Without even looking at the relative merits of an offer or the counter offer, statistics show that 85% of people who have accepted a counter offer will not be at their current employer in six months and 93% will not be there in eighteen months’ time. This is a big number, so why is this the case?
Firstly, think about your reasons as to why you started to explore the job market in the first place. Perhaps you weren’t being challenged in your current role, didn’t feel you were financially rewarded, perhaps you’ve reached your peak in terms of career progression, maybe you’ve been there a while and its simply time for a change? Whatever the case, you had a motivation to leave.
Most people will have spoken with their direct manager or HR about their concerns or ambitions within the current firm and no doubt, options internally would have been explored to accommodate where possible. If this was the case, you probably wouldn’t have attended an external interview in the first place.
The current market is candidate driven, meaning there are a lot of positions available and not a lot of quality candidates to fill the vacancies. This means employers worry when a staff member resigns and rightly so, they visualise the pain staking process of advertising, interviewing candidates, training up a new staff member, waiting for the new hire to ramp up in their role, the list goes on.
To handle the situation, you may be given a big pay rise to retain you, as for your employer this is a much easier option. But think about this, despite the extra cash, do your reasons for wanting to leave change? Are you still in the same role, doing the same thing, without being challenged or developed and will the money keep you in the role for long? Well, going back to the stats, NO, it won’t.
Whilst it is flattering to be counter offered, and good for your self-esteem, it also begs the question, “why wasn’t this offered to me, until I threatened to leave”? “Why do I need to say I am resigning to get worth for my service?” “Does my employer genuinely value me, or is this just easier for him/her?”
So, this is some food for thought. If you’ve started to explore the job market, think about why, have a discussion with your current employer first about what you’re seeking and see if they can help with your career development plans internally or increase your salary. If your ambitions can’t be met, then explore your options, remember, you have your reasons for doing so, so do keep them top of mind when you’re offered a new role.
Best of luck!
At Big Wave Digital , Sydney’s leading technical recruitment agency, we have deep digital connections, experience and proven expertise, and the ability to achieve a win for all parties in the technical recruiting process. We can connect to highly coveted tech talent with the world’s best employers. To discover more, just give us a call at (02) 9380 4431.
Keiran Hathorn is the CEO & Founder of Big Wave Digital. A Sydney based niche Digital, Data & Technology recruitment company. Keiran leads a high performance, experienced recruitment team, assisting companies of all sizes secure the best talent.
