This is part of a series of blog posts written for UK Recruiter by the team at BlueSky PR. If you didn’t make the event (or this particular session) it’s a nice summary of the key points and shares some must use sites. You can view photos from the event on our Facebook Page and the slides from all presentations are on SlideShare.
Next up at the UK Recruiter conference was ‘Planning an Exit…Or Just Exit Curious?’ with Dan McGuire and Graham Palfery-Smith, two men who certainly have valuable experience on the subject.
This was an upbeat and engaging presentation that focused on the key things you need to think about when preparing your business for sale. Amongst the horror stories of missing accounts and mountains of due diligence papers were some crucial tips for any recruitment business head to take into account.
The presentation focused on 4 key tips for anyone planning an exit strategy:
Be clear on what you are and are not: This is vital for anyone considering an exit from their organisation. Buyers aren’t going to be impressed by a company’s plans for the future; they will want a realistic portrayal of where you stand in your market at the moment. The heads of the business should have a look at their roles and responsibilities as well as weigh their value to the company. Are they making strategic decisions that can benefit the organisation in the long run? They should also look to clearly define their business and what it does as well as considering if decision making is equally spread amongst the heads of the company.
Hire and KEEP good people: Dan and Graham both highlighted the importance of having and retaining top talent. After a brief survey of the audience that found about 50% of business head’s time was taken up recruiting and professionals for their own company, we focused on the cost of replacing this talent. For a Fortune 500 company to replace a mid-manager it costs on average a staggering $186,000, showing just how important it is to keep current staff happy. Not only this, but it was explained how prospective buyers will often speak to managers to try and gain a true understanding of what a business is like. We were also told about the value Non-Executive Directors can bring to a growing company and why every organisation should look to have at least one on their board.
Understand what drives your business: Next, Dan focused on how businesses should look to develop a culture of fast-paced and informed decision making at senior level. Further down the company you should be aiming to create a model that isn’t dependent on the senior figures in the business, this is something that will help to make you more attractive for sale. Buyers will not be interested in a company that requires its founder to be successful; they will want to see a sustainable and independent business that can run without its leaders.
Keep profit making behaviour: Rather than planning solely so you can sell your organisation, Graham and Dan explained how you plan for growth after the sale as this makes a business more appealing to buyers. They also described how everyone should be treated in the same way regardless of performance as some professionals can’t be effectively measured by traditional KPIs. Dan highlighted an example of a top biller who began to neglect the rest of his work the more successful he became. This is exactly what a business head doesn’t want to happen; the profit making behaviour that has made your organisation successful should be held on to.
