Counter offers are one of the most predictable risks in recruitment. They are also one of the most misunderstood.
Most hiring managers assume the danger is simply that a candidate gets more money and stays put. The reality is more nuanced and often more damaging than that. This is what happened on a recent Strong Search assignment, and what it illustrates about managing a recruitment process properly.
The brief
We were retained by a Dutch SaaS company to hire their first dedicated Account Executive in the UK. A genuinely exciting role. First in-country commercial hire, real ownership, the chance to build something from scratch.
After a thorough search and a healthy pipeline of candidates, we identified a strong individual. The process ran well. Offer made, offer accepted, resignation handed in.
What We Told the Candidate Before It Happened
Before the resignation was handed in, we had a direct conversation with the candidate. Not a script. A real conversation.
We told them: your current employer has not listened to what you want. You have been asking for a path into management. They have not delivered it. The moment you hand in your notice, they will finally listen. They will offer you exactly what you have been asking for. It will feel real. But here is the problem: nothing will be in writing, and the pattern that led you to look in the first place will not have changed.
We were not trying to talk them out of being flattered. We were trying to make sure they had a clear head when it came.
What Actually Happened
The candidate resigned. The employer came back with a leadership role. No written confirmation of what that role would involve, no structure, no timeline. A verbal promise from a company that had made verbal promises before.
The candidate accepted the counter offer and withdrew from the process.
We were disappointed, but not surprised. This is a pattern we have seen many times. Candidates are not weak for accepting counter offers. They are human. The pull of the familiar, combined with a promise that finally addresses your original frustration, is genuinely difficult to resist. The problem is that the promise rarely holds.
Research consistently shows that the majority of candidates who accept counter offers leave their employer within twelve months anyway. The underlying reasons they were looking do not disappear because an employer panicked at a resignation.
Why the Hire Still Got Made
This is the part that matters most for any company going through a search.
We never closed the pipeline.
From day one of this search, our approach was built on a simple principle: it is never done until it is done. An accepted offer is not a placed candidate. A signed contract is not a started employee. Every stage carries risk and professional recruitment means managing that risk, not hoping it away.
We maintained a healthy pipeline throughout the process. We kept other strong candidates warm, communicated with them honestly, and made sure they remained engaged with the opportunity. When the counter offer situation unfolded, we did not need to restart the search from scratch. We went back to the pipeline, and a strong candidate was ready to move.
The role was filled. The client’s timeline was protected. The outcome was good.
What This Means for SaaS Companies Hiring in the UK
If you are scaling a GTM team and bringing in your first in-country hire, here is what you need to know:
- Counter offers are not rare. They are standard practice, particularly for strong candidates with visible career frustrations their employer should have addressed already.
- Verbal promises are not offers. If there is no written role definition, no reporting line, no timeline, it is not a real promotion. It is a retention tactic.
- Your search partner should be having direct, honest conversations with candidates before the risk materialises. Not after.
- The pipeline should never fully close until the candidate starts. Any firm that winds down candidate engagement the moment an offer is accepted is leaving you exposed.
- Speed matters more than most companies account for. The longer a process runs, the more time an employer has to identify that a candidate is moving on and make their move.
The Honest Summary
We did not prevent this counter offer. We were not able to. What we did was see it coming, prepare the candidate as well as we could, and ensure that when it happened the client was not left with nothing.
That is what good recruitment process looks like. Not a guarantee that everything goes smoothly. A guarantee that the risks are managed and the outcome is protected.
The role was filled. The Dutch SaaS company has their first UK AE. And the candidate who accepted the counter offer is, in all likelihood, still working through the same frustrations that made them look in the first place.
Building your GTM team in the UK or EMEA?
Strong Search specialises in hiring senior GTM talent for B2B SaaS companies scaling across EMEA, APAC, and the US. We move fast, we manage risk, and we get it right. Visit strongsearch.co.uk or contact us at info@strongsearch.co.uk to find out how we work.
For now, we want to say: welcome, Larry. We are proud to have you on the team.
And to our clients, partners, and network: thank you for your continued trust. The best is yet to come.
Follow Strong Search Ltd on LinkedIn for more insight on SaaS hiring, GTM team building, and the realities of executive search.
