To prepare yourself for purchasing a new business, you’ll want to be well informed of all the ins and outs. Your business plan will bring together this information in a logical and clear structure – it’s the document you’ll be able to reference before, during and beyond the business purchase. The 3rd section of your business plan looks at a critical defining factor for the success of your business – your team. The people working behind the scenes, or client-facing within your business are at the core of your operations, and it is their experience and skillsets that will support your growth long-term.

The Team Management Structure 

Begin this section by outlining your management structure and the various roles within. Your management team will lead your staff and set the tone for other employees. 

A table format works best to note each individual, their role and responsibilities within the business, here is where you’ll include their relevant qualifications and years of experience. 

As a business owner, this is an excellent opportunity for you to consider your role, and how “hands-on” you will be – just as you have for the other management roles, add in a section on your own professional experience, intended role title and responsibilities.

Current Team

Next up is your current team, and where (in table format) you’ll outline each employee by name and role, as well as include relevant qualifications and expertise. You can also add in notes on their track record of performance. If you’ve flagged any potential concerns about current staff, or if you’ve identified some individuals that may be on the management path in future. 

In this section, take the time to summarise what makes your existing team valuable – this will also shed light on areas for improvement, gaps in your team skillset and potential opportunities for staff training and development. 

Retention and Recruitment 

As your business grows, your retention and recruitment policies are an essential part of building a team that will go the distance and move with you across your business milestones. This section requires you to consider the methods for keeping key staff, and how you’ll bring in new team members that will add value to your business.

What will be your go-to recruitment website or business? Who are those essential team members who you wish to retain over the next 1-5 years, and how will you ensure they stay on with your business? 

Your retention policies section is also an opportunity for you to list any plans for team focus, energy management and support systems, linking back to the business values that you’ve articulated earlier in your business plan.

Future investors will check on the potential risk of high levels of staff turnover or other human resources issues in the background. Hence, a solid plan to maintain a skilled and satisfied team is essential. 

Be realistic with your expectations for staff retention in more junior roles (this is especially relevant for retail or hospitality businesses), and identify the areas where you will require more time regularly recruiting new talent.

Mentors and Support 

Finally, the team section of your business plan should share your current mentors and business support, and this is also where you can add the details of any legal or accounting support that you engage with regularly. In the process of purchasing a business, you may already have some crucial business mentors in mind that will guide and advise you during this period.

List out everyone you can rely upon to provide additional support outside of your direct team, noting what they can offer and how this will make your business more competitive. 

The people behind your business can make or break it, and understanding in detail the key roles, functions and talents of your staff, empowers you as a business owner, to identify potential risks before they impact your success. Equally, this knowledge enables you to influence the overall values, drive and motivation for your people, both individually and as a unit. 

You’ve now completed the team section of your business plan, and this will be particularly useful in the next portion of this document, your SWOT assessment and critical success factors, which we will guide you through in our next post.