Exact Sourcing writes:
This kind of thing is actually more common than you might think. Most people don’t intend to hand in their notice just to be able to engineer a pay rise. Sometimes it will just happen and they will be shocked and not sure how to handle it, and in some cases they might decide that it’s ‘better the devil you know’ so they might opt to stay put.
It’s important to remember that their current employers will have got to know them well and are in a strong position to use that existing relationship to try to convince them to stay. In reality, the cost to any business of losing a member of staff goes beyond the actual salary, especially when you factor in the training and development that may have been provided and the fees associated with recruiting.
If you find that you’re competing with a counter offer, it can be worth matching the salary.