Originally Posted by Unregistered

Of course that is going to happen. Put yourself in the shoes of your management. Lets say this employee comes to u and requests for counter offer. You will have these thoughts:
Can i afford to lose him? What exactly is his job scope and how long do i need to retain him until i can finally let him go? Eg. Is he doing crucial work on this project? How long is this project? Are there someone who i can onboard and he can transfer knowledge to this person fast?

Lets say there is no one and the project is coming to an end in 2months. I only need to retain this person for that 2 months. Lets give him what he wants, eg. 30% increment. And get rid of him after 2 months. That 30% will be more than enough to tide him over that other role, and will be high enough such that he feels appreciated etc and wont be too much of a cost to the company since im planning to get rid of him in 2 months.

You may think it is cold hearted etc but this is the reality. Im a manager. And whenever attrition is happening and candidate asks for counter offer, these are the considerations we would have.