The Importance Of Non-Solicitation Agreements - Engine Builder Magazine

Main Navigation

Advertisement
Social Connect
Resources
Our Brand Family
Engine Builder Magazine Logo
Content for engine professionals and enthusiasts
Business and Management

The Importance Of Non-Solicitation Agreements

Bob Cooper
By Bob Cooper
Bob Cooper has functioned as a business developer, owner and operator of some of the most successful auto repair shops in North America. Since then, he has become the founder and president of Elite, an international company that specializes in supporting those in the auto service industry. He has been nominated for entry into “Who’s Who in American Business,” he is a member of the prestigious National Speakers Association and he is one of the nation’s leading authorities on both personal and career success. In addition to lending his expertise to automotive industry training and coaching, he has also spoken worldwide to many Fortune 500 companies, private banking groups, school districts, the United States Army and to some of the wealthiest people on earth.
Published:

When properly written, non-solicitation agreements state if an employee leaves your company they will have every right to compete, but they are disallowed from soliciting any of your customers or any of your employees.

Related Articles

Engine builder business owners work hard, often for many years, to develop a customer base. The last thing they want to see is an ex-employee who’s working for someone else (or self-employed), targeting their customers.

These ex-employees often know many of the customers intimately well, or when they leave, they’ll make a point to take all the customer contact data with them.

So what many engine shop owners will do is have their employees sign non-compete agreements.  Unfortunately, at least in many states in the U.S., non-compete agreements are relatively worthless. The legal argument is that they take away an individual’s livelihood by depriving them of the ability to earn an income.

Good engine builder skills are hard to come by, and hard on the shop owner if a skilled engine builder leaves your shop for another. If someone leaves your company, make sure they know what’s off limits, and make sure the proper safeguards are in place.
Good engine builder skills are hard to come by, and hard on the shop owner if a skilled engine builder leaves your shop for another. If someone leaves your company, make sure they know what’s off limits, and make sure the proper safeguards are in place.

The solution? Non-solicitation agreements.  Simply put, when properly written, these are agreements that state if an employee leaves your company they will have every right to compete, but they are disallowed from soliciting any of your customers or any of your employees.

So do this … If you don’t already have such safeguards in place, speak with your attorney about non-solicitation agreements today.

As an added precaution, you should ensure that access to your customer database is both limited and provided on a “need-to-know” basis.  Your employees should also be required to sign an agreement that clearly states all customer information is proprietary and any copying, transcribing, taking it off premises, etc. is a violation of company policy.

The bottom line is that if someone leaves your company, make sure they know what’s off limits, and make sure the proper safeguards are in place. If you take these steps, there’s no guarantee that they won’t come after your customers or employees, but if they do, you’ll be absolutely thrilled that you took the time to put non-solicitation agreements in place.

For additional help building a more successful auto repair business, learn more about how Elite can help with profitable engine repair shop management. Visit:http://www.eliteworldwidestore.com

You May Also Like

CPR Engines
Business and Management

HP Academy Teaches EFI Online

The HP Academy was started to fulfill the need for some sort of formal training for EFI tuning. Two New Zealanders, Andre Simon and Ben Silcock, founded HPA in 2010.

Engine Builder
By Engine Builder
Published:

With the ongoing COVID-19 situation, classrooms, as we know them, are not in session. You can’t physically distance in a small class in real life, but you can online. Virtual learning is now the new norm across the country. The racing industry is getting a leg up thanks to one school that is dedicated to online education. 

Read Full Article

More Business and Management Posts
Utilizing Instagram

“When we started, we had no business at all… that’s when I started using Instagram,” Yaghoubian says. “Back then I didn’t know a lot about social media, but it works for business really well, and especially the automotive industry on Instagram.”

By Greg Jones
Higher Revving Education

We’ve all seen the ads in magazines and online for schools, classes and seminars on tuning an ever-increasing number of engines and even transmissions in today’s cars and trucks. The better ones will include the use of a chassis dyno to show real-time results of the step-by-step methods they teach.

By John Carollo
Chassis vs Engine Dyno

We spoke with a couple shops that utilize both dyno types to get their take on the advantages, disadvantages and reasons to have one over the other or both.

By Greg Jones
Tradeshow Season

While the rest of the world tends to slow down in the fourth quarter, our industry is starting to rev up. That’s because it’s tradeshow season, and the excitement for next year is always palpable!

By Greg Jones

Other Posts

The RPM Act is Preserving an American Pastime

Since 2015, the EPA’s reinterpretation of the Clean Air Act has put the future of motorsports in jeopardy.

By Evan Laux
RPM Act
OE Parts vs. the Aftermarket

Many of your customers believe that OEM parts are better than aftermarket parts. We wanted to dispel some of the myths once and for all. Without getting into the mud about which brands are better. It is important to note that not all parts are created equal, and this includes both aftermarket and OE replacement parts.

By Engine Builder
Setting Up an Instagram Account

The old saying goes, “A picture is worth 1,000 words.” Well, in the world of social media, that same picture is not just worth 1,000 words, but could also be worth thousands of dollars in new business for your engine shop. By now you’ve likely seen our features on setting up and utilizing Facebook for your business. Next on our ‘to-do list’ is an introduction to Instagram for those of you who haven’t started utilizing this social media platform.

By Greg Jones
The Potential in Differential

Is growth part of your business strategy? It comes in a lot of different forms, but when it’s adding a new service offering or product for your customers, it can be nerve-racking at the very least. The additional investment in tools, equipment, training or people weighed against the unknown outcome leaves you holding all the risk, unless there is something that’s a perfect fit.

By Eric Garbe