How to Deal with the Dreaded Counteroffer

Candidate Tug-of-War

Previously on The Water Cooler, we explored ways to ensure that you come out on the winning end when making an offer to a candidate. But what happens when your top candidate receives a counteroffer from his or her current employer?


Counteroffers should be expected for exceptional candidates; as the market for top talent continues to tighten, companies are more willing to provide more incentives in order to retain their star employees.


The best defense against a counteroffer, though, is a solid offense. Today we take a look at the ways you can mitigate the risk of a candidate’s counteroffer acceptance. We’ll highlight a few signs that candidates aren’t in the process for the right reasons, provide tips to help them give notice and much more to allow you to put up the best offense possible and lessen the likelihood of an accepted counteroffer. 


The Interview Stage: Be the company they can’t “break up” with.

Building a strong relationship between the candidate and your company is the first place to start if you want to avoid a counteroffer down the road.


Candidates sometimes accept counteroffers because it’s more difficult to “break up” with their current employer than say yes to a new one. By cultivating a relationship between candidates and your organization early, you begin to sway the relationship meter so that accepting a counteroffer means they will have to “break up” with you, too.

Candidate Counteroffer Executive Recruiting

The interview process is a critical time to truly get to know why your opportunity is the right one for your candidate. Structure interview questions to gain a better understanding of what a candidate’s current organization is not able to offer (outside of more compensation). Is your candidate looking for a management opportunity? Is the current organization a far commute? Does your company offer a stronger culture fit?


Asking these and other questions can help you determine what your candidate is interested in. If you know what candidates are looking for, you know the reasons why your opportunity is the right one for them and can reinforce these during the offer stage.


For candidates who need to give a long notice period to current employers, make sure you continue to cultivate the relationship prior to their official start date. Encourage their new team to take them out to lunch, and invite new hires to social activities at the office so they can become ingrained in your company culture early on.


The Offer Stage: Walk them through the process of giving notice.

When extending an offer to your candidate, always make it personal; rather than focusing on compensation, remind candidates about everything that your organization is able to provide that their current employer can’t.


Timing also plays a big role in whether your candidate will accept a counteroffer. Deliver your offer on Friday and set a deadline to accept. Eliminating business days between when you give your offer and when you reconnect with your candidate hinders the current employer’s ability to give a counteroffer. Ultimately, you want to make sure you have the last word, not the current employer, so schedule a time to follow-up with your candidate on Monday and cut down on the risk that you won’t hear back.


Many candidates are not experienced at giving notice, so you should also help them visualize the process by actually walking them through it. Ask what they think will happen when they give notice and if they expect to receive a counteroffer.


Surveys have shown that as many as 90% of professionals who accept a counteroffer end up leaving their employer within 18 months, so candidates may need to ask some hard questions about their current situation. Why is a current employer offering a raise or promotion now? Is the candidate only valuable when he wants to leave the organization for another opportunity?


Working with a search firm like 180one can be key at this stage, as a recruiting firm should be equipped to help candidates evaluate counteroffers and guide them through the tough questions that need to be answered before accepting.


Your candidate accepted a counteroffer. Now what?

Despite your best efforts, your candidate may unfortunately decide to accept a counteroffer. In that case, find out more about the decision to accept. Did the current employer offer more money? Did the counteroffer come with a senior title?

Make sure to be consultative, not defensive; you may ultimately lose the battle, but there is still a chance that you can change the candidate’s mind.
 
Extending offers on Fridays also helps maintain momentum in the process, as you can keep other candidates in your pipeline warm and potentially move onto your next top candidate if you need to.


While you can never eliminate the probability that a candidate receives or even accepts a counteroffer, you can mitigate the risk by having a great offense.
The interview process is an opportunity to build a relationship with candidates and ensure them that a move is the right next step in their career. In the end, keep a positive attitude. The stats show that candidates will likely leave their employers shortly after accepting a counteroffer anyway. Treat your top candidates well regardless of whether they accepted your offer; you could still come out on the winning end and hire them once they do decide to leave.


Want more insight? Check out our General Education section of The Water Cooler and explore topics ranging from candidate relocation to diversity & inclusion in the workplace and more.

By Catherine Landgraf 16 Apr, 2024
Chief Executive Officer The Company For over 35 years, Terra Dynamics (“TDI”) has delivered an environment of excellence to their clients through successful delivery of park and field construction, wetlands mitigation, landscape architecture, and greenspace enhancement projects. With experience in public works - and a commitment to quality, performance, and safety—Terra has secured one of the finest reputations in the industry. They lead the industry in innovation, application, technology and performance. The differences are the belief that one company should be everything you need in a commercial landscape construction contractor as well as the knowledge and experience to deliver the best to their clients. In 2023, Terra expanded their footprint with the acquisition of Paul Brothers Inc, a 3 rd generation owned commercial landscaping company based in Boring, Oregon. Together these companies have a combined 85 years of experience delivering top quality projects while making a lasting impact on parks, playgrounds, schools and more around the Pacific Northwest. The Role Reporting in the Board of Directors, the CEO will lead the organization that has experienced long-term success and sustainable growth. The CEO shall possess the leadership skills to build upon the organization’s record of quality, expansion and excellence to drive continued success. The CEO serves as the face of Terra Dynamics and builds and maintains relationships in order to advance and support the organization’s mission, programs and services. Ideal CEO Candidate will need to be skilled in the following areas Leadership Skills : Through leadership, create a unified organization. Ability to develop, communicate, and implement sustainable short-term and long-term vision for Terra Dynamics. People Leadership : Develops a strong leadership team to maximize operations and future growth while maintaining a culture of shared responsibility and stewardship among Terra Dynamics and the Board. Ensures a work environment that recruits, retains and supports quality staff, and that the appropriate processes are in place for recruiting, selecting, developing, motivating and evaluating staff. Strategic Planning : A balance of long-term strategic thinking and short-term tactical thinking to drive goals aligned with Terra Dynamics goals of consistent and sustainable growth, with a heavy focus on profitability. Operational : Understands the need to create a strong and repeatable infrastructure that supports the current organization and future growth for delivering a consistent, quality experience for both clients and employees. Leverages technologies and processes to be less labor intensive for both execution of projects and tracking their respective performance that results in greater efficiencies for the team. Business Acumen : General business interest that includes creating a financial vision, and strong overall financial acumen including understanding of the balance sheet. Knowledgeable about standard business practices (planning, metrics, P&L management), and a track record of building efficient organizations with low waste and success at profitable execution. External Relations : Maintains relationships with key personnel in State and Local governments, as well as other key external relationships including other General Contractors, Bonding and Insurance companies, and other support organizations. Qualifications Bachelors degree in Construction Management, Civil Engineering or related field. 10+ years of experience in commercial construction management overseeing multiple multimillion-dollar projects. Construction experience working with State and Local government contracts. Demonstrated proficiency and expertise in the following areas: Construction management Budget development and control Persuasive presentations Bid process and Estimating Recruiting and Development Contract review, negotiating, and administration Preconstruction costing Field personnel management Interested in Learning More? 180one is a retained search firm and has been engaged by TDI to manage this search. If interested in learning more about the opportunity, please contact Rochelle Fleisher at: 503.699.0184 or rochelle@180one.com
By Catherine Landgraf 05 Apr, 2024
Corporate Controller About Us Impel Company (“Impel”) is a high-growth, rapidly expanding collection of small businesses. Our platform of companies includes capital equipment sales & distribution, repair & field work, manufacturing, and engineering. We are operating in 12 locations across 12 states in the Western US with new acquisitions quarterly. Impel is owned by Pike Street Capital, a growth focused PE firm out of Seattle, WA. The firm invests in middle-market companies in the industrial technology, specialty manufacturing, and distribution & logistics sectors. The Impel investment serves as a foundation from which to expand into the rapidly growing pump and related products industry. Pike Street Capital and Impel have completed 8 acquisitions since the partnership and are actively looking for additional acquisitions and other strategic partners to grow their product offering, service capability, geographic reach, and technology. Position Summary Reporting to the CFO, the Corporate Controller serves a key leadership role within Impel’s finance organization. The Corporate Controller is responsible for overseeing the accounting department and ensuring financial information provided to management and other stakeholders is accurate, reliable, timely, and compliant with accounting regulations. Essential Duties Oversee the accounting and finance operations process for Impel. Directly manage team of branch controllers and oversee the finance and accounting organization. Controls the accuracy and timeliness of financial statements and reports. Oversee the preparation and approval of all consolidated financial reporting materials and metrics. Manage all financial audit activities. Manage cash flow and forecasting; direct all financial, project-based, and departmental accounting. Administrator of accounting/enterprise software. Improve reports and reporting internally. Maintain banking relations and credit facilities, ensure compliance with debt covenants. Online banking and Company Credit Card Program Risk management, company renewal of general liability policies, professional liability policy. Partner on M&A activity including managing purchase accounting process as well as integration of financial systems and processes for new acquisitions. Partner with executive team on the development and execution of core and business financial planning and analysis including: Budgeting and forecasting Long-range planning Monthly and quarterly management reporting/business reviews Finance Strategy Financial KPI Maintain in-depth relations with all members of the management team. Implement operational best practices. Skills and Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field and equivalent business experience. CPA, CMA and/or MBA certification preferred Ten (10) years of progressively responsible accounting management experience. Five (5) years of experience managing accounting teams. Experience within the distribution and/or manufacturing industries preferred. Excellent verbal, written, and presentation communication skills. Proficient in various accounting, financial and MRP/ERP software use. Epicor ERP and/or Sage MAS 90 a plus. Needs analysis and enterprise system design and ERP implementation experience a plus. Ability to communicate and influence decision making at all levels of the organization. Ability to clearly analyze and explain financial details and concepts in lay terms. Ability to learn quickly and adapt to changing environment. Advanced leadership skills with an ability to lead and mentor others. Ability to build collaborative relationships with branch and corporate leadership. 180one is a retained search firm and has been engaged by Impel to manage this search. If interested in learning more about the opportunity, please contact Tom Haley / 503-334-1350 / tom@180one.com
By Greg Togni 03 Apr, 2024
Chief Financial Officer About Us In 1953 father/son team, Ralph and Neil Skutt, manufactured the industry’s first multi-sided hobby kiln in Olympia, Washington under the name “Skutt & Sons”. The introduction of this new lightweight design revolutionized not just the ceramic kiln business but the whole ceramic industry by bringing ceramics to the home. A lot has changed over the last 70+ years. Kiln companies have come and gone, new clay bodies and glazes are constantly being developed that demand greater firing precision, and automatic controllers are quickly replacing the once cutting edge KilnSitter. Throughout the years we at Skutt have worked hard to meet the changing needs of our customers, but one thing that has remained constant is our fierce dedication to manufacturing quality products and providing outstanding customer service. We realize that every object placed in a Skutt kiln has value. It could be a child’s horse that looks more like a dog or a master potters $20,000 commissioned sculpture. Both of these artists are counting on our kiln to do its job and we don’t want to let them down. Position Summary Reporting directly to the CEO and with direct lines to ownership and the Board of Directors, this net new CFO position is responsible for directing and overseeing the financial activities of the company, directing the preparation of financial reports and summaries, and creating forecasts on future growth by performing the following duties: Essential Duties Responsible for all company financial activities (accounting, banking, taxes, budgets, forecasting, etc.). Manages IT systems and outside IT service providers to achieve business needs. Leads company interfacing with general counsel and outside legal firms. Supports the CEO at all Board of Directors meetings. Develops direct reports, and the entire management team, in financial acumen and training. Works with the executive team to define and model Skutt’s culture and brand. Additional Job Duties and Responsibilities Supports the Executive Leadership team in establishing company vision, goals and strategy. Works with the CEO and other executives to coordinate planning and establish priorities for the budgeting and planning process. Studies long-range economic trends and projects their impact on future growth in sales and market share. Directs the preparation of all financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, shareholder reports, tax returns, and governmental agency reports. Compares sales and profit projections to actual figures and budgeted expenses to actual expenses; makes or oversees any necessary adjustments to future projections and budgets. Reviews planning process and suggests improvements to current methods. Analyzes operations through budgeting and cost accounting activities to effectively manage business activities. Identifies opportunities for expansion into new product areas. Develops and maintains banking business relationships. Works with and supports tax accountants to inform and report financial activities (i.e. taxes). Oversees sales and use tax activities. Manages IT support partners in maintaining robust computing systems, including phones and websites. Manages ERP system operation and updates. Calculates and communicates capital budget, spending and analysis to the BOD. Establishes and maintains relationships with appropriate legal partners and general counsel. Establishes pricing guidelines and final product prices in conjunction with marketing and sales leaders. Negotiates best available team member benefits and insurance packages. Overseas investment of funds and works with investment bankers to raise additional capital required for expansion. Works collaboratively in a team environment with a spirit of cooperation. Directly supervises employees in the Accounting department. Carries out supervisory responsibilities following the organizations policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance, rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, finance or related field is required. Master’s degree is preferred. 10 years related experience in senior level accounting or finance position. Previous experience in manufacturing and distribution companies is preferred. Strong verbal and written communication skills. Strong team leader and organizational skills with the added ability to take initiative. Highly organized, accurate, detail and multi-task oriented. 180one is a retained search firm engaged by Skutt Ceramic Products to conduct this search. If interested in learning more about the opportunity, please contact Rochelle Fleischer at rochelle@180one.com / 503.699.0184
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