firstcounsel.com
firstcounsel.com/au
Page Content
It is a recruitment cliché that counter-offers never work, and, as the old cliché about clichés goes, the only reason something is a cliché is that it is very likely to be true.
There is no doubt that an offer to stay is flattering. More money, certainly; often a new title or new responsibilities. But the counter-offer is, from your existing employer's point of view, entirely self-motivated. They will only be thinking how hard it will be to replace you, or what impact your leaving will have on them, rather than what is in your best interests.
Resigning is always an emotive situation. You may - naturally - feel slightly guilty about resigning and leaving your employers 'in the lurch'. This will make you very susceptible to coercion. Watch out as they roll out the Big Guns. It may be that when you resign to your departmental managing partner, you will be told that the managing partner and/or senior partner would like to have a chat with you. This show of power can be very flattering and these people often didn't get to where they are without being consummate political operators. You may begin to wonder if they aren't so bad after all and maybe you should stay. You can guarantee that the managing/senior partner will be wondering whether it is really worth keeping you on and how long you're going to hang around in any case...
Not convinced? You should ask yourself, if I'm so wonderful, why weren't they giving me more money/new title/equity partnership before? All the counter-offer should really do is remind you of the reasons you decided to look in the first place.
Even if you have undertaken this process in order to trigger structural change or improve your package (cynical, perhaps, disingenuous, certainly, but not uncommon), the likelihood is that unless you have the model employer, this situation will turn pear-shaped sooner rather than later.
Human nature being what it is, your resignation will trigger certain feelings in others in your organisation. Some may doubt your ongoing loyalty to the firm (with some justification, perhaps). That may mean you will be more closely monitored, even if you are not aware of it. Any promise of structural change you have managed to achieve - again, if you have the model employer - will still need to be achieved in reality, probably against renewed opposition from some within the firm. Ask yourself: are the underlying factors which motivated your search for a new position in the first place still there?
Although you may be buoyed by an offer which at first glance seems difficult to refuse, this glow will quickly fade. Fellow employees may also have taken your resignation quite personally which can make day-to-day dealings quite difficult. Other partners may resent your new responsibilities or title.
Longstanding recruitment wisdom says that three months is all it takes for the extra money in a counter-offer to lose its cachet (think of the old chestnut about always spending what you earn and not really feeling that much better-off). What you will be left with are factors like the people you work with and the structure and direction of the firm. Chances are, this will not have altered substantially, and may even have soured as regards your advancement.
The confident employer will never counter-offer. They will realise that you are off to pastures new and that in the legal profession, there is much to be gained by having friends in other firms who remember their alma mater fondly and perhaps even refer work back. They will wish you well, hopefully buy you a nice leaving gift and take a commercial view of restrictive covenants on the 'what goes around, comes around' basis. If they are confident of their own ability to retain clients, why bother with restrictions?
The weak employer will counter-offer. Their instinct will be to try to control, to limit the 'damage' to the practice, to bend the structure to accommodate the leaver almost regardless of the damage they will do to the rest of the business. Ask yourself: do you really want to be working for a firm that will do that?
At the end of the day, the key factor underlying any employer-employee or partnership relationship is trust. Once that trust has been broken - your resignation will do that, no matter how you depersonalise it - the relationship will never be the same again. Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Decline the counter-offer, politely and with grace, however enticing it may seem, in your own long-term interests, and you will be the better off for it.
Resigning and the counter-offer
From a candidate's point of view, handing in one's resignation is not the end of a process: it is just the first small step towards leaving. You will likely feel a great sense of relief, not least that you have managed to negotiate the various interviews as well as perhaps lunches and dinners with your prospective new employer. Now, with an acceptable offer in your hands, there may be a feeling of catharsis. But you may not be prepared for the prospect of a counter-offer.It is a recruitment cliché that counter-offers never work, and, as the old cliché about clichés goes, the only reason something is a cliché is that it is very likely to be true.
There is no doubt that an offer to stay is flattering. More money, certainly; often a new title or new responsibilities. But the counter-offer is, from your existing employer's point of view, entirely self-motivated. They will only be thinking how hard it will be to replace you, or what impact your leaving will have on them, rather than what is in your best interests.
Resigning is always an emotive situation. You may - naturally - feel slightly guilty about resigning and leaving your employers 'in the lurch'. This will make you very susceptible to coercion. Watch out as they roll out the Big Guns. It may be that when you resign to your departmental managing partner, you will be told that the managing partner and/or senior partner would like to have a chat with you. This show of power can be very flattering and these people often didn't get to where they are without being consummate political operators. You may begin to wonder if they aren't so bad after all and maybe you should stay. You can guarantee that the managing/senior partner will be wondering whether it is really worth keeping you on and how long you're going to hang around in any case...
Not convinced? You should ask yourself, if I'm so wonderful, why weren't they giving me more money/new title/equity partnership before? All the counter-offer should really do is remind you of the reasons you decided to look in the first place.
Even if you have undertaken this process in order to trigger structural change or improve your package (cynical, perhaps, disingenuous, certainly, but not uncommon), the likelihood is that unless you have the model employer, this situation will turn pear-shaped sooner rather than later.
Human nature being what it is, your resignation will trigger certain feelings in others in your organisation. Some may doubt your ongoing loyalty to the firm (with some justification, perhaps). That may mean you will be more closely monitored, even if you are not aware of it. Any promise of structural change you have managed to achieve - again, if you have the model employer - will still need to be achieved in reality, probably against renewed opposition from some within the firm. Ask yourself: are the underlying factors which motivated your search for a new position in the first place still there?
Although you may be buoyed by an offer which at first glance seems difficult to refuse, this glow will quickly fade. Fellow employees may also have taken your resignation quite personally which can make day-to-day dealings quite difficult. Other partners may resent your new responsibilities or title.
Longstanding recruitment wisdom says that three months is all it takes for the extra money in a counter-offer to lose its cachet (think of the old chestnut about always spending what you earn and not really feeling that much better-off). What you will be left with are factors like the people you work with and the structure and direction of the firm. Chances are, this will not have altered substantially, and may even have soured as regards your advancement.
The confident employer will never counter-offer. They will realise that you are off to pastures new and that in the legal profession, there is much to be gained by having friends in other firms who remember their alma mater fondly and perhaps even refer work back. They will wish you well, hopefully buy you a nice leaving gift and take a commercial view of restrictive covenants on the 'what goes around, comes around' basis. If they are confident of their own ability to retain clients, why bother with restrictions?
The weak employer will counter-offer. Their instinct will be to try to control, to limit the 'damage' to the practice, to bend the structure to accommodate the leaver almost regardless of the damage they will do to the rest of the business. Ask yourself: do you really want to be working for a firm that will do that?
At the end of the day, the key factor underlying any employer-employee or partnership relationship is trust. Once that trust has been broken - your resignation will do that, no matter how you depersonalise it - the relationship will never be the same again. Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Decline the counter-offer, politely and with grace, however enticing it may seem, in your own long-term interests, and you will be the better off for it.