Concerned That Employees Will Be Your Competition?

It can happen in almost any company in the UK or anywhere else: Sometimes employees open up their own business for themselves and become competition.

Nick Vacco, owner of Detail King, an auto-detailer training company, shares some of his thoughts on this:

•  Listen well during interviews: Naturally, you want the right individuals for the job, people who want to work and not those finding ways to generate their own business sales leads to start up their own business. Ask applicants where they envision themselves in the coming three years. If they answered that they plan to begin their own business (like a lead generation company) within the same vertical as yours, then, that’s one thing to think about. But if they say that they want to work and advance their career in your company, then you can seriously give them a chance to work with you.

•  Have a noncompete agreement: For your new hires, you can let them sign a noncompete agreement/CNC (Covenant not to Compete), also known as Restraint of Trade in UK . If your state implements these kinds of agreements, you could implement signing one to be a non-negotiable condition for employees working at your firm. However, it’s better to check with your lawyer first, since holding workers to this agreement should strike a balance between an employee’s right to start his own business and the employer’s right in protecting their own interests.

•  Let go of paranoia. Nevertheless, never always presume that each job applicant wants more than just a job and will eventually start their own businesses one day. If you do, you’ll be managing with a paranoid mindset. What's more, you don’t want to hire applicants without a bit of ambition at all, right? It can be reflected in how they perform their tasks.