer of your intent to leave if you have any possible inclination that you may accept a counter offer before you formally accept the position with your new employer. It is considered unethical to accept the position of a potential employer and then back out of the position for a counter. Make sure you have a decision firmly in place before accepting any offer of employment. Managers, Human Resource professionals and potential coworkers will remember your lack of integrity if you ever decide to apply for a similar position within an organization where you have pulled out after acceptance.
It is also somewhat common to use a counter offer from your current employer to negotiate a better offer with your potential employer. This has a substantial chance of backfiring and causing your potential employer to pull the offer all together. A better tactic is to make your expectations clear up front as to what you would expect to move to the new organization. Have your bottom line at the front of your mind while making negotiations and turn down any initial offer that does not meet those expectations. It is perfectly fine to make it clear that you are turning down the offer because your expectations were not met and often the potential employer will come back with a better offer. Otherwise a better opportunity will come along at a later point. Waiting to get a counter offer and using that as a negotiation point will in all likelihood cause your potential employer to question your motivations and integrity.
In this current job climate, loyalty matters. When working in corporate recruiting for a global organization, I would always discourage managers from making counter offers to employees based first and foremost on the current disengagement of an employee who is considering other employment. If the counter offer seems to solve the issues you had with your current role, make sure you consider all aspects of each position. Make a list of pros and cons regarding each position to help you get a clear picture of which is a better move for your career. If you do decide to take a counter offer, be open and honest with your manager and work to improve that relationship to the best of your ability going forward. This will help prove your loyalty in the future if there are potential cuts that have to be made. If you decide to accept the new position, exit your current position gracefully. Thank your employer for the counter and make your reasons for leaving clear without being overly critical of your boss, coworkers or organization. Make sure to submit your resignation in writing to your manager and Human Resources. Then… enjoy your new role!
Great Plains Solutions, Inc. 