Today's post is an article written by ProContractor Supply CEO Abhi Singh, and published on HBSDealer. We encourage you to check out the article on the HBSDealer website, in addition to reading it here.
Non-compete? That sucks!
Let me start with this: in our business, non-competes suck.
That’s probably not a popular opinion … but it should be.
Because in construction supply distribution — roofing, siding, windows, doors, concrete, asphalt, decking, even something as silly as spray paint — our biggest asset isn’t proprietary technology.
It’s our people.
That’s what we say, anyway.
We tell our teams we value them. That we want to invest in them. That we want to take care of them. And to be fair, a lot of us do. Many leaders genuinely try to create good environments where people can succeed and build careers.
But the uncomfortable truth is this: our people aren’t really “our” people.
They’re individuals who choose to work for the businesses we run for a variety of reasons — our culture, our values, the way we treat them, the opportunity they see, and yes, the compensation plan that helps them provide for their families.
People work for our companies because they want to.
And sometimes because they need a paycheck.
But if they’re going to spend most of their waking hours somewhere, it might as well be somewhere they enjoy.
Somewhere along the way, though, many of us as employers started taking the “our people” idea a little too seriously. We started acting like people were assets we owned rather than humans who chose to work with us.
And the way that shows up most clearly is through non-competes.
For the record, our people don’t have non-competes. We don’t require them. Some people tell me that’s crazy. Some say we should protect ourselves more aggressively.
Maybe they’re right.
But our view is simple: if someone on our team wants to leave, that means we didn’t do a good enough job giving them a reason to stay.
Now, before you start attacking our team like a Demogorgon from Stranger Things, I’ll acknowledge something important. There are industries where non-competes make sense. If a company has genuine trade secrets, proprietary technology, or intellectual property that creates a real competitive advantage, protecting that information is reasonable.
But let’s be honest about our world.
In construction supply distribution, there aren’t many true secrets.
Everyone knows everyone’s pricing — on both the vendor and customer side. If you don’t, you probably don’t have strong relationships. Everyone knows everyone’s customers. And in many cases, we’re selling the exact same product.
Just in different bags.
Think about it. How many of the products you sell today are actually made by the same manufacturer, then packaged differently for different distributors to sell into the market?
I can think of at least three without even trying.
So when it comes to non-competes, we should ask ourselves an honest question: what are we really protecting?
Yes, we invest in people. We train them. We help them grow. And yes, those people build relationships along the way.
But those investments produce returns for our businesses while those people work with us. That is the deal. We invest in great people to get great results.
Now, let’s also be honest about something else.
There are people out there who are simply looking to jump ship to the highest bidder. That happens in every industry. But hiring those people is your choice — and if you do, you know exactly what you’re dealing with.
As an old partner, CEO, and mentor once told me … if you lie with dogs, you’ll get fleas.
That’s not a non-compete problem. That’s a hiring decision.
And there are also situations where protections make sense. If you’re paying someone a guaranteed compensation package while they build a territory or transition accounts, tying a limited non-compete to that guarantee period is a different animal entirely.
That’s not a lifetime restriction.
That’s protecting a short-term investment.
But most non-competes in our space aren’t built like that.
Instead, we make people sign them as a condition of employment and then use scare tactics and capital to destroy their ability to improve their lives or join a company that fits them better.
Now think about the amount of consolidation happening across every construction supply vertical right now. Roofing, concrete accessories, windows, decking, you name it — everywhere you look, companies are merging and buying each other.
And how many people are stuck there because they signed a non-compete twenty-five years ago with a company that has been sold three times and is now owned by a private equity firm or a billion-dollar corporation run by someone who can’t tell the difference between a stick of rebar and a 2x4?
The reality is this.
People are everything in our business.
So we need to treat them like it.
If you create an environment where people grow, learn, succeed, and yes — have some fun along the way — most of your people won’t leave.
Or … you can require non-competes and build a culture where people are held hostage.
I know some of you are so focused on protecting your investment that you think I’m absolutely nuts for putting this out there … and you’re probably right.
But if you spend more time building real relationships with your people rather than paying for your lawyers’ new Tesla … you might realize something.
When you take the handcuffs off your team, they often become more loyal — not less.
Because when people feel respected, trusted, and valued, they stay.
Not because they’re forced to.
Because they choose to.
And in this business, that choice is the only loyalty that actually lasts.
Abhi Singh
CEO, ProContractor Supply
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