Buying a Business With Existing Employees: Show Me Your Resume

A very difficult situation for an entrepreneur is buying an existing business, one that already has employees. One strategy he had used was to ask each employee for a resume, as if they were reapplying for the new entity or company. Why you ask, well, this shows that everything is new, changes and we are reaffirming your status here. It lets everyone know that it is a different management, we do things according to the book, and whatever is happening before, it stops now, and we are not going to point the finger: everyone starts again with clean slate. . See that point.

The other day, I was talking to an entrepreneur who is possibly considering taking over an existing business for sale, there are already several employees working there, however, he was not sure who was the main employee or who was dragging down. the earnings. What is my advice here you ask? Well, if you’re in a similar situation to anyone who bought a used small business, you might want to see the team dynamics there, one or two employees might not be doing their part and dragging the best employees down. .

Therefore, you may have to fire someone, or even clean the house, during the first few months of taking over the business. Expect this to be the case, as it usually is, and be prepared for it, even if that doesn’t happen. Will you need a clean break, or won’t you be able to fix or reform the business in your own way to get the best Six Sigma-style efficiency you see? Also, if the former owner has damaged the reputation of the company in any way, it may be due to a bad attitude of one or more employees towards their customers.

This can be remedied, but only if everyone is on the same page. If the previous way had caused poor customer service, you don’t want to keep practicing the definition of insanity; doing things the same way and expecting different results. By asking each employee to fill out a new application and resume, everyone will get the idea, plus you can explain that they will be competing against people who want to apply for the job. You can tell them that having experience will give them a slight edge, but nothing is guaranteed.

This is a good way to get everyone to perform at their best to make that transition, so consider all of this and think about it.