Counter-Offers: Should You Accept?

You’ve accepted a new job offer and handed in your resignation… only to have your boss make things complicated with a counter-offer. Perhaps your current employer is now offering more money, reduced hours, a new job title, or some added benefits. It’s all very appealing, but the question is: should you accept it?

In today’s competitive market, counter-offers are commonplace as companies strive to retain their best talent. However, the reality is that most employees who choose to accept a counter-offer62 still end up leaving within six months. We’ll discuss some of the important factors that you should take into account before you consider accepting a counter-offer.

You Wanted to Leave for a Reason

Once your current employer dangles a carrot before your eyes in the form of a counter-offer, it can be easy to forget why you accepted another role in the first place. However, it’s crucial to keep your reasons for leaving at the front of your mind so you don’t end up in a worse position.

Perhaps you were not receiving pay reviews or a promotion, or you requested more flexibility but didn’t get it. Either way, it’s likely that management had been given the opportunity to address the issues. If they’ve been unwilling or unable to meet any requests previously, you need to question why they can now. Ultimately, if someone is truly valued, it shouldn’t take a resignation to deal with any concerns.

Reflect on whether the counter-offer actually addresses the underlying factors as to why you resigned. If it doesn’t, you’re much more likely to find yourself searching for a new role in the near future and, potentially, regretting the decision to turn down the other opportunity.

Broken Trust

When you submit your notice and announce your intention to leave, it can significantly affect your relationships with management. Even if you receive a counter-offer and your boss says they want to keep you on the team, they might still question your loyalty over the long term and stop trusting you.

With trust now broken, they may never be certain about how long you’ll remain in the company, something that could impact the work you’re given and any potential pay increases or promotions in the future.

It’s More Likely to Benefit the Employer

It doesn’t matter what you have been offered or how appreciated you now feel. In the long run, a counter-offer is probably likely to benefit your employer more than anybody.

In most cases, they probably don’t want to start the search for a replacement. This can be for various reasons, such as added pressure on the team, the cost of hiring someone new and the loss of productivity during those first few months when a new hire is getting up to speed.

Question what their motives are. From an employer’s perspective, a counter-offer can simply be a way to avoid short-term business costs without having to address the real causes of why you wanted to leave in the first place!

You Can Become Expendable

Although an employer may fight to keep you from quitting, accepting a counter-offer can also affect your future job security. For example, if redundancies become a reality in the future, you might just find yourself at the top of the list (after all, you did hand your notice in!).

It’s also possible that they could be developing a contingency plan and keeping you on while they find a suitable replacement. If this is the case, it could certainly create a setback for you when searching for better construction jobs.

No Risk, No Reward

Although landing a new construction job and starting with a new company can feel a bit daunting, it can often be worth exploring new opportunities. It’s often the case that people in construction jobs tend to get better pay by changing employers. After all, you can’t stay in the same role forever!

Get Expert Advice from a New Zealand Construction Recruiter

Counter-offers can certainly be an appealing option but very few people who accept them remain with the company in the long-term. This is usually because the underlying reasons for their exit don’t get addressed.

Unless a counter-offer effectively deals with your reasons for leaving, we recommend that you go with your first decision in accepting a new job. However, make sure it’s done in the right manner. After all, you don’t want to burn bridges and leave on a bad note.

For more advice on handling the trickier aspects of the job search process or for finding the construction job you want, contact the team at OneStaff today. With locations around New Zealand, we can connect you to your ideal role and guide you through the job offer process.