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I think it's important to differentiate what type of counter it is and whether or not it solves the problem reasonably. A counter can be a pay raise, new role/p
by fecak 10y ago
I think it's important to differentiate what type of counter it is and whether or not it solves the problem reasonably. A counter can be a pay raise, new role/promotion, or even something like letting someone telecommute. Those are all very different scenarios, and the stereotypical "walks into managers office with shiny offer from competitor demanding more" may have less positive long-term results than the more common less aggressive approach.
- tptacek 10y agoI once accepted a counter that included a pay raise, a substantial equity grant, and had my requirements for role adjustments mostly met --- all offered entirely to prevent me from moving to a new job. I shouldn't have! Things were O.K. for about six months, and only then did it clear that I'd been sidelined --- after the company had put in motion its plans for post-me continuity. Basically: they bought themselves time, and used it to deal with the presumption that I would inevitably leave. The specific terms of a counter don't mean much. The problem is that declaring your intent to leave can (maybe: usually does?) mark you as a flight risk. Flight risks get managed differently. If what you value about your job is compensation, that might not matter! But if what you want is escalating levels of responsibility, being perceived as a flight risk is a real problem.
- fecak 10y agoThis anecdote is exactly the type of cautionary tale that recruiters use to scare candidates and dissuade counteroffer acceptance. You're a natural!
- tptacek 10y agoI'm not sure what that's supposed to mean. I'm not a recruiter. Why am I supposed to care what stories recruiters tell candidates?
- fecak 10y agoI was referencing your time in the recruiting space re:Starfighter (we exchanged a couple comments on recruiting in a thread a couple weeks ago when Patrick announced his new gig - I'd mentioned I met him a few months back). I know you aren't a recruiter, it certainly wasn't meant as any kind of insult. I didn't mention this being a recruiter-like anecdote for you, but for the audience at large who should be aware of the recruiter script if they are ever in a counteroffer situation involving a recruiter.
- wyclif 10y agoFlight risks get managed differently Assuming a large percentage of software developers leave for new gigs every 2-3 years, even in the best companies [that is an assumption on my part; I don't know if it's true or only anecdotal], why do you think the overhead for "flight risk" is so high? I mean, getting tagged as someone heading out the door is a temporary situation for most devs, not a long-term debilitation.
- MagnumOpus 10y agoIdeal situation is to have contingencies in place for every member of the company. Realistically it is relatively easy to have backups for producing employees where there are multiple in a team anyway - devs, ops, designers - than for managerial employees. (Managers groom their own backups iff they want to get promoted.) So if you are a flight risk, you are unlikely to become a manager or given any additional "unique" responsibilities in terms of tech-lead or customer-facing work, unless your skills are really extraordinary and indispensable (and usually they aren't).
- vonmoltke 10y ago> Assuming a large percentage of software developers leave for new gigs every 2-3 years, even in the best companies [that is an assumption on my part; I don't know if it's true or only anecdotal] I don't think that holds outside a certain few areas. No company I know of in Dallas, for instance, expects to turn over their developers that quickly.
- tptacek 10y agoBecause you don't promote someone you think is going to leave in a year.