Recruiter uncovers counter offer trend spreading through the capital

Spring Group plc (“Spring”) www.spring.com, the UK’s leading human capital management company, today warns businesses of a growing trend of employees using new job offers as a means of squeezing more money and benefits out of their current employers in the London region.

During January and February this year, Spring Personnel’s London branches saw 3 in 10 job offers overturned by counter bids made by a candidate’s current employer. This is driving recruiters to adapt drastic measures and 70 per cent of Spring’s clients have decided not to pursue a second interview round, giving candidates an offer after only the first contact.

“This is a very worrying trend we are seeing spread across London”, comments Di Bradbury, Managing Director, General Staffing at Spring Group. “Skilled people are hard to come by in any industry, and retaining their best staff is a key priority for organisations today. Candidates know this, and some are increasingly misusing this power by trying to play prospective employers against their current employer. As a result, employers are being forced to entice staff to stay by meeting demands of higher salaries, more benefits, and often promotion.

“If this trend continues, it could have a negative effect not only on individual organisations, but for the UK economy as a whole, with roles not being filled slowing down companies’ growth and disproportionate wage inflation hitting companies’ bottom line hard.”

Merritt concludes, “Experience shows that social and economic forces affecting London invariably affect other major UK cities in time. To overcome the problem, we are making our clients aware of the situation and advising them to increase the number of interviews per vacancy, as well as having a second choice of candidate that is not rejected until the first offer has been accepted. We also recommend involving an expert consultant who is able to identify candidates with the right motivations and sift out potential setbacks as early as possible in the recruitment process.”