Beware of the counteroffer

Jo Faragher

It’s a sure sign that the market has returned to form when candidates have multiple offers on the table. A survey by Robert Half confirms this, revealing that almost two-thirds of finance leaders have witnessed an increase in counteroffers over the past year.

In response to this, according to Robert Half, 64% of senior finance professionals would be more likely to offer a sign-on bonus, adding an element of temptation for candidates wavering over multiple offers or a counteroffer from their existing employer.

For recruiters, however, counteroffers don’t make life easier. In this candidate-driven market, disappointing a client after giving them the news that their ‘perfect’ candidate has gone after a better offer can really impact the client-consultant relationship.

So how can agencies deal with this increased movement among candidates? It’s important to maintain a good dialogue with your candidates before they even reach the stage where they may be considering a counteroffer.

Keep checking in during the recruitment process: what were their motivations for leaving their current employer in the first place? Are these likely to change because they’ve been offered a few more thousands?

One of the ways to approach this is to have a discussion with them on how they will hand in their resignation. Perhaps even ask the question: how will you react if they offer you more money to stay? That should give you an idea of whether their motivations are purely financial.

If their employer is simply offering more money, don’t automatically respond with a bigger salary (especially if your client can’t afford it). Touch upon the other advantages of moving to your client – perhaps there will be better opportunities for promotion, or they can enjoy a better work-life balance than they do now.

It’s also important to focus on the long-term prospects for both candidate and client. Many jobseekers use counter-offers as a bargaining tool, but in the long term it can make them look greedy or force a potential employer to question their loyalty.

As a good recruiter, your job is to encourage them to do the right thing – for both of you. But act quickly, as they may be off the market again before your client has even drawn up a contract.