kind of an odd situation.

About 6 weeks ago a competitor calls me about joining their operation. I listen to thier pitch and finally have thier offer. Very good offer. 20% pay bump, 25% more bonus bump with bonus floor guaranteed for 2 years.

This past Friday i give my current company the news. They want me to stay. I tell them the particulars of the offer. They match pay bump which pushes my bonus up closer to but not quite matching. I think about it and decide to stay with current company and let the competitor know mid day Monday.

This evening the competitor calls back and says they will give a 20k singing bonus if I reconsider and accept their offer. Competitor is a 12 year old company, seems stable. My current place is a 70 year old veteran.

I'm flattered. But agreed on Monday morning to stay. Didn't sign anything just said ok I'll stay. Feels a bit dirty to up and leave after accepting new comp plan. I know to always look after yourself. I have 14 years at current place so I know the system and have some unwritten perks.

I don't need the 20k but it would be damn nice.

This is in the commercial construction field.

Advice?

Post this on the job board too

I imagine the answer us yes, but is a signing bonus taxed the same as a end of hear bonus? If not what's different?

LOYAL AG said:

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Never accept a counter offer. Once you've told your employer you were shopping around you've told them they should be too. They now feel like they've been held hostage and were essentially forced to pay 120% for a job that they thought they could get for 100%. You now run the risk that they start looking for someone that can do the work for 100% and they show you the door.

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This..virtually everyone I know that accepted a counter has lived to regret it. It may take years but you have changed the rules. You will be looked at as less" loyal" than ole George across the hall who has stuck it out with us..blah blah..Every company has hard times and this is something that it is looked at over time when to comes to nut cutting calls.. Of course there are exceptions but he VAST odds are that you will regret it.
One of tricks that my old nazi sweat shop used was to factor in that " extortion" bump into future pay raises. After all "ole Fred hit us for that 20% back in ought whatever so maybe this year we should only give him x% vs the y% that ..blah bah..." I know..I had those fights when it came time for my guys who played the extortion card. In fact we ( even the HR nazi) called it the " 20% card " and it was remembered for YEARS !

in principle never accept a counter offer. Might be easier said than done, I realize.

As an employer, the disheartening part of your entire original post is you never mentioned that the competitor offered you a better opportunity--only more money. I know that at the end of the day we all want more money, but for me, there needs to be something more than money. Sharing the details of the offer with your current employer feels disrespectful as well. Unless your company just doesn't care what they have to pay you to stay. Regardless, the decision has been made and it seems like you're happy with it, so I'm glad it worked out for you.

I accepted a counter when I was younger. Everything was fine for a few years then the corporation wanted me to take a job that they knew would test my "loyalty". Never again.

Stack as much paper as fast as you can.

The way the op described the situation, the competitor called him and made the offer. I don't see anything wrong with him letting his current employer know about the offer and letting them match. Whether or not this causes future consequences at the current employer depends on how the communication was handled.

Quote:

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Once you've told your employer you were shopping around

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That doesn't sound like that's what happened here. And in a lot of cases these days, it isn't. Phone calls out of the blue from a recruiter have been commonplace in my field for at least a decade and a half. Hell, I got them as a firm owner for a senior associate position.

I'm not saying the advice given here is bad, but I think each case is or can be different.

91AggieLawyer said:

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Quote:

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Once you've told your employer you were shopping around

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That doesn't sound like that's what happened here. And in a lot of cases these days, it isn't. Phone calls out of the blue from a recruiter have been commonplace in my field for at least a decade and a half. Hell, I got them as a firm owner for a senior associate position.

I'm not saying the advice given here is bad, but I think each case is or can be different.

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I've been a head hunter and made that initial contact. It's a straight commission job. If the person on the other end isn't interested you cut bait quickly. In this case he not only took the bait and interviewed but he likely did so more than once and eventually accepted an offer. That would seem to me the definition of shopping.

Throwout said:

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As an employer, the disheartening part of your entire original post is you never mentioned that the competitor offered you a better opportunity--only more money. I know that at the end of the day we all want more money, but for me, there needs to be something more than money. Sharing the details of the offer with your current employer feels disrespectful as well. Unless your company just doesn't care what they have to pay you to stay. Regardless, the decision has been made and it seems like you're happy with it, so I'm glad it worked out for you.

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As your former employer who hired you in your current job, I am wondering what the hell your doing on TA at 2:58 pm!
Get to work Z!
Busted!

1876er said:

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Throwout said:

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As an employer, the disheartening part of your entire original post is you never mentioned that the competitor offered you a better opportunity--only more money. I know that at the end of the day we all want more money, but for me, there needs to be something more than money. Sharing the details of the offer with your current employer feels disrespectful as well. Unless your company just doesn't care what they have to pay you to stay. Regardless, the decision has been made and it seems like you're happy with it, so I'm glad it worked out for you.

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Unfortunately companies have created a culture where the only way to get a large raise is to leave. The threat of an employee leaving is the only leverage we have. Like original at said, money isn't the only thing, but it is certainly the most important thing.

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My former sweatshop hasn't given raises in going on 4 years now, unless you are a VP or one of the chosen. You are absolutely correct. They are hemorrhaging good people and it has become known that your only way to get even a sniff of a raise ( other than being in a so-called executive position) is to play the 20% card. Of course they are also very clear that this disloyalty WILL be remembered!

The Original AG 76 said:

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1876er said:

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Throwout said:

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As an employer, the disheartening part of your entire original post is you never mentioned that the competitor offered you a better opportunity--only more money. I know that at the end of the day we all want more money, but for me, there needs to be something more than money. Sharing the details of the offer with your current employer feels disrespectful as well. Unless your company just doesn't care what they have to pay you to stay. Regardless, the decision has been made and it seems like you're happy with it, so I'm glad it worked out for you.

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Unfortunately companies have created a culture where the only way to get a large raise is to leave. The threat of an employee leaving is the only leverage we have. Like original at said, money isn't the only thing, but it is certainly the most important thing.

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My former sweatshop hasn't given raises in going on 4 years now, unless you are a VP or one of the chosen. You are absolutely correct. They are hemorrhaging good people and it has become known that your only way to get even a sniff of a raise ( other than being in a so-called executive position) is to play the 20% card. Of course they are also very clear that this disloyalty WILL be remembered!

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In my experience, loyalty is 100% a one way street. As a general rule (so obviously there are some exceptions) companies will cultivate loyalty from their employees but when it comes to it, they will not reciprocate. I look at a few criteria:

1. Quality of boss
2. Quality of the work
3. Upward mobility
4. Money
5. Work/life balance (where I live, hours worked, all that jazz.)

With each of the 5, I assign the current role vs. the new role a raw score and then take a weighted average. You can assign whatever weight you want to each of the 5, but if you find a place with a higher weighted average, you bolt. It's a (relatively speaking) dispassionate, logical way to approach things.