Who Reads This Brief
PE deal teams running diligence on platform or add-on acquisitions.
HR infrastructure gaps surface as hard-dollar exposure during diligence and as compounding drag post-close.
Operating partners managing portfolio company integrations or recoveries.
Post-deal unforced errors in HR cost more to unwind than to prevent. The math is in the brief.
Portco CEOs and CHROs preparing for the next inflection.
Sale readiness, IPO prep, or organic scale all expose HR infrastructure that has lagged the business.
Three Drags We Surface in Diligence
Compliance exposure (hard-dollar)
Multi-state misclassifications, missed filings, unmanaged WC and UI. Often high six figures in lower-middle-market.
Turnover cost (largest single line item)
Delta vs. industry benchmark, modeled on replacement cost. Typically the biggest EBITDA drag.
Commercial role enablement (avoided cost)
Failed sales hires destroy value at $150-250K each. The pattern signals broken profile, not bad candidates.
How We Frame the Diligence
Step 1
Hard-dollar exposure
Compliance gaps, vendor overages, and balance-sheet liabilities surfaced during diligence.
Step 2
Replacement-cost math
Turnover modeled against industry benchmarks. The delta is the EBITDA drag.
Step 3
Avoided-cost prevention
The most expensive HR mistakes are post-deal unforced errors. We surface them before they compound.
What This Looks Like in Practice
$674K
Hard-dollar exposure surfaced: $174K recurring overage plus $500K+ balance-sheet exposure.
$240K
CA final-pay penalty exposure neutralized in real time during the engagement.
$1.5-3M
Annualized excess turnover at 3-4x industry benchmark on the 174-person base.
$1.8M
Destroyed value from 9 performance-driven BDM/AM exits at ~$200K each over 24 months.
What Deal Teams Get
Diligence read pre-LOI
We frame HR risk and recovery for the deal team in 2 weeks. Numbers, ranges, and the most likely drag.
Integration plan post-close
What to fix in the first 100 days. Sequenced by EBITDA recovery and execution risk.
Portco recovery
When HR has been the drag for too long. Stabilize first, then upgrade.
Sale prep and readiness
Surface the HR exposure a buyer's diligence team will find. Address it before it's leverage.
The Track Record
Run This on a Deal You're Looking At
A diligence read, an integration plan, or a portco recovery. We work with deal teams and operating partners directly.
Book a ConsultCalendly opens in a new tab. Brief requests route through the contact form — Sarah or Mary will send it personally.
Text LinkOr request the brief by email →
