Did you get a counteroffer when quitting? What did you do?

[sunnysideup]

Another confirmation to NEVER give notice before some big bonus or vesting date. Corporations are capable of taking direct action to withhold rewards that might have been earned but for the letter of the law, and often do so. We just had a woman quit and give notice that would have carried her over the date the company distributes an annual bonus. She naively assumed she would get or could negotiate a pro-rated bonus for working 11 1/2 months of the year. Despite her excellent work this year and previously for several years, her allocation in the bonus pool was reduced to zero.

My company's policy explicitly states that someone who retires in January is eligible for a previous year bonus payout in March but that's the wording--eligible--the company can give you $00. I believe most companies only pay out if you are employed on the date of the payout. There are some exceptions, but let's face it, if a manager is stretched to allot the piddling monies they get at year end for their team, they or their boss may find it easier to take from the departing person and give to the remaining bodies.

 

[scrabbler1]

Another confirmation to NEVER give notice before some big bonus or vesting date. Corporations are capable of taking direct action to withhold rewards that might have been earned but for the letter of the law, and often do so. We just had a woman quit and give notice that would have carried her over the date the company distributes an annual bonus. She naively assumed she would get or could negotiate a pro-rated bonus for working 11 1/2 months of the year. Despite her excellent work this year and previously for several years, her allocation in the bonus pool was reduced to zero.

I was always mindful of this when I considering various resignation (ER) dates near the end of my working years. There were two dates in particular slightly before which I did not want to announce my leave. One was around April 1 when our annual bonuses were given out. The other was around January 1 when we received new shares of valuable company stock. (Of course, with these two dates only 3 months apart, if I could make it to Jan 1 I should try to hang in there for April 1.)

When I did leave at the end of October 2008 I was not concerned about the Jan 1 date any more because I had become ineligible for receiving new shares of the company stock (I was no longer working enough hours per year to qualify). So there was no point in suffering through another winter just to get a bonus. Also, the stock price was expected to decline so I'd be facing decrease in what I could cash out.

The flip side of having the company try to shortchange a lame-duck employee was something my former company tried to do many years ago when they made some big changes (read: reductions) to their retiree benefits. Under their existing rules, an employee had to announce an official retirement 30 days in advance. But when they announced these rule changes late on November 30th, effective January 1st the following year, several employees who were considering retiring wanted to get their retirement notices in before the rule changes went into effect. But because these changes were announced so late in the day, the HR department had closed up shop for the day (it was a Friday) and that forced those would-be retirees to give their notices the following Monday, resulting in their being bound by the newer, less favorable rules. They raised holy hell (and probably threatened lawsuits) and the company backed down, allowing them to retire with the old rules in effect a little longer.

 

[Koolau]

A tiny (and I do mean tiny) piece of me envies Brewer. It would have been (just a little bit) nice if I could have contemplated Megacorp asking me to stay. I suppose that's my ego talking.

Instead, their "counter offer" was "don't let the screen door hit you on your way out." That's exactly what I expected and it made it easier to leave the few friends I still had left.

Now I look at what has happened to my old w*rk place and I don't even recognize it. Things have only gotten worse (much worse). I left at the right time (maybe a bit late, actually). In any case, the only thing that would have enticed me to consider staying would have been to let me choose the w*rk i would be doing. Fat chance!

Brewer, I think you said it well, yourself. "No thanks." Say it politely or say it sarcastically, but say it! Just my 2 cents worth, so YMMV.

 

[Chuckanut]

When I retired I was certain they were happy to see an old timer go. The replaced me with a younger person.

 

[MooreBonds]

A tiny (and I do mean tiny) piece of me envies Brewer. It would have been (just a little bit) nice if I could have contemplated Megacorp asking me to stay. I suppose that's my ego talking.

...

Brewer, I think you said it well, yourself. "No thanks." Say it politely or say it sarcastically, but say it! Just my 2 cents worth, so YMMV.

When I turned in my 2 weeks notice almost 2 years ago when I received an offer from another firm, the office head simply said "Just don't say or do anything until I have a talk with corporate!". At that point, I was frustrated, because they slashed salaries 15% in 2008-2012 without any bonuses or raises, and I was looking at a decent salary bump (from $63k-$80k), and my opinion was "if they can't appreciate my talents, I'll tell them to go to hell if they think they can flash a few dollars at me as I'm walking out the door".

They countered with $85k.

Not being one to cut off my nose to spite my face (and because I didn't hate the work environment I was in), I ended up accepting. And 12 months later, when I had another offer from a different firm (again, unsolicited like the previous year's offer) for actually lower pay (but from an apparent more stable company with more backlog), they asked me what it would take to keep me there. I asked for another bump.

I realize it can be extremely frustrating to see a company only value you when they have no choice....but in the end, money talks, and I realize that the average company won't go out of their way to shower you with money unless they absolutely have to.

So my advice, Brewer, is simply ask yourself "what would it take for me to change my view of leaving permanently? What conditions would I be crazy to say "no" to?" Obviously, you have to be realistic....but as you have vaguely hinted at, I don't think you're looking at a $300k annual draw with a 2% WR. There's nothing wrong with doing a part-time gig, or just a few extra months for a little extra splurge pile o cash to kickoff ER or to make a huge buffer for future years if the wife's side business doesn't evolve like you think it might.

 

[Danmar]

Agree 100%, a sweet wonderful 72 year old gave 6 months notice to be effective 1/15/13. In December she was told her last day would be the end of December 2012. They didn't give her a reason. Had she been employed 1 day in 2013, she would have received another 5% of her salary in her retirement account, for her 2012 contributions to Megacorp. You have to look out for yourself, screwing over a 72 year old worker, should be criminal. But they knew she was too timid to make an issue. MRG

That's criminal. My experience was the opposite. Just before I retired my employer awarded me the best bonus I ever got. I didn't deserve it but the company had done very well and everyone got a big bonus. There was absolutely no attemp to screw me over as I retired. In my position prior to retirement I also made sure this never happened to my subordinates as they retired. I recall giving a very generous option award to an exec just a few months before an agreed retirement date. He told me that really impressed him.

 

[Meadbh]

That's criminal. My experience was the opposite. Just before I retired my employer awarded me the best bonus I ever got. I didn't deserve it but the company had done very well and everyone got a big bonus. There was absolutely no attemp to screw me over as I retired. In my position prior to retirement I also made sure this never happened to my subordinates as they retired. I recall giving a very generous option award to an exec just a few months before an agreed retirement date. He told me that really impressed him.

I'm SO glad my banking fees are being well used.......

 

[mountaintosea]

They gave me what I had asked for to begin with, but which they said no to originally. By that time I had signed the paperwork and was mentally prepared to pull the plug, so I said "Thanks but no thanks!"

 

[harley]

Back in the early 90s I was in a decent paying but crummy Megacorp job. I started looking around and found another crummy job in another Mega, but with more money and much closer to home. When I told my boss she and her boss got together and made me a counteroffer. There was no more money, but they offered me a transfer to another group where I could work in newly emerging technology, something called "the internet". So I stayed, got into security and forensics, and had a blast for the next ten years until a merger reshuffled me under people I couldn't stand. Luckily I was able to find something else for a couple of years until I was able to retire with medical coverage. When I did leave, I ended up coming back as a consultant for about 6 months, mostly to help out my group last boss, who I like.

I guess my point is, if there's a counteroffer and it would make you happy, think about it. If it would just extend the unhappiness, walk on.

Good luck, whatever happens.

 

[Danmar]

I'm SO glad my banking fees are being well used.......

I think good HR relations are indeed a good management practice. Do you think you would be better served as a customer if the banks treated their employees poorly?

 

[Meadbh]

I think good HR relations are indeed a good management practice. Do you think you would be better served as a customer if the banks treated their employees poorly?

No, I was just being sarcastic, sorry!

I feel fortunate to live in a country with such a stable banking system. I wish that all industries treated their workers well. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

 

[retiredatfifty]

Once they found out I was planning to pull the plug within a year, it became more kof a "don't let the door hit you in the behind on the way out" thing. I ended up going earlier than planned.

 

[bmcgonig]

Sounds like you don't want a counteroffer just because you don't want to have to negotiate with yourself about retirement

I would not worry about loyalty to the company, only yourself. That said it seems like some part time work over the next 5 years is what you want, and IF the present job is or can be made zero stress then why not stick with that?

How about you consider your ideal situation there as your counteroffer. Think of what could be ideal for you and then have that in your head as your counteroffer. You can make it want you like, I.e. Work one day a week from home until such and such is accomplished.

I don't subscribe to the counteroffer=never idea. The company will always try to maximize profits and minimize expenses. Therefore they will pay you as little as they can get away with. There's nothing immoral or wrong with this as long as they are paying you a living wage.

This is one time where you can be in charge. Where they may need you more that you need them. So it's just your turn to be able to maximize profits if you feel so inclined.

I have learned a lot from your posts. Good luck!

 

[KB]

So, how did it go?

 

[brewer12345]

Basically my immediate superior asked if there were other roles we had that I would find more palatable (I politely declined). I got a voicemail from the guy in my chain two steps higher at 5:30 on Friday, so I will find out next week if they are still going to try to push some sort of counter. Really I just wish they would let me walk instead of keeping me the 2 weeks.

 

[KB]

I hope they let you go without making it more awkward that it already is. Good luck on Monday.

 

[MooreBonds]

Basically my immediate superior asked if there were other roles we had that I would find more palatable (I politely declined). I got a voicemail from the guy in my chain two steps higher at 5:30 on Friday, so I will find out next week if they are still going to try to push some sort of counter. Really I just wish they would let me walk instead of keeping me the 2 weeks.

I realize that you are interested in starting a new phase - but just make sure you truly evaluate anything they throw your way.

You mentioned previously that you might end up working with your wife's side venture at some point for a few bucks to supplement the stash - don't forget that there are plenty of assclowns, idiots, unreasonable control freaks, et. al., that you'll undoubtedly come across with her business! Think long and hard about taking advantage of the situation you are putting your employer in. Look at how much effort you'd have to put in with your wife's company to get $X, versus an easy extra few months with your current employer for perhaps a multiple of $X, with potentially guaranteed less headaches (?). Especially that you mentioned another co-worker was looking to jump ship - being down 2 people would really put them in a bind, and them being able to stop the bleeding even a little bit could really be worth some serious benefit to you.

 

[brewer12345]

I realize that you are interested in starting a new phase - but just make sure you truly evaluate anything they throw your way.

You mentioned previously that you might end up working with your wife's side venture at some point for a few bucks to supplement the stash - don't forget that there are plenty of assclowns, idiots, unreasonable control freaks, et. al., that you'll undoubtedly come across with her business! Think long and hard about taking advantage of the situation you are putting your employer in. Look at how much effort you'd have to put in with your wife's company to get $X, versus an easy extra few months with your current employer for perhaps a multiple of $X, with potentially guaranteed less headaches (?). Especially that you mentioned another co-worker was looking to jump ship - being down 2 people would really put them in a bind, and them being able to stop the bleeding even a little bit could really be worth some serious benefit to you.

Of course I would listen to whatever they will say, but this is not a private company: it is a wildly bureaucratic quasi-public organization that probably invented the phrase "hide-bound." My best guess is that they will make some sort of effort to keep me around as a full time employee, which is not happening for any kind of offer they are capable of making. They are almost certainly not flexible to come up with an arrangement that will work for me. I will listen, but mostly I just want to get the hell out of there and start blotting the memory out.

 

[brewer12345]

This is beginning to get a little strange. In addition to an overture from the guy a few levels up via voicemail, I got an email from a VERY senior person in another division expressing regret that I bailed and wanting to chat. This is someone I have done some work for in the past and who obliquely tried to recruit me (I pretended not to notice since she has a reputation as a high hours type leader). Um, where were all these buggers a few months ago when I was moldering in my battleship gray cube/prison?

 

[jollystomper]

This is beginning to get a little strange. In addition to an overture from the guy a few levels up via voicemail, I got an email from a VERY senior person in another division expressing regret that I bailed and wanting to chat. This is someone I have done some work for in the past and who obliquely tried to recruit me (I pretended not to notice since she has a reputation as a high hours type leader). Um, where were all these buggers a few months ago when I was moldering in my battleship gray cube/prison?

Many times once you make it clear that you are going of your own volition, in a sense you have called their bluff. In addition, as they are losing someone else, only now to they realize how much skill they are losing and they are trying to scramble to cover it.

I may be in a similar situation... one of my mentors, not in my direct reporting line, whom I have advised on some of his departments' projects, asked me if I was kidding when I told him early last year that market performance in 2013 would have an impact on my retirement decision. I told him no, and it certainly made it more feasible for me to look at it this year. Now he wants to have lunch with me this week to discuss "options I may not be aware of". Interesting.

 

[W2R]

Um, where were all these buggers a few months ago when I was moldering in my battleship gray cube/prison?

This is like the other thread about Cable TV. The Cable TV company didn't offer their lowest price until the OP actually told him he was cancelling his service. Same here. Now that you have told them that you are actually leaving, they are coming out of the woodwork.

In my view, it's all business. People in work environments often just really don't give a hoot. A job is a job is a job. But then, one might say I am a bit cynical about these things.

 

[REWahoo]

This is like the other thread about Cable TV. The Cable TV company didn't offer their lowest price until the OP actually told him he was cancelling his service. Same here. Now that you have told them that you are actually leaving, they are coming out of the woodwork.

Brewer, don't agree to stay unless they give you HBO and Showtime free...

 

[brewer12345]

Brewer, don't agree to stay unless they give you HBO and Showtime free...

I'd probably settle for NatGeo and Skinemax.

 

[Dawg52]

Tell them at this point, you just want a plain old cup of coffee......

Life is Like a Cup of Coffee - YouTube

 

[Calico]

This is beginning to get a little strange. In addition to an overture from the guy a few levels up via voicemail, I got an email from a VERY senior person in another division expressing regret that I bailed and wanting to chat. This is someone I have done some work for in the past and who obliquely tried to recruit me (I pretended not to notice since she has a reputation as a high hours type leader). Um, where were all these buggers a few months ago when I was moldering in my battleship gray cube/prison?

It has been my experience for the past twenty years that even highly skilled employees are taken for granted until they announce they are leaving, at which point management panics, pulls their heads out of their collective arse, and scrambles like crazy to react, because they have no redundancy plan in place. If (big if) you still want to pad the retirement cushion a bit, you may be able to write your own ticket. Best of luck to you however this plays out.