If you are a business owner in a competitive environment, then it is important that you take action to protect yourself and the investments that you have made in your business operations, your marketing efforts, your hiring and the training that you have provided to key employees. One of the most effective ways of doing this is by requiring that employees, investors, and former owners sign non-compete contracts that bar them from engaging in competition against your organization for a specified period of time. A non-compete contract establishes an agreement that may be related to a specific trade or industry, a geographic region, or the sharing of information. There are a number of significant advantages to having one of these important contracts in place.
The primary purpose and advantage of having a non-compete agreement, also known as a covenant not to compete, is that it provides a clear degree of protection. Whether the signor of a non-compete agreement is an owner who has sold their business and agrees to a period of time during which they will not establish a competing business or an employee who is prohibited from taking sales techniques and product information to a competitor, a non-compete contract provides a certain level of confidence that proprietary information will remain intact for a period of time and that inside information about their company will not be used against them.
In addition to providing this type of protection, there are other advantages to having non-compete contracts in place. These include:
- Providing an additional layer of value to your company if you are giving consideration to placing it for sale, as the restrictive covenants will offer a greater level of confidence in key employees’ loyalty to a potential buyer.
- Providing proof of trade secret protection efforts. Should you find yourself in a position of having to pursue trade secret protection in court, having non compete contracts in place will serve as evidence of your efforts to keep information confidential.
- Provides the ability to protect a client base. As every business owner knows, an employee’s departure from a company has the potential for clients following them wherever they go, whether to a competitor or starting their own competing business. Having a non compete contract in place provides a cushion during which you are able to instill and renew client confidence.
- Provides protection of your investment in training an employee. Many businesses that do not invest in establishing non compete contract find themselves providing specialized training to employees who then leave and go to the competitor.
- Deters employees from leaving to go to competitors, and competitors from recruiting employees away. The clear establishment of the ground rules for what will provoke litigation are often all the protection that is needed.
Business owners who are interested in protecting their client base, their trade secrets and their overall value would be well advised to put non compete contracts in place. The experienced attorneys at Bochetto & Lentz can help you to craft an agreement that will provide you with the protection that you need.
Learn more about Non-Compete Contracts here – https://www.bochettoandlentz.com/philadelphia-non-compete-agreements/
