Congratulations, you got the offer! You’ve rounded the last curve on the way to your next executive position. Before you can cross the finish line and celebrate, you need to negotiate and secure a winning employment agreement. This is the 2nd in a two-part series. In Part 1, we discussed the need for hiring an employment attorney to guide you and help you consider your best interests. Here in Part 2, we’ll address negotiating the employment agreement.
• What’s Up for Negotiation:
◦ Typical: Start date. Vacation. Health insurance benefits. Salary. Bonus. Car allowance. Relocation expenses. Temporary housing. Stock options. Shares. Severance packages. (The right time to negotiate exit pay and benefits is when you and your employer don’t think you’ll need it.)
◦ Miscellaneous must-haves: An assistant. Special holidays. Option to work remotely X-number of days per week, per month, or seasonally.
◦ Unique asks: Flights for your spouse when business takes you away over the weekend. Moving a 1000-bottle wine collection (cha-ching!). One candidate I worked with successfully negotiated in his employment agreement the transport of his collection of 10 vintage trucks from Los Angeles to Chicago!
• Timing Matters. Don’t wait until after the verbal offer to spring new, significant information. As a search consultant, I recommended a C – Suite candidate who, despite our thorough due diligence, waited until after the verbal offer to disclose he would be leaving behind a $75,000 bonus and expected his new employer to cover the loss. After investing so much time and expense into his recruitment, learning this significant detail so late in the game totally blind-sided me and the hiring organization. The client and I hit pause to regroup. It was a moment of ethical discussion. The offer was withdrawn. And I changed how I asked financial questions!
• Consider the Negotiation Process a Final Interview. The final negotiation is a critical part of the executive hiring process. As an executive search consultant, I typically requested the hiring executive be actively engaged in making the offer as well as the employment negotiation. This is the first real business discussion or deal in which they will engage with the candidate, and it’s important for the hiring leader to experience how the new executive handles it. The converse is also true: this is your chance to see how the organization you’re seriously considering joining handles business negotiations before you join them.
• Consult and Employment Attorney at the Beginning and End of Employment. In Part 1 of this blog, we discussed the role of the employment attorney and always having your best interest. This applies both for considering the agreement you strike with the new organization you’ll be joining, but also understanding implications associated with the organization you’ll be leaving.
Several years ago, a friend called for advice as she prepared to leave her senior position at a well-known bank. I strongly urged her to hire an employment attorney to review and advise her before she signed anything. She listened but also mentioned she sincerely knew her long-term employer would handle it fairly and she felt the severance compensation was generous. Though I knew it would be money well spent, she really did not want to pay for or involve a lawyer. Awhile later, we ran into each other, and she took me aside. “As my punishment, I need to tell you I did not follow your sage advice to hire an attorney when I Ieft the bank,” she said. “Recently, I found out I left $20,000 on the table. If I had paid $500 for an attorney’s advice, I’d have walked away with a bigger package and would be taking that special cruise I was dreaming about!”
As a strategic career advisor, I help senior executives land their first or next C-suite position. But once you get an offer, it’s up to you to secure a winning employment agreement—from total compensation and work-life considerations to preparing upfront for the day you’ll eventually walk out the door. In the excitement of receiving an offer, don’t nickel and dime yourself as you cross the finish line to your new role. Negotiate the offer and hire an employment attorney to look out for your best interests now and in the years ahead.
As your strategic advisor my mission is to help ensure you’re prepared for interview success—whether it takes place around a traditional boardroom table or via videoconference. Through The Montague Method, I’ll share my Secrets from a Search Consultant™ to help you land your first or next C-suite position. Explore the rest of my website to learn more and schedule a complementary 20-minute exploratory consultation.
