How to Handle a Counter Offers

What is a Counter Offer?

You’ve been offered a position with growth potential and increase in salary and you have decided to accept the offer. However upon resigning, your current boss asks you to stay. This is known as a counter offer. What you need to be sure of, whether you choose to accept or decline a counter offer, is that you will be 100% happy with your decision. It’s understandable that you might be a little apprehensive about moving to a new place of work, but the decision itself must be something that YOU are happy with. No-one else can decide for you.

Six top tips for handling a counter offer:

Be prepared

This is the best way for you to be able to manage the situation professionally and productively. If you can anticipate the likely reaction from your current employer and plan your own response to that, you’re going to be at an advantage.

Create lists of pros and cons

The first part of the planning stage comes with drawing up a list of the pros and cons of each company. With something physical like this to use as a comparison, you’re going to avoid letting your emotions get the better of you – whether they’re emotions about how much you hate your boss or what a great set of work mates you’ll be leaving behind. Discussing your list with someone whose opinion you trust can also help.

Decide whether it’s really all about salary

A counter offer will usually take the form of an increase in salary, but the appeal of this is usually only a short-term attraction and often wears off quickly – after all, why did it take the threat of resignation for the company to offer you the right salary? What are the long-term prospects of staying with this company? How will your CV or resume be enhanced if you leave… or if you stay?

Consider their reasons

There are all kinds of reasons that companies decide to an issue a counter offer:

  • To avoid going through the recruitment and selection process to find your replacement
     
  • To save on the cost associated with hiring someone new – vacancy advertising and agency fees and then training & development
     
  • To remove the prospect of low morale that your departure could have on the your work colleagues
     
  • To save the time that it would take getting your newly appointed replacement up to speed

In short, if they’ve issued a counter offer, it’s likely that your company views your resignation as a massive inconvenience!

Recognise persuasion techniques

Of course, if they’re to convince you that accepting their counter offer is the best course of action for you, managers can apply any number of persuasion techniques in trying to make you share this belief:

  • Shock: I had no idea you were this unhappy! How can we change that?
     
  • Opportunity: we have such great plans for you that you’re going to miss out on if you leave…
     
  • Raise: we have been thinking about moving your pay rise forward, and we’ll do it now.
     
  • Ridicule: You’re not moving there are you? I’ve heard bad things about them.

Be 100% happy with your decision