The decision to leave a job can be nerve-wracking and stressful, and other times it can be a relief or an exciting development. It has to be a definite decision, and one that requires a lot of thought.
That is why, when your current employer asks you to stay and presents you with a counter offer, it can complicate the decision and raises some issues.
It’s important to remember that you have already made the decision to leave and its more vital you remember Why you made the decision in the first place. Its more then likely that as you have made the choice to leave your current employer, its for a reason like you are unhappy with you job role, the work place environment, or the people you work with. If you’ve been given a counter offer in an effort to make you stay, it’s highly unlikely that any of the terms of that offer will change the things you are unhappy with.
For example, if you’re unhappy with the environment or the industry that you work in, nothing apart from leaving will solve this problem.
Same goes for if you are unhappy with the team, or people you work with, there is nothing your current employer can offer you that will change who you work with.
However even with the ‘why reason’ at the forefront of your mind it can still be easy to get distracted and overwhelmed with the prospect of a counter offer against what the new employer are offering you, so let’s look at It from a different angle.
Why do Employers make counter offers? Whatever your boss offers you, more money, promotion, improved conditions etc, it is nearly always for their benefit. Counter offers are more prevalent now than ever as employers attempt to retain knowledge within their business as well as trying to avoid the financial and time implications of replacing a leaver. It’s ultimately an attempt to make their own lives easier and nothing to do with you as an individual and nothing to do with what value you bring to the business. Even with this being said When you look at the figures against how many candidates accept the counter offer and the outcomes its extremely surprising.
-Over 50% of candidates will accept the counter offer from their current employer.
-Of those 50%, over 80% of them will leave their old employment within 6 months of accepting the counter
-Of those 50%, over 90% of them will leave their old employment within 12 months of accepting the counter.
So, the question is why would you take a counter offer that
a.Does not address the root course of why you made the original decision to leave.
b.Prolongs the job seeking process. Will you have the energy 6-12 months down the line to go through the entire process again?
c.Closes Opportunities - Is your current employment really worth having to live with the what ifs and the thought of what could have been?
Ultimately, it’s an individual choice, however if you have gone through the entire process of job searching, interviews and making that choice to leave, along with the turmoil of the weight that each step brings with it, then leaving is more than likely to be the right choice for you, and no amount of counter offers should be able to change that.