(SINGAPORE) Offering more money to tempt an employee to turn down an approach from a rival is not an effective strategy for long-term staff retention, says a study by recruitment consultancy firm Robert Walters.

In a survey of 220 respondents from Singapore, Robert Walters found that only 2 per cent of them said they would accept a counter-offer from their current employer immediately, while 21 per cent of them would reject it on the spot.

The Singapore findings are part of a global study surveying 1,000 mid- to senior-level professionals from 15 countries. They are degree holders with at least three years of working experience. The survey was conducted through an online poll on Robert Walters' global website from August to September.

Results from the global survey were similar to the Singapore trend. Taking into account data collated from all respondents, only 5 per cent said that they would accept a current employer's counter-offer immediately and 24 per cent would downright reject. The remaining 71 per cent would consider the offer before making a decision.

Robert Walters' Singapore managing director, Mark Ellwood, said that the findings reflect an awareness level on the risks of accepting a counter-offer.

'Once someone has made the decision to seriously look elsewhere for employment, it is likely the working relationship will dissolve within 12 months if they do decide to accept the offer and stay,' he said.

'The reason is twofold; the bond of trust between a candidate and their employer or manager may have been damaged, which can also lead to distrust or lower team morale, and unless other retention strategies are in place it is unlikely that a financial incentive alone will remedy all the reasons an employee had for leaving in the first place.'

In Asia-Pacific, Australia had the highest proportion of respondents who would accept a counter-offer immediately at 8.79 per cent. New Zealand had the highest proportion of respondents who would consider a counter-offer at 80.77 per cent. This was followed by Singapore, where 77 per cent of respondents would mull over a counter-offer.

'Most counter-offers invariably are to do with money and matching the offer from the prospective new organisation,' said Mar Ellwood. 'Singapore candidates are tuned into the fact that a counter-offer or buy-back from an organisation is usually too little too late, which is why they don't rush to accept it.

'They understand that if the organisation they worked for valued them that much, they should have been paid that in the first place as very rarely will a counter-offer be backdated to your last salary review.'

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