Non-compete agreements have great value when utilized correctly. What you should know is that it is often not necessary for you to require that all of your employees sign one.
Knowing which of your employees should sign such a contract can optimize your resources. Avoiding the mistake of making even low-wage employees sign an agreement may also reduce the risks of lawsuits.
Top organizational leaders
You rely considerably on your executive workers to guide your company to success. Often, this responsibility requires such employees to have access to highly sensitive information. This data may contain classified strategies, detailed financial reports and other intelligence information. The last thing you want is for one of these key players to leave your company and divulge that data to a competitor or use that data to create an entity of their own.
As such, requiring these employees to sign a non-compete agreement can provide critical protection for your company. According to CNN, high-paid executives or salespeople most commonly sign a non-compete. Doing so may prevent them from working for competitors for a specific period of time.
Low-wage workers
Contrarily, low-wage workers present a much lower risk to your company if they leave and work for a competitor. For example, delivery drivers, secretaries and customer service representatives often lack access to sensitive information. Their departure will unlikely impact your company’s success or its safety. As a result, it may only waste your resources and complicate matters to enforce a non-compete agreement.
A well-written non-compete agreement can provide unparalleled protection for your organization. Should you ever encounter legal trouble, you can reference such contracts to strengthen your case.