hiring an employee

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J

jp

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I have decided to hire some part time help.
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Wondering if anyone has made their employees sign a no-compete contract? Any other suggestions on hiring someone?

Thanks for any advice
 
I personally think this non compete is crap. How can you stop someone that wants to work, I feel if you do this you should have to pay them. I know larger markets it does not work in. Heck in a city you could have a few frame shop within a mile of each other.


I think you need to hire wise and forget about this. Really look for an employee, dont be desparate and hire the first person. Really try.

PL
 
Non-compete = good. Spend a hundered or two and have your attorney write one up consistent with your laws. Not to mention a confidentiality agreement that makes clear your stance on "trade secrets, proprietary information," and all that good stuff.

They aren't bullcrap, they are protection. You aren't running a hair salon. Your customers don't leave with an employee. If the employee chooses to leave for a competitor or frame out of their house you don't want them calling your customers. A non-compete gives you a 6 month (or whatever) cushion. It also protects you against unethical competitors. We've had someone hire someone away from us with the promise of great pay, squeeze as much about us as they could get out of them, and then what do ya know they aren't working there anymore.

Personally, I've come to the conclusion that hiring someone is more of a pain in the neck than working my butt off when I have to and I highly discourage the practice. ;)
 
I've spent more of my career as an employee than as an owner. The three employers who asked me to sign non-competes had all been royally burned by slimy employees who had quit without notice and opened up across the street, or gone to work for the direct competiton with the client list.

I never had a problem signing because I couldn't sleep at night if I ever did something that scummy to someone.

General concensus among barroom attorneys is that they aren't terribly enforcable.
 
Even if you go to the trouble of putting one in place, how are you going to enforce the provisions of a non-compete? You could make a lot of lawyers happy, but will it really help you?
 
Why not check to see if there are any home based framers a little farther away from you? I've been a home based framer for almost 5 years. I work part time for a larger frame shop 11 miles from me. It has been working out great for both of us. I can use his Wizard any time I need it and he lets me order from companies that won't sell to me. In return he gets a dedicated person who does ALL the framing and he can concentrate on marketing. We both win!! We only had two stipulations we had to work out. I agree not to sell my business to any of his customers and I park in the back (I have my business name on my truck) I wouldn't want to ruin a good thing I have so I keep things on the up and up. I've been working for him for almost 2 years and it seems to be working great.
 
I have actually had an old employee that had left and gone to a BB frameshop and they have sent me some of their customers. So it hasn't hurt our business.
 
We had an employee leave us after 2 years and she started working out of her home. It was a little disturbing once we found out, but she didn't last very long. It's hard to work out of your home especially if you work/live out in the country.

A non-compete clause will be used next time we we hire an employee.
 
Originally posted by A Wise:
I work part time for a larger frame shop 11 miles from me. It has been working out great for both of us. I can use his Wizard any time I need it and he lets me order from companies that won't sell to me. In return he gets a dedicated person who does ALL the framing and he can concentrate on marketing. We both win!! We only had two stipulations we had to work out. I agree not to sell my business to any of his customers and I park in the back (I have my business name on my truck) I wouldn't want to ruin a good thing I have so I keep things on the up and up. I've been working for him for almost 2 years and it seems to be working great.
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I am in about the exact opposite situation than this. My new employee is working to prepare a place for framing in his basement. (However, we are close to 30 +/- miles apart.) And I am doing everything I can to help him get started.

I get valuable framing expertise (he will be taking his CPF next Saturday) and he gets business setup help.

It all boils down to ethical employees and ethical employers (which boils down even farther to ethical individuals. I'd hire Meghan in a heartbeat if she were close to here!)
 
When I left Michael's for my own shop, I left with their knowledge and even their blessing. We actually refer people to each other, they have my business cards, and I get referrals almost daily from them for things they can't do, and vice-versa. My little shop doesn't make a dent in their big company, even though many of my customers from there followed me to my new place. And I have a different kind of clientele from them, so they don't really affect me either.

I understand it would be different between smaller shops, but in our state a non-compete clause wouldn't hold water either, as was stated here earlier, as this is also is a right-to-work state. It might, however, make someone who doesn't know that think twice before applying for a job where it is requested to sign, if they had future competition in mind.

There's a man who works in another BB locally who kept coming in asking to work in my shop "because of all the things he can learn" from me. I asked him once what's in it for ME if I were to hire him, besides paying HIM to "let" me train him? Hey, I'm a nice guy, but not that nice! He got all red in the face, couldn't answer, and hasn't been back since.
 
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