Discussion on:

The dangers of accepting a counteroffer

crying.

There is no definite solution to this. It depends on corporate culture and personality of your managers/supervisors. Go with your guts for your best interests.

We all know that the employee has very little negotiating power in most employment situations. You don't say to your boss, "give me a raise or else I'll ..." what? Quit? No. You have to have job offer in your hand to have any negotiating power. As such, I'm not sure all this horriblizing about negotiating a counter offer is helpful. I've seen employees get a counter offer and say "screw you, you should have offered me a raise *before* I went looking for another job." Employer beware! Employee beware! It's a dog eat dog world out there.

Accepting a counter offer will really start a bad aura to the other workers, giving them it may be a way of 'getting a raise'?!

Tough.

One of the people you need wanting to leave is the management issue. If that failure hadn't occurred, knock on effects from reactinbg to it wouldn't be an issue.

I was in a situation 2 years ago that the employer want to fire me because I and my boss did not get along. The plan was leaked and I knew about this.

But then a big project came along and my boss needed me for that. I thought twice seriously to resign but did not. 6 months later when the project was about over, I was axed.

Comeon, loyalty does not worth a penny. Just 'do' what you think is best.

This is completely subjective in my opinion. If a company is paying you less than you are worth and at the same time you enjoy your job, you should not feel bad for looking elsewhere, and then using another offer to get a raise. It's part of the game, and if a company is not paying you what you deserve, and you have already approached them about it, then you have to do what's best for you.

There is only one person, you should be loyal to. "You".

Your boss or workplace could be the nicest. Friendliest (Guy/Gal) on the planet. When push comes to shove. It's you who goes over the cliff first..not the boss. If you're unhappy and took those steps, don't look back. If your work satisfaction is based on misplaced "Loyalty"..go work for the Apple Genius Bar, and drink the Purple Koolaid. Maybe you should pick up a copy of Ayn Rand also!. Doesn't mean you have to be a jerk. But welcome to 2012.

While money is always a consideration in looking at making a move, it is typically not the primary consideration. A significant advancement in possition within a new company could be extremey attractive if your current company has little room for advancement. Job security overall is also key to your consideration. If your company is laying off around you and the new company is in growth mode it may tend to reason that the new company has a better shot at stability, if even short term. Finally the culture and excitement level of an organization can either make you ignore the call from a recruiter or actually seek them out. No amount of money can address a miserable environment but a lot of professionals will consider a lateral, or even slight decrease, in order to improve their overall career satisfaction.

I had a somewhat unusual experience with a counter-offer. I was working for a contract firm on an option-to-hire contract with one of their clients. Both I and my employer knew that an offer would be forthcoming from the client, so my employer told me what sort of raise I would receive at the end of the contract, and it was a nice one that I thought was quite fair. I really did not want to become an employee of the client, so when they asked me what sort of salary I wanted, I gave them a figure that I really thought was much more than I was worth. They came up with an offer that met my request. I went back to my employer and told them of the offer and expressed that I would have a hard time turning it down, since it was about 20% more than what I would have received after my raise. I did not ask them to match, just possibly sweeten the promised raise, yet they matched the offer and continued to employ me for several more years. I guess they just had to increase my billing rate to cover my higher salary.

It's just ridiculous for companies to expect loyalty of any sort. Of course you don't screw people over, say like promising to not look at offers for a certain time but then leave or giving one day's notice.

But if a company needs to cut you and contract out work, they're going to do it. Sure the individual manager might not like having to lay you off. But he will do it.

You should avoid duplicity, but in the end you have to take care of yourself and your responsibilities first.

Corporate loyalty is a thing of the past. The company expects you to be loyal but rewarding it is quite another matter. The bottom line in this day and age is to get the money, plain and simple. The day you become "outdated" in your company you can expect to be shown the door no matter what you've contributed to the business. Anyone who doesn't see employment in this light is dwelling in the past.

Sometimes it takes a pretty girl flirt with you to remind the wife that you are indeed still desirable.

Same thing goes here. There are still companies out there that still force you to go out and get that offer before they are willing to bump your pay in a meaningful way.

Bear with me: In 1984 I went t0 work for a CA utility, life was good, then deregulation came a long, to the companys credit they looked to the furture, and had concern for there employees. Around 1986 / 87 our CEO had a series of all hands meetings, two things I take from that conversation 1) The way we do business is about to change, you can no longer go from cradle to grave with the same company, there is NO COMPANY ALIGENCE, look around most management upper and middle have a life of seven (7) years, then you move on. 2) Train for the future requirements, in other words keep up to date, you are responsible for your future. In saying that, what is the adage: "The best time to look for a job is when you have a job", is that not true.
If a counter offer is given, the one thing to remember is that the only thing you are really working for are medical benefits, nothing more nor anything less. Think about it.
Are you really concerned about what the other guy thinks, REALLY?
Don't worry about the spelling (don't sweet the small stuff).

but it can be rented for a while.

-All realistic and valid considerations. Perhaps the next installment could address why one should never defy death by driving to work in the morning; after all, there really are some reasons it would be safer.. I am persuaded that fear mongering only weakens people.
The second (missing) half of this article should offer follow-up strategies to those who find themselves at this crossroad, for whatever reason. It is NOT a hopeless situation, and a percentage of your readers should, in fact move on.

In all my years of working with small, med, or large private sector companies I have never accepted a counter offer. When I decided it was time for a change, I had listed the reasons why I needed to seek alternative employment. I was always leaving for something better and leaving what I no longer wanted behind. Counters are just bad at both ends. The company that made an offer will never consider you again and the company you take the counter from thinks they have you the the bag for the future.

There is a lot of talk of loyalty but I think that most people don't understand what it means. Loyalty is not about sticking blindly with something, it's about an attitude and understanding that both sides have of each other. It's whether they like your attitude and how you will support the other side for what they are giving you. If you have 10 years experience and produce the same quality and quantity as someone with 5 years experience but you get twice the salary then there is something wrong. As time goes by you need to work at other areas of your career and not just the same old things. What I mean by that is that by the time you have your duties down to a routine you can find the time to handle things that will help you consolidate your position in the company and the general market.

Before you reply and say that the guy with 5 years of experience gets more than you take a really good look to see what he is doing right. It doesn't pay to stay bitter.

Once you want to leave, you should go, no matter what. Typically by the time you become aware that you want to leave, it means you should have left sometime ago. We typically wait until the we've become extremely dissatisfied to make a change.
Now of course, if the only reason you wanted to leave was salary, then maybe. However your current employer, if the management there is immature - which is a very common situation, may resent your desire for a higher salary and may feel you have held the company over a barrel to get it. So you should probably not accept the counteroffer.
There can be exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between.
The top and middle management in many companies really resents an employee who leaves or wants to leave. It would vastly prefer to fire or lay off the employee. More than one HR director I have met was very open about this and said the company wanted to get to the point where they had no voluntary separations (i.e. employees wanting to leave) and had only involuntary ones (i.e. firing or layoffs.)

I wouldnt agree with this article wholeheartedly. i suppose in certain situations its going to hurt you, but I accepted a counter offer from my current employer years ago and have since grown and taken better positions with the company. Im known as the one that drinks the company kool-aid. As another commenter mentioned, it can definitely be seen as a sign of loyalty.

Obviously, it all depends on the situation and environment, but you cant take what this article says as gospel.

Good heavens. In a world where the employee is considered the enemy, and to be got rid of if possible, the idea that accepting a counteroffer makes you look bad is to be frank, sort of silly.

They will get rid of you before or afterwards with just as much remorse, which is to say, no remorse at all.

Without leverage from another company current employers are not inclined to boost your salary. There is no loyalty out there any more. It's every man for himself, or woman.

You might want to ask yourself why the company you are working for didn't give you the raise before they had to counter, after all what has changed, except now they will have to look for your replacement and process paperwork. Statistically about 80-85% of employees who accept counters are gone within in a year...because as was pointed out they were viewed as a traitor as mentioned or as was also pointed out...things don't change with a salary bump...

The article overstates the obvious, and is attempting to offer advice on a very complex subject in 500 words or less.
As others mentioned, in some companies the only way to get more money is to leave, or threaten to leave.
Of course you have to consider very carefully taking a counteroffer these days -- I'd even go out on a limb and say you have to consider leaving and taking a new job more carefully now than in the past.
The situation is different in each case.

A counteroffer could offer more than just money -- perhaps it involves another position or different duties. Perhaps your notice put the company on notice that others might be unhappy in your departement.

It's a recipe for animosity. They will expect more out of you and when it becomes convenient, you will be the first to get let go. The fact of the matter is that if they didn't think you were worth the pay increase before, then you can be sure that any counter-offer will be put out there reluctantly.

The only exception for me would be a rather large company where the counter-offer is packaged with a promotion with another division or under a different manager.

I believe it all depends on the managers/company, some take it little too personally, thats where things going to be sour forever and all of your insight is absolutely applicable. But there are instances where someone is actually an asset to an organization and even though the manager has the full honest intent to do all that he can to retain the resource, he is bind by the pay grade limitations, where situations like these (pre-counteroffer stage) gives an opportunity to raise some eyebrows in higher ranks and get stuff done out of the box.
But again, money isnt something going to keep folks motivated forever.

Left my current employer quite a few years ago while I was still viewed as an underling. No counter offer was presented. Company brought me back 3 times to train my replacement(s) in my ex-job for 1 1/2 the pay I was asking to stay in the first place.
New company tanked after a year and a half. I had too many opportunities to sort through so I never even called my old employer.
They called me with quite an impressive offer. Thirty years later, I am still there and happy.
Moral; DO NOT burn ANY bridges.

If you are the employee you are expected to bend over and take it, normally, without so much as a thank you. But if you dare to ask anything of the company or try to better yourself, then you are deemed to be a traitor. The company can cut you at the drop of a hat, but if you dare to ask anything of them you are a trouble maker.

I would never accept a counter offer. I might ask for a raise, and then go looking if it is not forthcoming.

It was an internal post though, to make matters worse politically. Six months later, my current manager who slathered on the praise (and money) had to lay me off. I couldn't even go to the guy with the offer I reneged on because he made his disappointment very clear. I was interviewing because I didn't like what I was doing and ended up staying on because of a high praise snow-job? - very stupid.

Another mistake: Following a boss you like out the door into his new 'opportunity'.

Being from both sides of this coin, this is extremely simple
Whatever the issue is, whether money or job duties, discuss it with the HMFIC
If it is not resolved, find another job, because that is they are telling you

If you consider this simple fact, regardless of where you are within an organization, then the question is simple - do you believe you are getting what you think you are worth?
Only you can answer this question, and yes, we all place different values on the attributes listed in this conversation, but first and foremost, we work for money. EVERYTHING else is secondary to this simple fact.

That said, a few other folks touched on the topic of self improvement. I have discovered the meaning of life. Hmmm, rather full ourself aren't we? Well if that were the end of the statement, then yes, that pre-judgement would be valid. Allow me to explain. As we go through life, one of the easiest ways to self improvement is to teach others how to do what you do. Once this is accomplished, you are free to go and learn new topics and avoid being 'pigeon-holed'. By doing this, we pass on our knowledge to the next generation (and even our current colleagues). If we take this knowledge about our discoveries to the grave with us, then what was the meaning (purpose) of our life? Thus, the meaning of life is to pass on knowledge. Consider all those who have passed before us who have revealed their knowledge, they are now immortalized. While this may sound vain, the feeling of freedom that comes with this philosophy is outstanding.

Who we work for has nothing to do with how we approach our life journey - discuss.

This is naive conventional wisdom from the past that is absolutely no longer relevant or correct or useful. And no one any longer believes it other than fools. Where did you get this idea from? No doubt from a corporate recruiter because this is what they have been saying for years to get employees to jump from one company to another. It's a common tactic they use to preempt a candidate from going to the current employer and using the new company's offer as a bargaining chip. Remember, the headhunter only makes money when you jump ship. But that's their problem.

The days of assumed loyalty are over. What's good for the company is now good for the employee. If the company is not loyal to its employees, why should the employees be loyal to the company? How loyal is the company to you if it does not offer competitive wages, benefits, career opportunities or working conditions? Not what was competitive at the time you were hired years ago - what's competitive now. Does your company publish compensation ranges for all positions or pay grades? Probably not. Perhaps it should, perhaps not. Until it does however, how other than finding out what other companies are paying will you find out what you are really worth?

If you leave and they replace you, do you think they will hire your replacement at the same rate they were paying you? No. They'll have to pay today's going rate just like the company you're considering jumping to. So if they're prepared to pay someone else that rate, why shouldn't they pay you?

Your employer may consider you a traitor, but is that the kind of company you want to work for? And just exactly who at your company will consider you a traitor? Your boss? Is that the kind of boss you want to work for? How long has your boss even been on the job? Quite possibly less time than you have. Why? Because they likely jumped to a new position for higher pay themselves and that's how they became your boss in the first place.

When you realize that all employees are in the same boat, including your boss, your boss's boss and the entire HR dept., it's easy to see why bargaining for competitive compensation is business as usual and being perceived as a traitor is a non-issue. They're just as likely to grant you greater respect for having the guts to ask for more with clear evidence of what you're worth. After all, if you can't negotiate on your own behalf, how will you represent the company's interests?

And let's not forget that in today's economy where companies are assumed to be "not hiring", here comes a company that wants to hire you and not only that is willing to pay you more. What is the rational response from your existing employer? "You traitor"? No. How about, "Wow I didn't know he was that valuable. We better figure out how to keep him."

The reality is that getting a better offer from another company today is an opportunity to open some frank discussion with your boss about your job, your role and the contribution you have to make to the company. That can lead to any number of positive outcomes that all include your staying at the company, not being considered a traitor, and achieving greater job satisfaction -- whether or not you get more pay.

There's nothing in this article we don't know already or is not common knowledge. Give us some statistics please instead to support the "dangers".

Getting an offer from another organisation can sometimes be the only way of getting your own company to address your needs.

At one of the companies I've worked at a guy approached management, pointed out his increased skills, training and responsibilities and requested a raise. The response was "why would we give you a pay rise, we know you won't leave".

As a consequence he started applying to other companies and when he came back with several offers he finally got the raise he wanted.

This guy didn't want to leave and didn't want to be disloyal to the company but the only way he could get them to take him seriously was to threaten to leave.

It strikes me that whenever a company is talking about loyalty it's always about your loyalty to them, there's rarely an indication that it works in the other direction.