So the resignation is ongoing or we are near the end I’m not sure. Another odd circumstance derived from the overzealous application of shutdowns. “This store can stay open but that one can’t” …. Don’t worry I’m not going to go off on a tangent here. So here we are, people are leaving the workforce, and some are not coming back. Of course there are more factors then just the pandemic that have led to this. Boomers are retiring, Side hustles are viable, people have downgraded their living standards.
Maybe you resigned from a role or are thinking about it? It’s not a bad option, inflation is high, employers need staff = the chance to make more money. I am pretty comfortable where I am now but if this were a few years ago I would have parlayed this into a new job for sure. However, there is one issue that comes up from time to time when you do resign that you need to be aware of.
Your current employer counter offers.
This happens, I’ve received them and on behalf of a company I have offered them to people leaving. Companies do this for a few reasons, but mainly it’s because they don’t have someone who can do what you do. So this begs the question, if they are counter offering does that mean you were undervalued? The answer is yes. Don’t be fooled here, just like you want to make as much money as you can working for a company, they want to pay you the least amount possible.
I think that’s pretty obvious, sure HR dept.’s spends their resources trying to cultivate a “community” to provide non-monetary benefits but have no illusions here the single biggest measure you have for a company is how much it costs them to employ you. So a counter offer is flattering, in many cases it might even be financially lucrative. The issue is, the counter offer doesn’t change the reasons you wanted to leave. If the reason was financial, the counter offer confirms your rational.
There isn’t a positive outcome here for you except you make more money. If you had another job you were going to likely make more money, there anyway or have the potential too. Maybe this current job is comfortable for you, maybe you don’t really want to leave, maybe there are a 100 other reasons to stay. You got a counter offer because you told them you wanted to leave. Do you think they are going to look at you the same going forward?
Everything changes if you take the counter offer. Management knows you were willing to leave which is huge. Sure in the short term maybe they will kiss your ass because they need you (hence the counter offer) but you can bet they are already planning a contingency to replace you, I know I have been in those meetings. You may be getting more money but your “value” as a staff member is far less than it was. They not only know you are willing to leave; they know you are capable of leaving. That scares the crap out of companies because they have to have someone do the work. If not you then someone new, or other staff pick up the slack.
A counter offer is a hedge for them, they aren’t happy about it. This isn’t a performance review; you are essentially forcing their hand. The reasons you are leaving? They haven’t gone away, unless it was exclusively money but it’s rarely that. Never accept a counter offer unless you are a very high level executive as those circles are very small. Regular employees like you and me? Move on.
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