New Wave of Counteroffers by Julie Rupenski, President & CEO, MedBest

• By: Barbara Miller
• On: 06/30/2021 10:56:10
• In: Human Resources
• Comments: 0

Upon assessing the 2020 situation, many senior care workers, including executives and nurse leaders, are deciding to leave for greener pastures. Thus, there's a new wave of counteroffers! Let's examine the counteroffer from both sides, the employer and employee.

As an employer, should you make a counteroffer?

• Post-COVID, you might be facing a skills shortage and a counteroffer could remedy the situation. It could be very difficult to find and recruit a new senior care employee for the specific job and skills required.
• You could right a wrong. Salary negotiations are difficult for most people but can be particularly difficult for women. Women are often less likely to ask for a higher salary when offered a job. A counteroffer for a woman may act as a “market correction” if she is not being paid a fair market value for her position.
• The odds are against you. Statistics show that around 80% of people who accept counteroffers leave for a new job anyway within 12 months. Therefore, just because the offer may seem like a good option and solution at the moment, it won't guarantee they'll stay.

As an employee, should you consider or accept a counteroffer?

• If you receive a counteroffer as a response to your resignation, your employer could be responding to the devastating events of 2020. However, that's short-term. The fact is, no matter how good your relationship is with your employer, your loyalty is likely to be questioned moving forward.
• Chances are good that you might be leaving your job for reasons beyond money. While a counteroffer may speak to you financially, it does not change the other circumstances or underlying issues that spurred your job search in the first place.
• Counteroffers may be a stall tactic. Often employers will pay you more or satisfy your working needs only for a short time. Then, they will start searching for your replacement.
• If your resignation forced the hand of your employer to recognize your work and offer you more compensation or a promotion, they may feel cornered. That uncomfortable position may create a problematic and awkward working relationship moving forward.

In a post-COVID era and still a time of uncertainty, there's a myriad of reasons why an employer would make a counteroffer and reasons why an employee might accept one. Senior care organizations are astutely aware of today's intense competition for talent, and well-intentioned resignees may find themselves contemplating a counteroffer they did not expect, much less consider. However, if past history is any indication, counteroffers rarely have happy endings.