My
friend Anita Bruzzeze has a terrific post on the perils of accepting a
counteroffer. You might not think this
applies to too many people in this rotten economy, but you’d be surprised. The counteroffer dilemma is something that
faces nearly every halfway decent employee at some point in their careers. Anita interviewed DeLynn Senna, executive
director of permanent placement services for Robert Half International, and she
reported these valuable insights:
Most
of the time, accepting a counteroffer is short-term fix for both the employer
and employee,” says Senna. “More than 90 percent of those who accept a
counteroffer end up leaving the job less than a year after they accept it –
either because the company lets them go or they leave on their own.”
Senna
says that while your boss may indeed offer you more money or better title to
hang onto you, the truth is, he or she may only be doing this to buy time. “An employer wants to minimize disruptions or
lost productivity in this economy, so they make a counteroffer to keep the
person,” Senna says. “But the trust has already been broken with the manager
and the employee’s colleagues.”
If your employer has made a counteroffer, Senna advises that you think about
why you thought about leaving your employer in the first place. Accepting a
counteroffer may not fix the reason you were considering the exit in the first
place.
If you do your research and believe that the job offer is worth taking, then tell your employer and don’t waffle when a counteroffer is made. Senna suggests saying something like: “I appreciate it, but I’ve made a commitment. I’ll do what I can to tie up loose ends here before I leave.” Also, remember that your reputation is the most important asset you have. You run a real risk of damaging it if you renege on your agreement with a new employer to accept a counteroffer from your current employer.
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