Preparing for Counter Offers before they Occur!

Slouch’s blog post on “ A Counter Offer of Biblical Proportions” enticed me to share some thoughts on why it’s important to deal with the Counter Offer issue very early on in the recruitment cycle; regardless of whether or not your candidate will get a Counter Offer.

Some veterans may disagree that the minute that candidate walks through your door part of the interviewing process has to deal with whether or not the candidate will accept a Counter Offer- it is after all apart of the closing process “Before the candidate meets your Client for the first time”. Is he or she fully closed or as I like to always say “ Have you made the hire for the client?” . It’s what we do folks.

I will even go one step further and say that you stop the interview all together if the candidate tells you they will accept a Counter. “But I am Oldschool” .... He/She does not get to meet your client for that initial interview... And you let them know point blank “ I can’t waste my time or my Client’s time you are obviously not serious about making a move at this time. I understand ...” That sounds like what I would say verbatim ...

Why do I feel this is necessary, for starters-you get a chance to determine the real reasons the candidate is on the market in the first place outside of: closer to home, less travel and work life balance etc, and so on.., is the candidate looking for a raise from his/her current employer and if so perhaps he/she should be asking for one now and not later.

Your time and more importantly your Client’s time is valuable and important –the candidate is forced to re-evaluate whether or not they are ready to make the move as you have educated him/her on what happens when you accept counter offers.

And, Ofcourse the candidate can look you in the eyes and tell you “ I will not accept a counter offer” even if it was a $20k increase and you probe them because he/she supposedly gave you the “Real” reasons they want to leave and in that process they gave you the dollar amount they would accept to make the move to your Client... The candidate is closed... and closed before they meet your Client ...

If after that process you still feel deep down the candidate would accept a Counter you can now aptly prepare your Client for that possibility and have them ready to make a Counter proposal and at the same time look at your backup candidate.

We can’t control everything in the Recruitment process - but the more we can control the better. So now you have a Client that really respects the fact you covered all your bases regardless of the deal outcome, you have prepared them. You have a ton of ammunition for the candidate who is contemplating a Counter offer (Reasons the candidate provided in making the move to your client in the first place) – also part of the re-closing effort – Outside of a (Slouch’s) Google /FB Counter offer, its going to be more difficult for the candidate to take the Counter and harder to swallow even if he/she does eventually accept it.

In the end, by dealing with the Counter Offer head on, you eliminate surprises, you know you have fully closed the Candidate for your Client’s opportunity. Your Client is prepared for all outcomes. The Candidate respects you in the end- your reputation stays intact.

Comment by Paul Alfred on November 18, 2010 at 6:46pm: Simply put Jason .. Thanks for your feedback ..

Comment by pam claughton on November 18, 2010 at 6:48pm: Agree with all on how important it is to address the counteroffer early and often. If a candidate is expecting the counteroffer and they've previously asked for and denied a raise or promotion, I find that they are more inclined to see the counteroffer for what it really is, a band-aid, something that wasn't available, but suddenly is when it's inconvenient for the company to lose the person. I don't believe in "closing" a person hard either or telling them what to do...that's not my place. All I do is gather and share information and ultimately, the candidate closes themselves if all the information adds up.

I do think we're going to see more of this, not just counteroffers, but multiple offers, have one pending right now. Hopefully it will go my way, but too close to call right now. I do think it's a sign of the market improving though, which is a very good thing.

Comment by Paul Alfred on November 18, 2010 at 7:06pm: Thanks for your feedback Pam ... Ok so lets change the market economics for a second lets dream we are at instead of 9.6% Unemployment but 3.6% - the US Market is a humming along GDP Growth projected 7% ...

You have a candidate out for a great job a juicy $7k increase in salary your client loves him - but he/she is also being handled by another Veteran recruiter on a similar role the only difference is your competitor has him/her closed on a $10k increase min and everyone has a smile on his/her face ...

Who do you think is gonna win the closing battle because that candidate has to be closed soft or hard ... Your job is not complete -why would you leave yourself exposed to losing out a missing variable like not closing the candidate and we are not even talking about Counter Offers ...

I am not saying your approach does not work but against a Killer Recruiter Id have to hedge my bets on this one ... :)

Comment by Sandra McCartt on November 18, 2010 at 11:17pm: :) " Lemme see here John, let's put the pencil to this deal. Surely your decision is not going to be made based on a difference of one dollar and 92 cents an hour. We need to really look at both companies , the management teams and where you will be in a year....this can't be a short sighted decision over 1.92 an hour. In this growing economy we need to look at growth patterns. You compare both for me, you know more about them both than i do so tell me about both companies and how you see yourself fitting into the group and company now and in a year. I'll listen then ask you some questions that may help you work thought this decision.

Soft close - hard close-self close. What's a buck ninety-two an hour, even if you have to go back to your client and ask for it. :)

Comment by pam claughton on November 19, 2010 at 5:40am: Paul,
Totally get what you're saying, but you're missing a very important piece...just because I don't close 'hard' doesn't mean I don't close extremely well. :) Every time I talk with a candidate, from the first call to the last, I am in a sense 'closing', gathering information, seeing what has changed on both ends, candidate and client....no good closing the candidate on a 10k increase when the client can only do 7k, right? I'd go up againt a 'killer' recruiter anytime, because I am one. :) One should never underestimate a recruiter who closes 'softly'. I don't believe in surprises, or falloffs....no good 'closing' a deal and having it fall apart as a no-start or falloff shortly after the person starts. Knocking on wood here, but that hasn't happened to me in over 12 years, which is rare among recruiters. :)

Comment by Paul Alfred on November 19, 2010 at 7:36am: Yes I agree Pam Soft closes do work I just wanted to be clear Pam that your candidate does not go out to your client not being closed - Perhaps a blog on closing the Client is needed ... My scenario is in a Market where its humming along and a candidate has more offers and handlers - the unclosed candidate will win out to the Recruiter who has fully covered his/her bases.

Comment by Paul Alfred on November 19, 2010 at 7:38am: Sandra you make a good point ...Then the battle begins ... Welcome to world of the Killer Recruiters ..

Comment by Recruiting Animal on November 19, 2010 at 10:44am: haha. I didn't mean to reproduce the article. Just the part at the top. Forgot to edit the rest out and now I can't. Heard some good stuff about you today. If you want to be a guest on the Recruiting Animal Show, let me know. It's not for sissies but you don't seem to be one.

Comment by Paul Alfred on November 19, 2010 at 2:36pm: No worries RA ... Takes a lot to piss me off .. I went to an all boys school ... :)

Comment by Barbara Goldman on November 19, 2010 at 3:19pm: Thanks for the post, I agree with you, it's best to end the process if the candidate is going to accept a counter offer. Think of all the work involved for no gain.

Your candidate's current employer is the one who has decided the worth of your candidate. Your client only knows that in the marketplace, this candidate is worth X. So, I encourage the candidate to ask for a raise immediately if money is at all an issue. If the candidate has told me that he will entertain a counter offer, and if that same candidate then refuses to ask for his raise before interviewing with my client, I cancel the interview.

It takes a lot of courage to actually cancel an interview. When I train new recruiters, that is always my stance, but then .....

Sometimes, the placement works out. :)

That's what I love about this business, you just never know. Throughout the process, we are constantly negotiating. And, like anything else, there are the exceptions.

As the economy turns around, counteroffers will be back with full force. For us anyway, we rarely have faced a counter offer in the past two years. It has felt weird to me.