The Last Mile of Hiring: How to Avoid Losing Candidates to Counter-Offers

In Hong Kong, a signed offer isn't a done deal. The cost of a current employer retaining someone with a raise is usually lower than the cost of hiring a replacement from scratch — which is exactly why counter-offers are the norm, not the exception. As an employer, if your risk assessment for a hiring process stops at "the offer has been signed," this is often exactly where you lose the candidate at the last step.

Why counter-offers are especially common in Hong Kong

The supply of senior talent in Hong Kong is genuinely limited, and hiring cycles run long — together, these two factors make it economically rational for a current employer to retain someone with a pay raise. Compared to the cost of recruiting, training, and absorbing lost productivity during a vacancy, a raise is often the cheaper option. This is exactly why counter-offers show up so often for senior or specialist roles. It's also worth noting that some candidates accept a new offer specifically to use it as leverage for a raise at their current employer, without genuinely intending to leave — this happens more often throughout the process than most employers expect.

Signals that a candidate might end up being retained

The following are signals we pay particular attention to during the actual placement process:

• The stated reason for leaving is only about money, with no structural reason offered. If a candidate's answer to "why are you leaving" consistently circles back to compensation, without mentioning stalled progression, reporting line issues, or limited development opportunities, this candidate has a noticeably higher chance of being retained by a counter-offer.

• No genuine dissatisfaction with the current company or manager. If a candidate speaks positively about their current environment, team, or manager, and is simply looking for a higher number, the moment the current employer offers a raise, the stated reason for leaving disappears.

• Repeated delays in submitting a resignation letter. An offer has already been signed, but the resignation keeps getting pushed back, with "I'll sort it out in a day or two" repeated each time — this is a signal worth taking seriously.

• Passive engagement and frequent rescheduling throughout the interview process. If a candidate has needed constant schedule accommodation and shown a generally passive attitude throughout the process, that level of engagement tends to correlate directly with whether they actually follow through to their start date.

Why "the money is settled" doesn't mean the risk is gone

A counter-offer typically targets the exact same lever — compensation. If a candidate's original reason for leaving was money, the current employer will always have leverage, because raising pay is usually cheaper for them than replacing the person. Conversely, if a candidate's real motivation is career development, reporting structure, or a structural dissatisfaction with their current role, a raise alone won't stop them — even a higher counter-offer often isn't enough to change their decision. So the real question when assessing "is this offer safe" isn't whether the offer itself is attractive enough — it's understanding the candidate's actual underlying reason for leaving.

What can be done at the offer stage

The most effective defence doesn't happen after a candidate has signed the offer — it needs to happen before the offer is even extended. First, ask the candidate directly: "If they offered you a raise of X, what would you do?" This question needs to be asked at the offer stage, not after the resignation letter has been submitted, because by that point the candidate often no longer has time to think it through clearly and will just react in the moment.

Second, confirm whether the reason for leaving is structural rather than emotional — a resignation impulse triggered by a recent argument with a manager or a difficult project is a different thing entirely from a long-accumulated structural dissatisfaction, and the former is far more easily reversed by a raise or an apology. Third, shorten the gap between the offer and the actual start date as much as possible, since the longer this window stays open, the more time both the current employer and the candidate have to reconsider and renegotiate. Finally, even when a particular candidate looks secure, keep the second-choice candidate warm — don't loosen contact with them just because this placement seems settled.

If the candidate is retained anyway

If a candidate ultimately is retained by a counter-offer, the first judgment call is whether it's worth continuing to compete for them. Honestly, at this point, it usually isn't — a candidate who has already indicated they're staying, even if persuaded to reconsider in the short term, no longer carries the same level of trust and commitment toward your company as they did the moment they first accepted the offer. The more practical move is to go back to the original second-choice candidate, or assess whether the hiring process needs to restart entirely — this decision should be based on the urgency of the role and the second-choice candidate's current status, not on reluctance to start over.

This situation isn't rare in the placements we handle, particularly for senior or specialist roles. As for how recruitment fees are typically handled when a candidate is retained by a counter-offer, this is generally addressed through terms set out in the service agreement, and the specific arrangement varies by contract and role — we'd recommend confirming this with your consultant at the point of engaging a search, rather than addressing it only after the situation arises. At the contract level, employers can also build in terms that provide a degree of protection against this kind of risk — the specific approach is best discussed directly with your consultant so it can be tailored to your situation.

If you'd like to understand how we manage this last-mile risk as part of our executive search service, feel free to reach out to our consulting team directly.

Worried your next senior hire gets pulled back by a counter-offer at the last minute?

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*This article reflects HR Plus's general observations from actual recruitment processes and does not constitute legal or contractual advice, nor does it represent any specific client or case. For specific contract terms and fee arrangements, please consult your assigned recruitment consultant directly.