Procurement Recruiter James Dobbin takes a look at one of the issues facing hiring organisations at the moment – the counteroffer.
Seriously.
I’ve never seen so many counteroffers.
It’s a buoyant market out there for procurement pros – loads of opportunities and not enough good-quality candidates to fill them.
When someone does leave a role, companies are finding there is a shortage of candidates to replace them.
Increasingly, they’re throwing the kitchen sink at them (and not just a £5k uplift – sometimes £10-20k!) to try to retain their staff – it’s often cheaper and more efficient for them in the long run.
If you find yourself in this situation, should you stay or should you go?
Before even approaching the job market, here are some questions you should seriously consider asking yourself to prepare yourself for the inevitable counteroffer:
- What were your true motivations for leaving?
- Why is your employer only realising your value now?
- If offered a new role internally, where has the role come from? Does the role really exist? Why wasn’t it there before?
- Are you just having your salary reviewed early? Will this now affect future salary reviews?
- How will you be viewed internally for promotional opportunities in the future? Does your employer feel differently about you now?
- Will you be wondering “what if”?
My advice…
Think long and hard about how you would react to a counteroffer before you even approach the procurement job market.
You may feel good temporarily – a few months maybe – but it’s a fleeting feeling.
In my experience, the likelihood is you’ll be back on the market within a year or less.
Have you had a counteroffer? If you did, how would you react?
