The unspoken downside of counter offers

Ok, so a recruiter being prickly about counter offers is nothing new. But I’m not about to launch in to an attack on those who accept them. Sometimes you’d be a fool not to.

Yes, it’s a shame it’s gotten to the stage you’d had to resign in order to receive the salary you need in order to stay, but if it’s enough and you’re not otherwise hell-bent on leaving, some will accept it and it’ll work out well for them. Plenty of recruiters do it themselves too.

The bigger problem I see, is not for that individual, but for the impact on the wider finance function itself.

Let’s say you’re considering the next step in your finance career. Which of the following finance teams would you want to join?

Option #1. Very low staff turnover. Nobody ever leaves. When people do resign, managers are fearful of losing them and seek additional budget in order to persuade them to stay with knee-jerk pay increases. Promotion opportunities are therefore few and far between, with bottlenecks of long serving colleagues ahead of you – many of whom will have been priced out of a move elsewhere, so they won’t be budging any time soon.

Option #2. A healthy level of staff turnover, with regular intake at junior levels who can work upwards through the team. Clear succession pathways exist throughout the department, but when someone reaches a plateau and there isn’t room to match their ambitions (you can’t continually promote everyone) they’re not given special treatment to stay and they look elsewhere for a fresh challenge. They move on. They’re thanked for their service and their departure creates room for others below them to increase their responsibilities a little further.

Which do you feel would provide you with the best chance of progressing your career? Which do you think you might want to return to later in your career?

IMO, leaders need to get comfortable with staff turnover. Each role should have a natural shelf life and where possible a succession plan. It’s healthy and it creates opportunities for others to progress and to enjoy fulfilling careers and personal development within your teams. You’ll be an attractive proposition when hiring and you’ll have an engaged and motivated workforce.

Richard Hooper

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