By Debbie Bunch
May 28, 2025
Today’s competitive job market for RTs means most therapists have at least thought about looking around to see what else is out there. And for many, it’s not because they are unhappy in their current job. They want to know if they can boost their salaries.
What can respiratory care managers do to keep these people on the job? One potential solution is to make a counteroffer to the employee who comes in to resign.
Should employees expect that to happen?
Two RT managers with experience in this area share their thoughts with us here.
You need to be worth it
Amy Dirksen, executive director of specialty care services at the Joint Township District Memorial Hospital in St. Mary’s, OH, makes several counteroffers a year and has found them to be successful in retaining staff.
However, that doesn’t mean every staff member who comes in with the intention of resigning gets one.
“The employee needs to be worth the time to get a counteroffer approved,” she emphasized. “I do not routinely counteroffer for the mediocre employee. I’m all about building a team, and if the employee isn’t value added to my team, I won’t go out on a limb to incentivize them to stay.”
She has found that top performers who come in with another offer have usually been recruited by other, larger hospitals. While her organization may not be able to match those offers, if she can provide some movement within their existing range, she can usually get them to stay. And that generally pays off for her with employee loyalty.
“They appreciate the work I do to recognize their value,” said Dirksen.
Still, she always tries to keep it fair. “The other key factor I look at is comparisons within the work area,” she said. “I won’t make counteroffers that will place the employee far above other tenured staff.”
However, Dirksen emphasizes that while equity and fairness are essential, wage compression over time is also inevitable and maintaining employee satisfaction is a balancing act.
Upfront honesty makes a difference
For Regan Sullivan, RRT, respiratory care director at Jackson Hospital & Clinic in Montgomery, AL, the decision to offer someone more money to stay on the job depends on how upfront the staff member has been with her regarding their need for more money.
“It depends on the situation,” she said. “If someone has told me that they will have to look for another job to make more money, I will use their offer from another facility to try and get upper management to match it — hopefully, department-wide. I usually do not offer counteroffers if they have not said anything to me before looking.”
Sullivan’s perspective was born from her experiences with counteroffers when she first became a manager.
“Early in my management career, I would try to counteroffer if anyone came into my office to resign because of higher pay,” she said. “I found that the ones who had not mentioned looking because of money to me prior to resigning did not stay in the long run if I counter-offered, and often created problems for the time they did stay.”
By only making counteroffers to staff members who have previously had an honest discussion with her about their needs prior to seeking a new position, she finds she most often retains a valuable employee.
“I have found that team members who do not talk with me about money or other issues that can result in them looking for another job already have one foot out the door,” she said. “They’re already looking to leave, and while I may be able to keep them for a few months, they inevitably leave.”
Consider your options
RT managers have different opinions on the whole concept of counteroffers. In this job market, though, if you are a standout staff member, you may be offered a boost in pay to stay. So, take some time to consider your response and make sure it makes sense for your career not just today, but over the long term as well.
