Risk in Accepting Current Companies Retention Package?

[riser4]

No. I actually built a model that forecasted this exact scenario a year ago. Our Physics PhD data analyst vetted my work and agreed with it. We presented it to the execs almost exactly a year ago.

The model was accurate to within 3% at 6 months out and 8% at one year. It is a personal point of pride that it was so damn accurate. I wish it would have changed things, but it didn't. The execs stayed the course because of a pending acquisition that netted each of them many, many millions of dollars.

Nice. Execs treating the company like a personal ATM. What other reason do you need to bail?

[Brock Landers]

i typed out some long b.s. but deleted it just to say go to the new job, congrats on landing it. were you looking or did they find you?

[jamesp]

Nice. Execs treating the company like a personal ATM. What other reason do you need to bail?

Well wouldn't you do the same? Building up a business then selling is a real good way to make $$. There is significant risk involved. The OP is happy with the safer option of being a employee (NTTAWWT) but then complains when others who have taken the risk want to take advantage? If he really knew how to run the place as well as he thinks he does, he wouldn't be asking for advice here...

[CareerQuestion]

i typed out some long b.s. but deleted it just to say go to the new job, congrats on landing it. were you looking or did they find you?

Thanks! They found me. I told them I was happy and wasn't looking to move. They asked how much would make me consider leaving. I told them a range and they gave me an offer near the top of that range.

Well wouldn't you do the same? Building up a business then selling is a real good way to make $$. There is significant risk involved. The OP is happy with the safer option of being a employee (NTTAWWT) but then complains when others who have taken the risk want to take advantage? If he really knew how to run the place as well as he thinks he does, he wouldn't be asking for advice here...

Where the hell did I complain? I explained that I wasn't one of the causes of the ship sinking and that I accurately forecasted this scenario playing out a year ago. It was the execs' company (it is no longer their company), so they had every right to manage (or lack-thereof) as they saw fit.

Several coworkers and I tried to shed light on this for them, but they decided to stay the course. They did make money off the deal. They could have made a lot more and gotten a higher valuation had they taken some of the feedback into account.

[Platinum Pete]

The vast majority of workers who accept a company's counter leave within 12 months anyway. So, is this the opportunity you want to leave for? Or will the next one be? Either way, you're as good as gone.

Mrs. C accepted a counter a few years back. She was glad for the salary bump that she got and she used that to find an even higher paying new job a bit less than a year later. The fact of the matter is that underlying factors in her case (and likely yours) made her start to consider other offers in the first place and those factors didn't change just because they offered her more $$$.

Agree with the top statement here and endorse following the example of Mrs. C if the new opportunity has many flaws.
An important thing to keep an eye on, especially at your career and life stage, is to work for people and places that will accelerate your career down the line. That could be working for and with really smart people, following a great mentor, or going with a growing industry. Given your concern about your role and industry as being niche in an area where you're not likely to find many more opportunities like that, the safer move is probably to go for the broader marketing role as long as you'll get exposure to a wide variety of the marketing channels. You don't want to be the specialist in some fading channel within the marketing department (direct mail analyst or somesuch), that's just going to drive you into a dying niche.
More money is important, whether you get it from the current place or the next. If you take the retention package, consider it your last raise for a way long time (or until you depart) and factor that in, where as with the new gig you are probably up for review within 18 months and have the opportunity for a percentage increase.
Most signs point to moving on now or soon. Make sure you've done your diligence on the market and that your offer from the new place is market competitive - just because it's a nice bump from your current pay doesn't mean it's the most you can get on the open market. Also ask yourself if this is a place you would have chosen if you were out on the open ob market, it's easy to say yes to things that conveniently drop in your lap, but that doesn't mean it fits what your career plan is (or would be if you had a plan).
Good luck.

[OldLarry]

Had a few but if I am reading this right, you told the founders the co was fucked and then they sold it? Did they keep a stake it it? How much? Did the new owners get these #s before the transaction?

Run, dude. And tell the sellers you need a payout or you will reveal they withheld vital info-

[CareerQuestion]

Had a few but if I am reading this right, you told the founders the co was fucked and then they sold it? Did they keep a stake it it? How much? Did the new owners get these #s before the transaction?

Run, dude. And tell the sellers you need a payout or you will reveal they withheld vital info-

That's pretty much it. At the time I presented my forecast I was unaware they were planning to sell the company. They sold a majority stake 6 weeks later and it is my best guess that they withheld the information I presented from the company that bought us. The amount that they made off the sale was in the 9 figure range. The sale was broadcast on CNBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, etc.

Pretty fucked up when I think about it and write it down.

At the time of the sale, I was asked to sign a noncompete/NDA under the new company. All of my coworkers signed the document, but I refused because it was extremely unreasonable and didn't offer any financial consideration for me or anyone who signed it. This led to a couple heated discussions between me and management above me. Things dragged on for months. CEO (former owner) thought everything was settled and everyone signed, but I never did. Our CFO came to me one day and asked if I wanted to be the one to break it to the CEO that I hadn't signed the document.

I went into the CEO's office, told him that I hadn't signed the doc and that the exec in charge of my department never brought up my concerns or my refusal to sign to him. A very heated conversation between the CEO and I took place, and I still refused to sign.

I was prepared to walk away and thought I may get canned for standing up, but the issue just kinda went away. I never signed. I still got some large bonuses even after my conversation with the CEO. I think he was afraid the board would find out that I had effectively been working without a contract for the better part of a year and freak out and/or there was some requirement for all employees to sign the doc as part of the transaction and my not signing it would perhaps be a problem for him financially.

All of this played out, but I still progressed in my role, got sent to expensive conferences, went out to really nice dinners on the company's dime, etc. I was actually a bit surprised that the exec I threw under the bus was so adamant about getting me a retention package, but that's the way things went down.

[CareerQuestion]

Whelp, I am GTFO of this current company.

I ended up negotiating for additional PTO at the new company. i'll start mid June with a 14 PTO days in my bank to be used through the remainder of 2014 and have 4 weeks PTO in 2015. That sweetened the deal enough for me to sign. It's all squared away.

[Cruiser]

That's a good call. Who knows what the future holds? But this move is sure to look good on your resume and just think of the mid-week pow days you'll get next season if you can actually manage to take some of those newly acquired vacation days.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using TGR Forums

[spook]

does this mean we don't have to listen to sadvres talk about "almost" 6 figures anymore?

[CareerQuestion]

That's a good call. Who knows what the future holds? But this move is sure to look good on your resume and just think of the mid-week pow days you'll get next season if you can actually manage to take some of those newly acquired vacation days.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using TGR Forums

Thanks!

Said a lot of good stuff

Thanks for the response. I really appreciate all that you said. Some really good points.

does this mean we don't have to listen to sadvres talk about "almost" 6 figures anymore?

I believe adverse lives in Boston and is a creative/video dude.

[CareerQuestion]

Update to all this-

-The new company was an absolute shit show. Nothing got done. In two months more than 10 people either left or got fired out of an office of 40 something people. Apparently they had a turnover rate >60% year over year. Those who stayed played job for exactly 40 hours per week. It was miserable.

-After leaving my job in the mobile advertising world I had several companies recruiting me to go back there. I ended up getting two offers

-I accepted a director level role at a company where I have several friends that pays $120k/year and gave notice to the company where I've worked for the past two months. I may have burned a bridge there, but that place was really terrible and staying there was definitely not going to help my career.

All in all, it feels good to go from $80k to $120k over a two month period. It's a bit of a bummer the way it all went down, but I might not have gotten the $120k offer if I was coming directly from $80k per year.

[DBdude]

Update to all this-

-The new company was an absolute shit show. Nothing got done. In two months more than 10 people either left or got fired out of an office of 40 something people. Apparently they had a turnover rate >60% year over year. Those who stayed played job for exactly 40 hours per week. It was miserable.

-After leaving my job in the mobile advertising world I had several companies recruiting me to go back there. I ended up getting two offers

-I accepted a director level role at a company where I have several friends that pays $120k/year and gave notice to the company where I've worked for the past two months. I may have burned a bridge there, but that place was really terrible and staying there was definitely not going to help my career.

All in all, it feels good to go from $80k to $120k over a two month period. It's a bit of a bummer the way it all went down, but I might not have gotten the $120k offer if I was coming directly from $80k per year.

GREAT!

No risk no gain. It sounds like you made good decisions and were rewarded.

[CareerQuestion]

GREAT!

No risk no gain. It sounds like you made good decisions and were rewarded.

Thanks.

It's interesting to see how bunched up certain panties get when employees take "at will" relationships and use them to their advantage.

The exec team at the company I left had huge turnover in the ranks and was firing people without notice. Despite their high profitability, they were keeping wages down for a lot of their workers and citing "paying market rates" as the reason. Basically, they were operating as if it was 2009 or 2010 and the recession was in full swing while employee after employee got offers for 20% more to go elsewhere.

Get a job making more money and give two weeks notice and they get pissed off like you are committing some crime.

"You constantly cite "the free market" as a reason for doing what you do. I'm accepting a job with higher pay that the market is obviously dictating, asshole."

Treat your employees well and they won't want to leave you. How fucking hard is it?

[Art Shirk]

Treat your employees well and they won't want to leave you. How fucking hard is it?

The execs blow through 99% of their synapses trying to figure out how to retain 99% of their clients and 1% on retaining people who retain their clients.

[CareerQuestion]

The execs blow through 99% of their synapses trying to figure out how to retain 99% of their clients and 1% on retaining people who retain their clients.

Yep. It's even worse though- they are doing everything that they can to onboard new clients while current clients and employees jump ship.