You hand in your notice. Within the hour, you’re in a room with your manager and a number you’ve never seen on your payslip before.

Suddenly you matter. Suddenly the budget exists.

It feels like a win. Mostly, it isn’t.

Let’s talk about counter offers properly… what they really are, why they get made, and what both sides get wrong about them.

𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺.

It feels like proof you’re valued. What it’s actually proof of is that the company can move fast when it’s about to lose you. Ask yourself why that speed wasn’t available at your last salary review.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀.

You’ll see the stat everywhere… something like 80 or 90 percent of people who accept a counteroffer leave within a year anyway. I went looking for where that figure actually comes from. Nobody can point to a solid original source. It gets repeated because it sounds right, not because it’s been properly measured. Worth knowing, especially in an industry that should be honest about its own numbers.

What does hold up better: research from Cornell’s ILR School found that more than half of employees who accept a counteroffer report feeling less happy in the role afterwards, and only a small minority felt their relationship with their employer actually improved. Most who accept still move on within two years. The exact number to leave by isn’t the point. The pattern is.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀.

Money rarely the whole reason you started looking. It’s the culture, the manager, the lack of growth, the feeling of being overlooked. A counteroffer fixes your payslip. It doesn’t fix any of that. You’ll likely be back here again, just older and slightly more cynical.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁:

1. If I hadn’t resigned, would this raise or promotion have happened at all, or on this timeline?

2. Has anything actually changed, or just the number on my payslip?

3. Will my manager trust me the same way, now they know I was ready to leave?

4. Am I solving the real problem, or postponing it?

𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦

𝗔 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝘅.

If someone’s resignation is what finally gets them a fair salary, that’s not a retention win. That’s a process failure you just found out about the hard way. The resignation letter didn’t create the problem. It just made you look at it.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗲𝘀.

Widely cited figures put the cost of replacing a senior employee at well over their annual salary once you count recruitment, ramp-up time and lost productivity. That number gets used to justify counteroffers… but it cuts both ways. If someone leaves anyway a year later, having burned that goodwill and that budget, you’ve paid the replacement cost regardless, just later and with more disruption in between.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺:

1. Regular, honest pay reviews, not just ones triggered by a resignation.

2. Asking people what’s not working before they’ve mentally checked out, not after they’ve signed elsewhere.

3. If you do counteroffer, be honest about why it took this long to get here, and fix the actual reason they looked in the first place. The money on its own won’t hold anyone.

Counteroffers aren’t evil. They’re just rarely the solution either side thinks they are.

If you’re the one resigning, know what you’re really accepting. If you’re the one countering, ask yourself what you’re really avoiding.

𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥

Counteroffers feel like validation but rarely fix what made you look in the first place.

The famous stat that most people who accept one leave within a year doesn’t have a solid source, but the underlying pattern is real, more research-backed data shows lower satisfaction and weaker trust afterwards.

For candidates: work out if anything’s actually changed, or just the number.

For hiring managers: a counter offer triggered by a resignation is a sign your pay and check-in process needs fixing, not proof it worked.

𝗙𝗔𝗤: 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀

𝗤: 𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿?

A: Occasionally, yes. If the counter genuinely addresses the reason you were leaving, not just the pay, and you trust the relationship will hold. That’s the exception though, not the rule. Be honest with yourself about which one you’re in.

𝗤: 𝗜𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿?

A: It’s not unprofessional, but it does cost you something with the other company, who held a role for you, and possibly with your own manager, who now knows you were prepared to go. That doesn’t mean never do it. It means go in with eyes open about the cost.

𝗤: 𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿?

A: Sometimes, for the right person and the right reason. But treat it as a one-off fix for a specific situation, not a retention strategy. If you’re regularly countering resignations, that’s telling you your pay bands or your check-ins are broken.

𝗤: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲?

A: Ask people directly, before they’re job hunting, what would make them consider leaving. Do it in a normal one to one, not a crisis meeting. Most people will tell you honestly if they feel safe doing it, and that’s a far cheaper conversation than a counteroffer.

𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣: 𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧, 𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚? 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙩?

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗲 for insights that sharpen your career and your hiring.

𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯.

Therese Otten is the founder of DataTech Recruitment since 2019, and a Senior IT Recruitment Consultant based in South Africa with 20+ years of Recruitment experience. She specialises in connecting top tech talent with SMEs and start-ups and companies building their tech teams, with a focus on developers, architects, testers, IT leaders and many more. Known for her honest, consultative approach, she is passionate about candidate care, client partnerships, and raising the standard of recruitment in the South African market.

Looking to hire? Get in touch: 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲@𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁.𝗰𝗼.𝘇𝗮