Last Minute 

Changes of Mind

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International managers who are new to Southeast Asia can be dumbfounded when a candidate who gave acceptance of a job offfer later changes his mind and gives seemingly irresponsible reasons such as: 

“My boss said I can’t leave right now.” 

“I spoke to my family and they told me I should stay.”

“My company just gave me a promotion so it wouldn’t be right for me to leave.”

For many managers in Asia, such justifications are thought reasonable and adequate for seeming to go back on their word. 


What is Going On?

There are still strong differences in working culture between so-called developed and emerging countries. 

First of all, most large local companies in Asia are family owned and run and have limited local competition. In such situations, values like loyalty and trust are well-rewarded while attributes like on-the-job performance are considered to be less important. 

In such companies, the boss is a patriarchal figure and takes a personal role in the lives of his employees. When someone from this workplace family comes with a resignation notice, it is a powerfully emotional situation and full of all sorts of things Asians don’t like – losing face, conflict and so on.   

Some Asian managers will never forgive an employee for betraying the "family" – a big concern if there are only a few companies in the industry. So traumatic is the offense that more than a few careers have been destroyed by bitter people seeking revenge.  

A second important factor to understand is the influence of the family in Asia. Large extended families typically have close connections and it is expected that they are part of the decision process for important decisions like career change. Parents, in particular, have much more control over their adult offspring than in the west. If parents or other close relatives have personal relationships with the boss, then they can often be a strong force to limit job change. 

A third cause of failed job offer acceptance is simply the desire for a raise at a candidate’s current employer. It is difficult for Asians to ask for raises doing so creates the potential of conflict, losing face and other things felt uncomfortable in Asia. Therefore, it is sometimes easier to use a job offer from an outside employer to help them achieve their purpose in a less direct manner. The boss will provide a counter-offer for the employee to stay and everyone is outwardly happy (although perhaps not inwardly so). 


Early Signs of Problems

There are 3 main indicators that a candidate may be having second thoughts and is at risk of rejecting a job offer. 

1. Unusual Delays – Candidates who were previously responsive and enthusiastic but suddenly stop returning calls and repeatedly reschedule meetings may be having second thoughts. Common excuses provided can be important sounding ones like emergency meetings at work or sick family members in the hospital.  Be wary. 

2. Unreasonable Requirements – Some candidates will create unrealistic requirements at a late stage of the hiring process rather than admit they are not interested. Income expectations may become inflated, reporting requirements might change, requests for more information seem never ending, and so on. 

3. Increase in Reported Earnings – It can also be common for candidates in a final salary negotiation stage to suddenly "remember" that their real salary is higher than they earlier stated. The most common justifications are a salary increase they “just received” or income items that weren’t described earlier. 

Why Accepting 

Counter-Offers is Bad?

People in so-called advanced countries have mainly come to the conclusion that Counter-Offers are a bad idea for both employees (especially) and employers. And, study and study has shown that this is true. 

The vast majority of employees who accept counter-offers regret their decision. They depart on their own (usually within 6 months) after it becomes clear their original reasons for leaving are not going to change. 

Or, they are pushed out by employers (usually within 12 months) when the boss discovers the problems he has created for himself by giving the counter-offer. Other employees resent a co-worker being rewarded for what they consider disloyal conduct. Conflict results among previously content staff. As well, other employees start showing up regularly to the manager’s office to expect counter-offers for outside job offers they have received. The situation can quickly become out-of-control and the most appropriate solution is to eliminate the “conniving” employee who started it all. 

 

So Why Do 

Some Managers Offer

Counter-Offers?

When someone resigns, it is the boss whose ability is questioned and it is him who has to clean up the mess. Unless the employee is deemed disposable, the boss will certainly look bad to his superiors since his department’s results will suffer. 

A second-rate manager, who may have other problems with his performance, might not want something else for his supervisors to complain about. As well, he certainly doesn’t want another crisis to consume his ineffective time.

As a result, such a person will attempt to manipulate the emotions of a departing employee to keep him until he can be released at a time when it is less inconvenient or embarrassing. 

It doesn’t matter what the boss says are the reasons for his action. Counter-offers are only given because of a notice to resign and they should be considered as highly dubious by any career-minded person. 

Well-managed companies and competent managers don’t make counter-offers. They already understand the damage that is done by such self-destructive actions both to their organizations and to their departing employees. 

Preventing Job Offer Problems

There are 3 steps to take to reduce as much as possible the chance of last minute changes of mind. 

1. Discover the emotional reasons the candidate could consider a job change. 

During the interviews, ask questions that uncover the candidate’s emotional commitment to his employer. Here are examples:

A) What do you like most and least about your current job? 

B) What is it you enjoy the most and least about your current boss?

C) Describe your most and least favoured jobs that you’ve had in your career?

D) Which of all your bosses did you most and least enjoy working with?

2. Walk the candidate through the mental process of resigning and starting with a new company. 

It is important that people understand what they will face when they attempt to leave their employer – especially if it is a long-term employer. Questions that allow this discovery include: 

A) What is it you will miss when you leave your current company?

B) What will be the biggest problems you will face in leaving your current company?

C) Has your company ever given counter-offers to employees who resign?

3. Connect with the candidate early and often.

Relate with the person on an emotional level regularly and be attentive to changes in the candidate’s behaviour or responsiveness. Do not expect the candidate keep you up-to-date if they are suddenly having second thoughts about changing employers. 

A) Has anything changed for better or worse at your current company?

B) What have your family (or friends) said about you possibly changing jobs?

C) Do you think the role we are speaking with you about will be right for you?

D) On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you to work for our company?

These 3 steps should allow you to detect early on whether a candidate will be at risk of declining the role or accepting a counter-offer. It is not fail safe but it will considerably improve the consistency of your hiring process. 

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