How to handle a counteroffer

Before we answer this question, we should be clear on what we mean by a counteroffer. It’s an offer of improved employment terms that an employer makes to an employee who has been offered another job and resigned from their current position (or has stated their intention to do so).

Usually, these improved terms take the form of increased pay. But the counteroffer you received should be based on the factors that made you unhappy in your current role. So, your employer’s counteroffer might include a promotion or a new job title, more involvement in projects that interest you, investment in your training and development, enhanced company benefits, or more flexible or remote working.

This means that deciding how to respond to a counteroffer isn’t as simple as choosing the better-paid offer.

Maybe your decision to leave wasn’t motivated by unhappiness with the workplace at all, but other factors such as the length of your commute or difficulties in juggling your work and home responsibilities. In that case, you can probably take a more charitable view of the counteroffer – it deserves to be considered if it meets your concerns, especially if your employer was unaware of your issues until now.

Many of the same questions still apply, though. If you feel that the organisation failed to support you until you handed in your notice, then it’s reasonable to feel sceptical about the sudden change of heart. And if your commute is too long now, it’ll still be too long on the days you are required at the workplace.

Ultimately, you’re the only person who can answer this question. A counteroffer that addresses your concerns will be tempting, especially if you’d rather “stick to what you know” and avoid the stress of starting somewhere new. It’s worth noting, though, that many employees who accept counteroffers end up leaving anyway. This suggests that counteroffers tend not to live up to their promise; but more significantly, it means that accepting a counteroffer probably means delaying your job search, rather than cancelling it altogether. The job you were planning to take up is unlikely to still be available six months down the line, which means that accepting a counteroffer that fails to live up to expectations can represent a backwards step in your career.

Our advice is to weigh up the pros and cons of each offer and each organisation. That means you should not only consider which one meets your immediate needs best, but also which is best placed to support your future development and growth – whether that’s through superior training opportunities, a well-developed career progression plan, or opportunities for secondments and mentoring, for example.

In most situations, rejecting the counteroffer is likely to be the better option because there are probably good reasons why you want to leave. People rarely go through the whole process of searching, applying, and interviewing for a new job at another organisation if they feel valued, well-treated, and motivated in their current role. But if the counteroffer is strong enough and you have faith that your management will follow through on the commitments they make, that’s a good reason to seriously consider it.