Keeping and developing talented staff is today’s biggest challenges for estate agency bosses.

Specialist recruiter Joshua Rayner said that counter offers – where current employers bid against prospective employers for a particular candidate – have become increasingly common and are here to stay.

Rayner said that it is crucial for employers to understand someone’s reason for wanting to change jobs.

Rayner warns that it is a tricky area, because the candidate may have already resigned and, if they accept an offer to stay, they will always be seen as a “flight risk”.

If the market continues to boom, the employee’s trust with the employer will already have been broken; if the market deteriorates, that employee may be the first one out of the door.

Rayner also says that counter offers are usually a waste of time: 80% of people who accept a counter offer to stay leave within six months – because it was not just about getting more money.

He openly admits it is a frustration for recruiters who  have head-hunted the perfect candidate for their next role, but then find themselves with no fee and only a lot of wasted time to reflect on.

Rayner advises potential employers who do not manage to snare their bright candidate to keep in friendly contact – especially for those crucial first six months.

He said: “If they’re a superstar candidate and a great fit for your team, the chances are that you’ll still have a need for them in the future.

“Think about it: by keeping in touch with them, guess who they’ll be calling first when they’re back in the market within six months.”

The insights are part of Rayner Personnel’s Salary Guide and Market Insights 2016.

The document also gives tables of national salaries, and of earnings in London and the north-west region.

The highest paid is a London sales regional partner, who could earn a total of £160,000, including commission.

The average pay for a sales negotiator is a basic of £18,000 plus minimum commission of £10,000, making a total of £28,000.

However, Rayner says pay structures differ massively from firm to firm, and location to location, with commission-only pay becoming more common.

The full report is at http://www.flipsnack.com/rayner/rayner-personnel-marketing-insights-2016.html