Of 1,700 employers surveyed, 48% said they counter offered staff.

However, 80% of counter offered staff still left the business within a year; 30% left as planned despite the counter offer, 42% stayed less than 3 months and 8% stayed between 3 and 12 months.

Only 20% of those counter offered remained with the business longer than 12 months.

“As the skills shortage continues, employers will increase their efforts to attract, retain and reward quality staff,” said Hays Resources & Mining regional director Ben Hiles.

“So in cases where an employee with skills in demand resigns, many employers understandably try to counter offer them.

“But this is rarely a successful retention strategy because the employee already has several other offers on the table. They’ve applied for and seriously considered other vacancies so their decision to leave the company was made long ago.”

Hiles said employees should reflect on the reasons why they initially looked for a new role when considering a counter-offer.

“Despite the fact that the success of counter offers as a retention strategy is rare, we would not be surprised to see an increase in counter offers in the next twelve months as employers continue to attempt to retain their valued skills,” he said.