What about the equally-valuable employees who are very happy with their jobs and don't choose to interview? Won't they become a little less happy, once they know they're making less than the guy who was a little unhappy and chose to interview?
It's always been the case that those who negotiate effectively tend to end up with better compensation than those who don't. I wouldn't expect re-negotiation to turn out any different.
I'd guess that those who are unhappy that their co-workers successfully re-negotiate their compensation would tend to be just as unhappy when a new employee negotiates a compensation package better than theirs. I doubt there's much you can do to make those people happy, short of helping them to be better negotiators themselves.
I've had experience with a company who responded to this sort of employee dismay by putting salary caps on new hires. The end result was, predictably, that the really talented people we found walked away when the company refused to negotiate, and pressure to increase head count forced the company to hire a lot of less-than-ideal candidates.
Regarding the use of offer letters to negotiate - it seems like a risky tactic. The appeasement is certainly not sustainable, and when they start refusing to counter-offer, those employees better be ready to make good on their threat of leaving.
It's always been the case that those who negotiate effectively tend to end up with better compensation than those who don't. I wouldn't expect re-negotiation to turn out any different.
I'd guess that those who are unhappy that their co-workers successfully re-negotiate their compensation would tend to be just as unhappy when a new employee negotiates a compensation package better than theirs. I doubt there's much you can do to make those people happy, short of helping them to be better negotiators themselves.
I've had experience with a company who responded to this sort of employee dismay by putting salary caps on new hires. The end result was, predictably, that the really talented people we found walked away when the company refused to negotiate, and pressure to increase head count forced the company to hire a lot of less-than-ideal candidates.
Regarding the use of offer letters to negotiate - it seems like a risky tactic. The appeasement is certainly not sustainable, and when they start refusing to counter-offer, those employees better be ready to make good on their threat of leaving.