BEWARE OF

COUNTEROFFERS
They may ask you to stay now, then give you the boot later.

As Featured in the April 24-April 30, 1994 edition of the National Business Employment Weely,
a pu!li"ation of the Wall #treet $ournal

By R. Gaines Baty

You've been approached by another company and offered a position with growth potential and
a moderate increase in compensation. You've analyzed and agonized over the decision to leave
a good (or bad) job for what could be a better one, and have accepted (or decided to accept)
the offer. However, upon resigning, your current boss ass you to stay. !his appeal is nown as
a counteroffer or buybac.

"n recent years, counteroffers have practically become the norm. #"t's almost lie a part of the
accepted divorce proceedings, and allows the boss to save face with his boss,# e$plains one
departing !e$as%based e$ecutive of a major airline. #&nd it sometimes has to tae its course.#

'ut while buybac offers can be tempting, tae care not to fall into the trap or be blindsided to
your own detriment. (areer changes are tough enough as it is, and an$ieties about leaving a
comfortable job, friends and location and having to reprove yourself again in an unnown
opportunity can cloud the best of logic. 'ut just because the new position is a little scary
doesn't mean it's not a positive move.

)ince buybac gestures can create confusion and buyer's remorse, you should understand
what's being cast upon you. (ounteroffers are typically made in conjunction with some form of
flattery. *or e$ample+
You're too valuable, and we need you.
You can't desert the team,your friends and leave them hanging.
-e were just about to give you a promotion,raise, and it was confidential until now.
-hat did they offer, why are you leaving, and what do you need to stay.
-hy would you want to wor for that company.
!he /resident,(01 wants to meet with you before you mae your final decision.

(ounters usually tae the form of+
2. more money
3. a promotion,more responsibility
4. a modified reporting structure
5. promises or future considerations
6. disparaging remars about the new company or job, and,or
7. guilt trips.

1f course, since we all prefer to thin we're 89/s, it's natural to want to believe these
manipulative appeals, but beware: &ccepting a counteroffer often is the wrong choice to mae.

!hin about it+ "f you were worth #;# yesterday, why are they suddenly willing to pay you #; <
Y# today, when you weren't e$pecting a raise for some time.

&lso, consider how you've felt when someone resigned from your staff. !he reality is that
employers don't lie to be #fired.# Your boss is liely concerned that he'll loo bad, and that his
career may suffer. 'osses are judged by their ability to retain staff. -hen a contributor =uits,
morale suffers. *urther, your leaving might jeopardize an important project, increase staffers'
worload or even foul up a vacation schedule. "t's never a good time for someone to =uit, and it
may prove time%consuming and costly to replace you, especially considering recruitment and
relocation e$penses. "t's much cheaper to eep you, even at a slightly higher salary. &nd it
would be better to fire you later, on the company's time frame.

#-e've made counteroffers on occasion, if a person approaches the issue professionally,# says
a former senior partner of a 'ig )i$ accounting and consulting firm. #'ut usually it was a
stopgap measure because we couldn't afford a defection at that point in time. -e didn't count
on those people long term, and usually they'd burned bridges two or three levels up, if not with
their immediate manager. "t definitely put them in a career holding pattern.#

!he senior partner cites a long conference he once attended with his boss and two subordinate
managers, in which they approved a counteroffer and raise to an employee two levels down.
#"mmediately after that meeting, my boss called me and said, '-e can't afford to lose him now,
but our >o. 2 priority is to find a replacement, &)&/:' # he says. #&nd we replaced him within a
few months.#

&nother senior e$ecutive from a major ?allas%based ban says, #"f it@s a real 'hitter,' "'ll try to get
him to stay. 'ut to be honest, any additional compensation is 'stealing' from his future earnings,
and "'ll always =uestion his convictions, nowing he can be bought. *urther, "'ll wonder if " can
really count on him Awhich e=uates to limited future opportunitiesB. "n other words, the
damage is done.#

-hile your employer may truly consider you an asset and genuinely care about you personally,
you can be sure that your interests are secondary to your boss's career and your company's
profit or survival. !hus, flattering offers and comments are attempts to manipulate you to act in
your employer's best interest%which aren't necessarily your own. "n other words, they're not
about you.

&ccepting a counteroffer can have numerous negative conse=uences. (onsider+

-here did the additional money or responsibility you'd get come from. -as it your ne$t
raise or promotion%just given early. -ill you be limited in the future. -ill you have to
threaten to =uit to get your ne$t raise. 8ight a (cheaper) replacement be sought out.

You've demonstrated your unhappiness (or lac of blind loyalty), and will be perceived
as having committed blacmail to gain a raise. You won't ever be considered a team
player again. 8any employers will hold a grudge at the ne$t review period, and you may
be placed at the top of the ne$t reduction%in%force #hit list.# &s one e$ecutive who
re=uested anonymity says, #Cie an adulterous affair that's been discovered, the broen
trust is never fully recovered.#

&part from a short%term, band%aid treatment, nothing will change within the company.
&fter the dust settles from this upheaval, you'll be in the same old rut. & rule of thumb
among recruiters is that more than DEF of those accepting counteroffers leave, or are
terminated, within si$ to twelve months anyway. Half of those who do succumb
reinitiate their job searches within GE days, recruiters say.

#!hey butter you up, give you more money, but nothing really changes. "n fact, they can get
worse,# says one insurance e$ecutive in Htah who accepted a counteroffer. #8y immediate
boss was really agitated, since his boss interceded. &t raise time, he told me none had been
budgeted (since "'d already gotten a raise), and that if " wanted, " could negotiate with the
/resident as before.# !his e$ecutive, by the way, left the company within months.

&ttempted buybacs can demonstrate disrespect for your well%thought%out decision and
commitment to the new company. )hould your current employer decide to eliminate
your position or pass you over for promotion, successfully countering their decision is
unliely. 'esides, you've analyzed, accepted and committed to the new company, which
has surely made plans and accommodations around you and is counting on you.

*inally, when maing your decision, loo at your current job and the new position as if you were
unemployed. -hich opportunity holds the most real potential. /robably the new one, or you
wouldn't have accepted it in the first place.

%& 'aines Baty is (resident of %& 'aines Baty Asso"iates, )n"& *est& 19++,, a -allas-!ased retained
e.e"uti/e sear"h firm& 0r& Baty, 1ho started his "areer 1ith )B0 2orp&, is formerly a t1o-term (resident
of !oth the #o"iety of E.e"uti/e %e"ruitin3 2onsultants *#E%2, and the -allas )ndependent %e"ruiters
'roup *)%',, and is a 1ell-no1n author, trainer and pra"titioner in e.e"uti/e team !uildin3, e.e"uti/e
e/aluation, e.e"uti/e sear"h and "areer mana3ement issues&
*or more information, please visit our website+
www.rgba.com
Integrity - ro!essiona"ism - Commitment - Res#"ts
2006 R. Gaines Baty Associates, Inc. Improve the Outcome Tel: 972-386-7900