If It Takes a Resignation to Get a Raise, Something Broke Before That

Somebody on your team puts in their notice. Within the hour you’re in a room with a bigger number, a better title, and a sudden interest in what they actually want.

Let me ask the obvious question. If they were worth all that on Tuesday, why weren’t they worth it on Monday?

That’s the whole problem with the counteroffer, and it has nothing to do with the person leaving. A counteroffer is a company telling you what it knew the person was worth. It just waited until losing them was on the table to say it out loud. Whatever that number was, it was sitting there the whole time.

Think about what the person hears in that room. Not “we value you.” They hear “this works if I threaten to leave.” And they can’t unhear it. Every raise after that comes with a little asterisk. Meanwhile the coworkers who stayed quiet and kept delivering are going to find out sooner or later, and they’ll draw their own conclusion about who gets rewarded around here.

Now, let me be fair, because there’s a real argument on the other side. Sometimes leaders honestly didn’t know. The person never asked, the market moved, or the job grew faster than the pay band did. In that case a counteroffer can be a company fixing a miss, and I get that. But “we missed it” is still not a great answer, because paying attention is the job. Nobody should have to quit to get a manager to look up.

What I’d love to see is more leaders getting back to something simple. If someone is doing great work, reward it. Not just at review time when the budget allows. And definitely not once they’re holding a signed offer from somebody else. Meritocracy used to be the thing companies bragged about, and a lot of them have drifted from it. Strong performance should show up in pay and scope before anyone has a reason to look around.

Here’s a gut check for any leader reading this. Take your top five people and ask whether you could defend each one’s pay and role tomorrow if they walked in with an offer in hand. If the honest answer is “I’d have to scramble,” you already know what to do. Do it this week, before somebody makes you.

The best retention plan I know of is paying attention. It costs a lot less than a counteroffer, and nobody has to resign to get it.

If this one hit a nerve and you want to talk it through, email me at spinman@thecollective.ventures. I read and answer every one myself.

Talk Soon!!
Spinny

Less Ego’s Means More Amigos