You know what’s tough to see? A great manager finally decides to leave. They’ve been thinking about it for months, maybe longer, and the day they finally put in his notice, all of a sudden the dealer wants to throw money at them. Where was that six months ago? Come on.
Too Little, Too Late
Here’s the thing about a counteroffer. It’s not a fix. It’s a reaction. The dealer isn’t solving whatever made the person want to leave in the first place. They’re just trying to stop the bleeding right now, today, before the seat goes empty.
And it works, sometimes. The person stays. Everybody feels good for about a week. Then six months later, that same person is calling around again, because the money was never the real problem.
Maybe the problem was never being asked what they wanted out of the job. Maybe it was watching somebody else get the opportunity they thought was theirs. Maybe it was just feeling like nobody noticed them until they had one foot out the door. Whatever it was, throwing a raise at it doesn’t touch it.
What the Counteroffer Actually Buys You
At best, a counteroffer buys you time. That’s it. And there’s a cost to that time, too. Once somebody knows leaving is the thing that finally got leadership’s attention, they’velearned something about how to get attention going forward. That’s not a great lesson to teach your best people.
There’s also the trust problem. If a dealer only moves when someone’s already walking out the door, what does that say about every raise, every promotion, every conversation that happened before that point? It says none of it was really on the table until the threat was real.
What to Do Instead
The better move isn’t a bigger counteroffer. It’s not waiting for the resignation to have the conversation you should have been having all along. Ask people what they want, ask them before they’re halfway out the door, and actually listen when they tell you.
We always tell dealers: if you’re only finding out what someone needs the day they quit, you already lost. The counteroffer might buy you a few more months. It won’t buy you loyalty, and it definitely won’t buy you the conversation you should have had a long time ago.
The takeaway: everybody’s done this at some point. Everybody knows deep down it usually doesn’t fix anything. If you want to keep good people, don’t wait for the resignation letter to start caring about what they need.
Get in Touch
Schedule a call with David Adragna today: 650 808-7066
Contact Autopeople: https://autopeople.com/contact-us/
