Ellis Watson has ways of calling the bluff of people who use resignation as a way of flushing out a pay rise

To resign or not to resign, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to do a runner to pastures new, or suffer the slings and arrows of sticking

it out. Thats the question that, statistically

speaking, one in 15 people in your company are considering right now. It is widely accepted that in times of severe economic downturn, resignations slow down as people have fewer new opportunities and more desire to stick with the comparative safety of their current employer. In my experience however, in times of general uncertainty the converse is true. People look to jump while there are still opportunities to jump to and this breeds greater movement. The more people resign, the more vacancies there are; the more vacancies, the more choice; the more choice, the more temptation to jump.

In your capacity within HR, you may do all you can to ensure that levels of remuneration, motivation and

cultural health are the best possible. But you cant ever stop some people preparing the shortest letter of their life, and asking for five minutes for a little chat. On the rare occasions when the chat is with someone whom youd have willingly fired, you get a euphoric feeling. You avoid eye contact, wish them every success in their chosen career and get them out of your office before whooping cheers replace your forced sombre look. Sadly, however, its the good people who go, as competitors realise what you have helped nurture and they want to steal their talents.

There is little you can do to pre-empt a resignation unless you are forearmed. People normally keep ideas of doing a runner under wraps. However I picked up a little trick for detecting waverers a few years ago. You will need to get a friend to telephone an employee of yours who you are worried may be considering moving on. Under the guise of a headhunter your friend will offer a fictitious opportunity that is realistically appealing but not stupidly flattering and so establish if the employee is loyally staying put, or preparing for the starting blocks. This knowledge is powerful and Ive used it a few times in the past to great effect.

In most cases, however, you get no warning and are faced with a resignation there and then. It is one of those occasions where your immediate actions dictate an irreversible path. Playing for time which is often deployed immediately allows the departing talent to lead. They have the employer on the back foot, often forced to play the hand they hope will make the would-be leaver reconsider.

The trouble with this is that often more often than most people believe a resignation is designed to do exactly this: raise the package. People either apathetically solicit an alternative offer of a job, or in the braver cases invent an offer just to flush out pay rises or promotions.

There is one absolutely foolproof way to eliminate this, and I love it. An employer can let it be known

that if people wish to resign, then they do so on

the understanding that their resignation will be

immediately accepted. No ifs, no buts, just thank you, good luck and please do/do not work your notice. This no-bull approach has been used to great effect during my time as managing director at Celador International.

In true Richard and Judy link-style, I would like to close this missive by saying that I did exactly this and recently resigned to take up the position of general manager of Mirror Group Newspapers. I dont know how many work in its HR function but if you come across them, be nice.

So, dear readers, this will be my last column. Thank you to the many hundreds of readers who have taken the time to send compliments and death threats in almost equal quantity, and I look forward to my next controversial appearance in Human Resources pages its about time this country saw a massive labour tribunal.