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COUNTEROFFER ACCEPTANCE
"THE ROAD TO CAREER RUIN"
TEN REASONS FOR NOT ACCEPTING A
COUNTER OFFER
(Provided by Industry Trainer, Bob Marshall)
1.
What type of company do you work for if you have
to threaten to resign before they give you what you are
worth?
2.
From where is the money for the counteroffer
coming? Is it your next raise early? (All companies
have strict wage and salary guidelines that must be
followed).
3.
Your company will immediately start looking for a
new person at a lower salary price.
4.
You have now made your employer aware that you
are unhappy. From this day on, your loyalty will always
be in question.
5.
When promotion time comes around, your employer
will remember who was loyal and who wasn’t.
6.
When times get tough, your employer will begin
the cutback with you.
7.
The same circumstances that now cause you to
consider a change will repeat themselves in the future,
even if you accept the counteroffer.
8.
Statistics show that if you accept a
counteroffer, the probability of voluntarily leaving in
six months or being let go within one year is extremely
high.
9.
Accepting a counteroffer is an insult to your
intelligence and a blow to your personal pride, knowing
that you were bought.
10.
Once the word gets out, the relationship that you
now enjoy with your co-workers will never be the same.
You will lose the personal satisfaction of peer group
acceptance.
COUNTEROFFER ACCEPTANCE - "THE
ROAD TO CAREER RUIN"
-Written by Paul
Hawkinson
Matthew Henry, the 17th
century writer said, "Many a dangerous temptation comes to us in fine
shiny colors that are but skin deep." The same can be said for
counteroffers, those magnetic enticements designed to lure you back into
the nest after deciding its time to fly away.
The litany of horror stories I
have come across in the years as an Executive Recruiter, Consultant and
publisher, provides a litmus test that clearly indicates counter offers
should never be accepted . . .EVER!
I define a counter offer
simply as an inducement from your current employer to get you to stay
after you've announced your intention to take another job. We're not
talking about those instances when you receive an offer but don't tell
your boss. Nor are we discussing offers that you never intended to take,
yet told your employer about anyway as a "they want me but I'm staying
with you" play.
These are merely astute
positioning tactics you may choose to use to reinforce your worth by
letting your boss know you have other options. Mention of a sure
counteroffer, however, carries an actual threat to it.
Interviews with employers who
make counteroffers and employees who accept them have shown to be as
tempting as they can be. Acceptance may be CAREER SUICIDE! During
the past twenty years, I have seen only isolated incidents in which an
accepted counteroffer has benefited the employee. Consider the problem in
its' perspective.
What really goes through a
boss's mind when someone quits?
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"This couldn't be happening
at a worse time."
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"This is one of my best
people. If I let him/her quit now, it'll wreak havoc on the morale of
the department."
-
"I've already got one
opening in my department. I don't need another one right now."
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"This will probably screw up
the entire vacation schedule."
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"I'm working as hard as I
can, and I don't need his/her work, too."
-
"If I lose another good
employee, the company might decide to "lose" me."
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"My review is coming up and
this will make me look bad."
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"Maybe I can keep him/her on
until I find a suitable replacement."
What will the boss say to
keep you in the nest? Some of these comments are very common.
-
"I'm really shocked. I
thought you were as happy with us as we are with you. Let’s discuss it
before you make your final decision."
-
"Gee, I've been meaning to
tell you about the great plans we have for you, but it's all been very
confidential up until now."
-
"The VP has you in mind for
some exciting and expanding responsibilities."
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"Your raise was scheduled to
go into effect next quarter, but we'll make it effective ASAP."
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"You're going to work for
who?"
Let's face it, when someone
quits it's a direct reflection on the boss. Unless you are really
incompetent or a destructive thorn in his/her side, the boss might look
bad by "allowing you to go. His/her gut reaction is to do what has to be
done to keep you from leaving until he/she is ready to let you go. That
is human nature.
Fortunately, it's also human
nature to want to stay unless your work life is abject misery. Career
changes like all ventures into the unknown, are tough. That’s why bosses
know they can usually keep you around by pressing the right buttons.
Before you succumb to a
tempting counteroffer, consider these universal truths
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Any situation in which an
employee is forced to get an outside offer before the present employer
will suggest a raise, promotion, or better working conditions, is
suspect.
-
No matter what the company
says when it is making it’s counteroffer, you will always be considered
a fidelity risk. Having once demonstrated your lack of loyalty (for
whatever reason), you will lose your status as a team player and your
place in the inner circle.
-
Counteroffers are usually
nothing more than stall devices to give your employer time to find a
replacement for you.
-
Your reasons for wanting to
leave still exist. Conditions are just a bit more tolerable in the
short term because of a raise, promotion or promises made to keep you.
-
Decent and well-managed
companies don’t make counteroffers, EVER!! Their policies are fair and
equitable. They will not be subjected to counter offer coercion
or what one may perceive as blackmail.
IF THE URGE TO ACCEPT A
COUNTEROFFER HITS YOU, KEEP ON CLEANING OUT YOUR DESK AS YOU COUNT YOUR
YOUR BLESSINGS!!!!
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