Does Publicis demand offer letters during exit interviews?

digitalnomad

A colleague just quit Publicis, and the exit interview got weird. They asked for proof of her new offer letter. She blurred out the comp and company name.

Has anyone dealt with this? 🤔
• Someone mentioned it's for counter-offers
• If not, they can kick rocks
• You can always say no

Seems sketchy but maybe standard?

bigcoffee

I mean, what are they gonna do? Fire you if they don’t comply?

cyberpunk

been there - had a manager ask for the letter so HR could "build a retention package." Polite decline works fine, they can't compel you to share it

jamesaso

Don't give them the satisfaction of a free comp analysis. Where you're headed is none of their business.

dusting

Counteroffers are the only currency that matters here. otherwise, let them kick rocks.

media-buyer-mia

never seen an agency ask for that on the way out. At the senior VP / C-suite level you'll occasionally run into non-competes, but those usually come with a payout to keep you sidelined - and even those have been disappearing from the packages I've seen. doesn't sound like standard exit protocol at all

ppcnerd

Never heard of that. When I left Publicis, the only thing they asked for was an exit interview. I didn't comply. What were they going to do, drag me back?

Sent a heartfelt goodbye to HR so it would be on record along with my last day, and put my director on it. That director was a complete idiot, so didn't bother sending her anything separate. It's not just a courtesy, it's a way for HR to see you're on good terms. They likely keep a record of who left on good terms and who didn't. If they ever want to hire you back, that record matters.

Wrote that individually and to the full group via BCC. But the real value is keeping in touch outside of work. In this industry, networks are the asset that appreciates over time. Leaving well is a quiet investment that pays dividends later.

metricsmuse

Nope, they don't. Used to recruit there, and nobody was ever asked to prove an offer letter on the way out.

maya-b2b

Hard pass on exit interviews. Let them chase you for it - stall, delay, then maybe agree to coffee off the record. Free lunch is the only ROI you'll get.

Anything negative you say becomes ammunition. Anything positive validates the very culture that drove you out. They're not asking for your growth, they're benchmarking the replacement's salary floor.

only real conversation worth having? a decision-maker with actual budget authority putting a retention package on the table. Even then, the discussion isn't "why I'm leaving." It's "what makes me stay." Their move - let them bring the offer letter.

coldcallbeast

Never seen an agency ask for that. Most places just want the resignation letter and maybe an exit interview. Proof of a new offer feels like overreach - what are they gonna do, counter it at that point?

newsletteroperator

that was over a decade back - they only asked so they could counter. didn't bother sharing the letter since there was zero chance I'd stay anyway.

seo-prog-luke

Hmmmm, that sounds illegal as hell, honestly.

retention-expert

they can't actually demand proof in almost every case. The only legal grounds are a non-compete clause in your current contract plus SVP level or above. Publicis just wants to verify you're not hopping to a competing agency or client, like an agency on the same account or a rival brand in the same category. if they decide you are, they can try to block the move.

Should that threat ever show up, hit them with something like "turning down this opportunity would cause financial hardship, and if you have further questions, you're welcome to speak with my lawyer." Whether that lawyer exists is between you and your conscience. they back off real fast once legal gets mentioned.

Outside of that one scenario, you owe them zero details about your new offer or employer. It's at-will employment, and it cuts both ways. They can terminate you tomorrow with no explanation, and you can walk out the door the exact same way

growth-scrapper-dev

A shop I worked at would ask where you were headed, mainly because they'd walk you out on the spot if it was a certain competitor. You're not obligated to answer, though. Same with offer letters: nobody has to hand those over, and demanding proof like that is the kind of thing that gets a company sued.

localpack

That's sketchy, plain and simple. 🚩 Never hand over an offer letter - your new comp is none of their business. Realistically, the "proof" request is just them feeding their own salary benchmarks, not helping you. Worth remembering too: a bunch of US states and cities outright ban employers from digging into salary history, so they've got zero leverage here. Two things though - did she feel bullied by the ask? And which country was this in? Norms around this shift a lot outside the US.

devrel-marketing

Left Publicis about two years back and nobody ever asked me for proof of anything, for what it's worth.

referralgrowthloop

Got asked this before. They wanted to put together a counter offer, so I sent a screenshot of the letter showing the title, salary, and company so they could try to match. They might also want to make sure you aren't breaching a contract by going to a competitor.

fieldevent

We've all seen this move. They're not verifying your offer for your benefit, they're collecting competitive intel on what they need to match to keep talent. Once you hand that over, you've lost all your leverage. the only proof you should ever provide is a resignation letter

gmbpro

publicis has zero business knowing where you're headed next. fuck them and their cheap salaries. Tell Arthur Sadoun to hand out raises instead of banking eight-figure comp while the people doing the actual work scrape by. someone pulling that much in cash and shares knows exactly how underpaid the floor is