[derekja]

It's hard in a big company in that the decision maker is really the hiring manager, but HR protocol gets in the way. So if the prospective hire is unhappy with the offer they have to formally decline it and then the hiring manager has to come back at HR to get them to tender a better offer. Things can happen in that process - other candidates, having to change leveling to reach the desired offer, etc. If your decision maker is the one actually in charge of the whole process then I absolutely agree that there is no downside to negotiating. Look forward to your blog post!