Showing ex-employees respect is an indication of a ‘mature’ business leader – Recruiter Francesca Ellul

Francesca Ellul, Recruiter and Founder of Pursue Consultancy, on Wednesday highlighted that business leaders still need to show respect towards employees that choose to resign.

Employee relations are integral at all facets of the workplace, as a business leader that maintains a healthy relationship with the rest of the team will make great strides towards having a more motivated workforce.

However, what happens when an employee chooses to leave the company? Will the business leader continue to treat them with respect?

Ms Ellul, who has years of experience in human resources and recruitment, explored this, remarking that if a business leader’s first thought after someone resigns is “we didn’t lose anything special, they did us a favour”, then all they do is “sound sour”.

She added: “So you’ve kept the individual in their role, sometimes for years, but you weren’t happy with their performance and thank God they’ve left? Right…”

While this might sometimes be the case, Ms Ellul emphasised that it only happens “sometimes” and not “every time”.

“Appreciating an employee even after they’ve resigned shows a strong sense of leadership and maturity,” she remarked.

“Don’t bad mouth a now ex-employee just because you’ve taken their resignation personally. Let’s do better,” Ms Ellul concluded.

Eastrock Group Head of Data & Insights Charlene Cassar was in agreement, adding that whenever she looks at a job offer, she has started paying attention to how companies talk about other employees when they are not around.

“If they speak positively and show respect for their team, that’s a good sign that it’s a healthy workplace where people are appreciated. However, if they’re being negative or trash talking, it might be a warning sign of a toxic environment,” she explained.

Ms Ellul launched Pursue Consultancy in 2021, allowing her to support candidates through resume writing and consultancy services to find job opportunities either independently or through the firm as a recruitment agency. Prior to that, she worked in various recruitment-related positions at StreetHR, Nicholls Moisa, iGaming Elite, and Reed Specialist Recruitment.