Nobody Wins With A Counter Offer

Point of View: You receive an out of the blue meeting request with no particular topic from one of your top performing direct reports. Your heart falls to your stomach and your mind starts racing; because as a people manager, you know all too well - they’re likely calling the meeting to resign. Most people managers know this feeling; as well as the scramble they may feel in the aftermath. Offboarding can be a difficult process and hiring top talent is no easy feat; plus you may actually really like your departing team member. This may lead to a desire to put up a fight to retain your cherished team member with a counteroffer. But is a counteroffer the best solution?

Let’s start with defining a counteroffer. A counteroffer is an offer that an existing employer makes to an employee who has received an offer from another company, and is intending to resign. A counteroffer is often compensation-based, but can also include promotions in title and responsibility, as well as other job perks. In the current state of the job market, amidst the Great Resignation, it can be tempting to pull out all the stops to retain top talent. But the counteroffer is a short-sighted solution that can lead to detrimental downstream effects. Here are a few things to consider:

Proactive, not reactive, compensation is important

Companies may think that presenting a counteroffer to an employee proves that they believe the employee to be valuable to their organization. But in reality, it's showing them the opposite and eroding trust all around. If the company could provide these benefits all along, why did it take a resignation to provide them?

Think long-term

Counteroffers rarely address all of the reasons behind why an employee would depart an organization. Even if an employee accepts a counteroffer, research shows that the employee still leaves within six to 18 months. An employee who has undergone the interview process with another company has likely already mentally and emotionally checked out of their current employer. Compensation or perks may energize them temporarily, but the reality of their situation inevitably creeps back in and pulls them away once again.

Perceptions matter

An accepted counteroffer does not impact just the manager and the one employee, it impacts the entire team. Other team members may feel slighted that they were not given additional or improved benefits while remaining loyal to the company, or perhaps they may too recognize that they may be valued more elsewhere.

There are occasions when counteroffers go well, of course. Especially among those who are happy with everything in their role except for compensation. In those specific instances, counteroffers can be a helpful tool to retain your employees. However, it can be difficult to get to the root cause of why someone wants to leave your organization, and you will never know what they experienced in interviewing for other organizations. Therefore, as a general practice, prevention is the best solution. Try focusing on the following:

Pay fairly

Don’t withhold compensation until someone resigns, but rather invest in your team while they’re still with you. Run regular reports to ensure there is pay equity within your organization, and that your team meets their market value.

Build trust

Build strong relationships with your team members; where there is mutual trust and psychological safety to share feedback. Ensure there is an inclusive culture where everyone can feel that they belong.

Don't skip exit interviews

When someone does leave your team (it will happen), use their resignation as an opportunity to learn from potential mistakes. Conduct an exit interview to determine the departing employee’s pain points and how you can adjust for your other team members.

Though a counteroffer may seem like the answer to your problems in retaining talent, it is merely a band-aid on a much deeper wound. Try not to get caught up in the potential short-term win, and instead focus on adjusting how you treat your employees to ensure there is a long-term path to success.

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Grow Faster. Hire Better. Stress Less.

By Bernadette Hill • May 29, 2025

Let’s face it—hiring top talent these days is like finding a parking spot at a concert. It’s stressful, time-consuming, and just when you think you’ve found "The One", someone else swoops in and takes them. That’s why more companies—scrappy startups to corporate giants—are handing off recruiting to the pros. Here's why outsourcing your recruiting might be your next power move: 1. They Know What They’re Doing (Like, Really Know) Recruiters are the matchmakers of the working world. They eat, sleep, and breathe screening calls, resume red flags, and the fine art of the follow-up. So let them do what they do best, while you focus on growing your business. 2. Save Time. Save Money. Save Your Sanity. Between chasing references and ghosted interviews, hiring feels like a second full-time job. Outsourcing clears your plate—speeding up time-to-hire, slashing hiring costs, and preserving your team’s focus (and patience). 3. Flex Like a Hiring Ninja Need to fill one role this week and 20 next month? No problem. Outsourcing lets you scale your recruiting efforts up or down faster than you can say “urgent headcount request.” 4. Access to a Bigger (and Better) Candidate Pool Recruitment agencies have a secret weapon: massive networks. They know people. Good people. People who aren’t even looking... until the right opportunity comes along. You probably won’t find those folks by just tossing a job on LinkedIn and hoping for the best. 5. A+ Candidate Experience First impressions matter. A great recruiter knows how to keep candidates informed, engaged, and not completely ghosted halfway through the process. Even if someone doesn’t land the role, they’ll walk away thinking your company is classy—and that goodwill can go a long way. Final Thoughts: Outsourcing your recruiting isn’t admitting defeat—it’s playing smart. It's about hiring better, faster, and with fewer headaches. In today’s ever-changing job market, that kind of edge can be a game-changer. Plus, it means fewer awkward interviews with people who still list “Microsoft Word” under special skills.

Retaining Talent When It Matters Most

By Bernadette Hill • May 22, 2025

There’s never a dull day in recruiting, especially when you’ve been doing it a while. I’m constantly chatting with people who are gainfully employed but thinking about switching things up — for all sorts of reasons. 2025 is already feeling like a wild ride for a lot of workers. Gen Z hasn’t really experienced a recession in their careers yet, while Millennials and Gen X are kind of exhausted, thinking, “Not this again,” after living through a few tough economic stretches already. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2025 Work in America survey, more than half of U.S. workers are seriously stressed about job security. Out of 2,017 employed adults who responded online, 54% said worrying about their workplace stability is really taking a toll on their professional and personal lives. As a business owner, it’s more important than ever to hold onto your top talent during these uncertain economic times. Losing a star employee isn’t just expensive when it comes to hiring and training someone new — it can also seriously shake up your team’s morale, their quality of work and the overall vibe of your company. Here are three defensive moves to prevent that dreaded resignation letter: 1. Don’t sugarcoat business challenges during company meetings. Being upfront builds trust. Share the big picture — where the company stands financially, including monthly, quarterly, and yearly projections, plus year-to-date results. Let your team know what steps are being taken to turn things around and bring your key people into the conversation to help brainstorm new strategies. If you’ve only been meeting quarterly, now’s the time to bump that up to monthly — keep everyone in the loop, track progress, and celebrate the wins, big or small. 2. Leadership means making sacrifices first. Executives and owners should hold off on bonuses and raises before making tough calls like cutting benefits, freezing pay, or laying people off. It goes without saying that this is not the time to roll up to the office in a new Mercedes S-Class. 3. Double-down on professional development. Staff — especially Millennials — really value opportunities like lunch-and-learns, industry events, and workshops to keep growing. Most leaders see training as an easy place to cut when budgets get tight, but that would be a bad move. Employees want to feel valued and involved. Investing in professional development, however modest, pays big dividends. Getting through tough times as a team is like strengthening iron in a fire — it’s tough, but it makes you stronger. These challenges can actually help build a more resilient, united company in the long run. While you're dealing with today’s obstacles, don’t lose sight of the bigger picture.