Several years ago, during a protracted search for a Manager of In-Patient Rehabilitation on behalf of a hospital in Southern California, the perfect candidate was found. He worked for a competing facility and the recruitment came down to an offer and ensuing negotiation. The candidate received and accepted the offer and then asked for some time so he could identify a start date. At a scheduled call the next day, the candidate revealed that when he gave notice, his current employer came back with a counter offer and the candidate had accepted. NOOOoooooo.....

Have you ever participated in or heard of a counter offer that worked out in the end? Well, this one didn't either. The search was still open several months later, obviously a difficult recruitment. The candidate was contacted again to see if he knew anyone that might have an interest. He was surprised the recruitment was still ongoing and expressed interest immediately. His counter offer had not worked out the way it was promised. The problem now was getting the client to consider this candidate once again, the guy who left them holding the bag, the one with the dollar sign on it.

Luckily, this story had a good ending. The client was thrilled and made a second offer almost immediately. The candidate joined the new organization with zeal and express gratitude for a second chance. The Butterfly Effect here? Maybe to truly appreciate his new position, the candidate had to fully understand why he was even looking in the first place. It's like getting married and then hoping that your partner will change to be the perfect match for you. The problems don't go away; they get magnified.

Accepted counter offers are notorious for developing a lingering level of mistrust on the employer side. Additionally, justified thoughts from the employee dwell on, "Why did it take me getting an offer from another for you to give me what I am worth?" It never works out. The staggering statistics are that 4 out of 5 employees who accept counter offers end up leaving in less than a year. Not very good odds. What does it say about a company that makes a counter offer? Did they not recognize the value of the employee in the first place and all of a sudden have a lurch of anxiety about a project that may not get done or the dreaded task of replacing the departing employee?
The better company wishes employees luck as they move on. They want for their employees' success.

The best advice? Make sure a counter offer is discussed prior to a new offer landing on the table. "What would you do if your boss came back with a counter offer?" "What would it take for you to accept a counter offer?" Talk about it up front; it goes back to establishing trust and building a relationship based on respect with your candidates and always watching out for the guy that pays your fee - the client. Don't leave them holding the bag!

The term The Butterfly Effect is based in chaos theory and is resultant of the idea that merely a slight change in the flap of a butterfly's wings may illicit minuscule changes that could, ultimately, alter the path of a tornado. A small change could have large effects.