Of 1700 employers surveyed for the annual Hays Salary Survey, 48% said they give staff counter-offers.

But 80% of counter-offered staff still left the business within 12 months – 30% left as planned despite the counter-offer, 42% stayed less than three months and 8% stayed between three and 12 months. Just 20% of those given counter-offers remained with the business longer than 12 months.

“As the skills shortage continues, employers will increase their efforts to attract, retain and reward quality staff,” said Hays Resources & Mining regional director Ben Hiles.

“So in cases where an employee with skills in demand resigns, many employers understandably try to counter-offer them.

“But this is rarely a successful retention strategy because the employee already has several other offers on the table. They’ve applied for and seriously considered other vacancies, so their decision to leave the company was made long ago.”

Even if a counter-offer is accepted, Hays still cautions concern.

“The original motivation for looking for another role remains, often leading to another resignation,” Hiles said.

“This motivation will not be solved simply through counter-offering a slight increase in salary. Unless the issues are addressed, the employee is likely to still seek a better offer elsewhere.”

Before accepting a counter-offer, employees should reflect on their reasons for initially seeking a new role and gain commitment from their employer that these issues will be addressed.

Hays said despite the fact that counter-offers were only rarely successful in retaining staff, the company would not be surprised to see an increase in counter-offers in the next 12 months as employers continue to attempt to keep valued skilled workers.