Retained Recruitment vs Counteroffers: How to Protect Your Hires in 2026

In retained recruitment, we’ve all seen it happen - the dreaded counteroffer.

What does the candidate do? Take it or leave it? No matter how determined they are to move on, the counteroffer at the eleventh hour always makes them stop and think. If they accept, all of your work goes straight out the window.

Worse still, months later, you hear from them again. Same company. Same frustrations. Same result.

With counteroffers, there are no real winners. In this article, we’ll look at why they happen in both retained and contingent recruitment, how they reflect wider recruitment market trends, and how recruiters can build smarter recruitment strategies in 2025 to help candidates make confident, lasting moves.

Retained vs Contingent Recruitment: How Counteroffers Impact Strategic Hiring

From a retained recruitment perspective, counteroffers create a very different challenge compared to contingent recruitment. The stakes are higher, the process is more strategic, and the focus shifts from salary to long-term commitment and cultural alignment. Contingent recruitment often centres around speed and financial gain, while retained search is about stability, trust, and partnership.

The main differences between the two models are:

Passive Candidates

Retained recruitment gives access to the hidden candidate market. These are passive professionals who aren’t actively applying but are usually high performers. When they enter a retained search, it’s because something deeper is misaligned in their current role. That makes them less vulnerable to emotional or financial counteroffers.

Candidate Deeper Dives

In retained search, recruiters take time to fully understand motivations, goals, and risk appetite. This isn’t surface-level matching. It’s a detailed, strategic hiring solution built around fit, growth, and longevity. That depth allows recruiters to anticipate and defuse counteroffers early in the process.

Different Career Outlooks

Candidates in retained searches are more intentional about career decisions. They value employer brand, development opportunities, and long-term vision. They’re not chasing a short-term salary boost, so counteroffers often feel reactive and hollow by comparison.

Client Involvement

Retained search operates as a recruitment partnership model. Clients are part of the process from the start, exploring not just technical skills but shared values and leadership style. This level of collaboration strengthens the overall talent acquisition strategy and builds loyalty that a counteroffer can’t compete with.

Going Above and Beyond

Unlike contingency recruiters, retained firms often guide both client and candidate through the offer and onboarding stages. They provide ongoing advisory support to reduce hiring risk and maintain a positive candidate experience. This consultative approach helps everyone stay aligned, even when counteroffers come into play.

Why Do Candidates Accept Counteroffers?

For employers, understanding why candidates accept counteroffers is key to reducing hiring risk. Even the strongest applicants can change direction at the last moment, often due to money, convenience, or fear of change. Recognising these factors helps shape a stronger talent acquisition strategy and improves the overall candidate experience.

Financial Gain

In contingent recruitment, counteroffers often come down to salary. When a candidate is offered more to stay, it looks like a win for them and a loss for you. In reality, it usually means they were never fully engaged with the new role. A retained recruitment process digs deeper into motivation and alignment, reducing the risk of financial temptation.

Convenience

Starting a new role means new people, new systems, and a new routine. It’s easier for a candidate to stay put, even when their reasons for leaving haven’t changed. This is where employer brand and communication count. Candidates who feel connected to the company and its purpose are less likely to turn back when their current employer makes a counteroffer.

Comfort and Familiarity

Comfort can override ambition. Candidates may convince themselves that staying is safer, especially if they value work-life balance or flexible arrangements. That’s where open dialogue helps. In retained search, recruiters spend more time uncovering the real motivators behind a move and preparing candidates to weigh the pros and cons objectively.

Questions clients should be asking:

• Have we clearly shown why our opportunity is stronger than a counteroffer?
• Does our offer reflect the candidate’s long-term goals, not just their salary expectations?
• Is our recruitment process personal enough to build trust before the offer stage?
• Have we positioned our business as a genuine career move, not just another job?

When hiring through retained recruitment, those questions become part of how you hire. The focus shifts from quick placements to long-term hiring decisions that hold firm, even when counteroffers appear.

Why Accepting Counteroffers Could be a Mistake

Counteroffers might look like a quick way to retain talent, but they rarely solve the real issue. In most cases, they simply buy time before the same problems resurface. For employers, understanding why counteroffers fail is essential for effective hiring risk mitigation and long-term talent acquisition strategy. 

• Money Isn’t Everything

A higher salary might stop someone leaving for now, but it doesn’t rebuild trust, fix culture, or create new opportunities. When pay becomes the only motivator, engagement drops quickly. According to the CIPD Labour Market Outlook (2024), 40% of UK employers have made a counteroffer in the past year, but most report limited success in retaining staff beyond a few months.

• False Stability

Industry data shows that 80% of candidates who accept a counteroffer leave again within six months, and around 90% leave within a year (Recruitment Software UK). Another survey found that half of those who accept a counteroffer are back on the job market within 60 days (Stanton House). In short, it’s a temporary delay, not a solution. Instead of patching gaps, invest in strategic hiring solutions that build loyalty from day one.

• Reputation and Perception

Once an employee accepts a counteroffer, the dynamic changes. Internally, they may be viewed as a flight risk. Externally, their credibility in executive search and senior hiring circles can be affected. It also reflects on the business. Frequent counteroffers can make an organisation appear reactive rather than proactive, which undermines employer trust.

• The Ripple Effect

Counteroffers can send the wrong signal to your wider team: that leaving is the only way to secure a pay rise. This can trigger a cycle of disengagement and inflated salary expectations. Over time, that instability costs far more than partnering with a retained recruitment firm to build a stable, engaged workforce.

Questions employers should be asking:

• Are counteroffers part of a short-term fix, or a symptom of deeper engagement issues?
• What does our employer brand communicate to existing staff about recognition and growth?
• Could a recruitment partnership model reduce the risk of losing top performers in the first place?
• Are our leaders equipped to have open conversations before resignations happen?

The evidence is clear. Counteroffers don’t address the real reason people move on. Working with a retained recruitment partner allows businesses to anticipate these challenges, strengthen leadership pipelines, and secure hires that stay for the right reasons.

How Retained Recruiters Help Employers Overcome Counteroffers

Counteroffers are one of the biggest risks in hiring. They interrupt offers, extend timelines, and waste effort. The right retained recruitment strategy reduces this risk by preparing candidates properly, communicating clearly, and keeping momentum from first interview to final offer.

1. Preparation from Day One

In retained search, preparation starts before interviews even begin. Recruiters discuss counteroffers early, so candidates understand how they work and why they happen. This helps identify who might be vulnerable to them.

Questions to ask your recruiter:

• How early do you raise counteroffers with candidates?
• What checks are in place to assess how serious they are about moving?
• How do you measure candidate alignment before the offer stage?

A strong talent acquisition strategy includes pre-emptive communication. Candidates who expect counteroffers are less likely to accept them.

2. Clear and Constant Communication

When a counteroffer appears, silence kills progress. A retained recruitment consultant stays close to both sides, helping candidates weigh what matters most. The focus is not on pushing decisions but on keeping dialogue honest and consistent.

Example: a project manager receives a higher salary offer from their current employer. A retained recruiter revisits their motivations such as lack of development, limited leadership support, or cultural fit, so they make the decision that fits their long-term goals, not short-term comfort.

3. Speed and Structure

The longer the gap between final interview and offer, the higher the chance of a counteroffer. Streamlining timelines shows professionalism and commitment. Delays give the current employer time to react.

Organisations should consider:

• Are we ready to move from final interview to offer within a few days?
• Is the salary and benefits package strong enough to compete?
• Do we have approval processes that slow things down?

Speed signals intent. Retained models make this easier because both client and recruiter are aligned from the start.

4. Transparency Builds Trust

Unclear job descriptions or changing expectations create doubt. A recruitment partnership model prevents this by setting firm parameters around pay, benefits, and progression from the start. That reduces space for comparison when a counteroffer arrives.

5. Recruiters as Advisors

Counteroffers are emotional. People second-guess decisions, and hiring teams can feel frustrated. A retained recruitment partner provides objective advice, keeps communication calm, and helps both sides stay focused on long-term fit.

Example: the PartnerPlus team at Orion works closely with both client and candidate throughout the process. By maintaining open communication, they help clients anticipate counteroffers early and support candidates in making clear, confident decisions.

Key Takeaway for Employers:

Counteroffers happen when communication and timing break down. A retained or hybrid model fixes that by prioritising trust, structure, and alignment at every stage. With the right strategic hiring solutions, businesses can protect their offers, reduce hiring risk, and secure talent that genuinely wants to join.

Building long-term hiring success with PartnerPlus

You can’t control what another employer does to keep their best people. What you can control is how your organisation attracts, engages, and retains top talent. A transparent and consistent candidate experience reduces uncertainty and helps candidates feel confident in their decision to join you.

Every business faces different hiring challenges. Whether you need an executive leader, a specialist engineer, or a long-term workforce plan, the PartnerPlus team at Orion Group can help.

Our retained recruitment and hybrid executive search solutions are designed to minimise hiring risk, strengthen employer reputation, and give you access to the hidden candidate market. We focus on alignment, communication, and trust so your hiring decisions hold strong long after the offer is made.

PartnerPlus operates as a true recruitment partnership model, working as an extension of your internal team. Together, we build strategic, sustainable solutions that keep your organisation competitive and prepared for the future.

Learn more about PartnerPlus, our hybrid retained search model, here

Contact Me: Martin.Bate@orioneng.com

FAQs about counteroffers and retained recruitment

Why do counteroffers fail?

Most counteroffers fail because they only solve short-term issues such as salary. Research shows that around 80% of professionals who accept a counteroffer leave again within six months. The real reasons people move — poor culture, lack of progression, or leadership gaps — remain unresolved.

How can employers prevent counteroffers?

Start by improving communication during the hiring process. Work with a retained recruitment partner who can assess motivation, manage expectations, and move quickly from final interview to offer. Preparation and pace are the biggest counteroffer deterrents.

What are the benefits of retained recruitment compared to contingent recruitment?

Retained recruitment offers structure, consistency, and commitment on both sides. It’s relationship-based rather than transactional. This allows deeper candidate engagement, better alignment with company culture, and stronger long-term retention.

Does retained search work for executive hiring?

Yes. Executive search is typically delivered through a retained model. It’s ideal for senior and specialist roles where cultural fit, leadership style, and long-term vision matter as much as technical skill.

What is the PartnerPlus model?

PartnerPlus is Orion Group’s hybrid retained recruitment solution. It combines the consultative depth of retained search with the flexibility of contingent recruitment, offering faster access to qualified candidates while maintaining the benefits of structured communication and reduced hiring risk.