31
Aug

About Offers and Counter Offers…

PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmarkar – Thank you. You make us proud. You fittingly deserve all the accolades and rewards coming your way…

This blog, however is not about them, but about the interesting article that was doing the rounds last week – about the felicitations that took place for Sindhu, once she got back. It was about the two states going one up on the other on the cash awards for Sindhu.

When there is success, everyone seems to want a share of the pie. It is interesting to note how the cause, the individual and their achievement is so quickly forgotten and instead the focus becomes on turning the spotlight onto personal interests.

While the counter offer worked in Sindhu’s favor, it looked like it was more to do with one-upmanship rather than pure merit.

We see this happening in the professional world too. Offers and counter offers abound in this competitive world that we live in – even though they very rarely mean that an individual has become a star overnight. It has more to do with the disruption of work caused, the effort needed to replace the individual and the perceptions it drives internally, within a team. It is almost like delaying the inevitable.

When the counter offer does arrive, we seem to get caught in a dilemma. After all, for most of us a known devil is better than an unknown one. But do think about the original reason that lead to your decision of a job change. In most cases, the reason is seldom money. It is usually something that was a deal-breaker for you. Most of us try to resolve the issue based on what is in our control. However, it is when we believe we are unable to make any change and see that our career aspirations are being compromised, we look out.

While contemplating accepting a counter offer (if you have to), some thoughts to consider:

  • Consider the original reason for which you quit and how it will now change
  • Weigh the pros and cons. If the cons are too many leave
  • If you genuinely like the current workplace and the challenges are not too many, it is important to have an honest and open dialogue with your boss before you decide
  • Also, think about the new employer to whom you have committed and then take a decision…

Finally, from a company’s perspective, employees who come and say that they have an offer and would stay if it was matched, in my mind are dangerous and at one level unprofessional. It is best to let them go…