If you’re considering selling your medical practice, you may wish to talk over the process with someone. That’s a good idea—as long as that person is not an employee of your practice.

It may seem like you should give key employees (especially your most loyal, trusted ones) some kind of heads up that this big change could be coming. But making them aware of this possible disruption to their lives is unlikely to be helpful to them. In fact, it could have just the opposite effect.

Let’s just say that your office manager has been with you for a decade and has been instrumental in growing your practice. And let’s also say that an investment group has approached you about the prospect of buying the practice. The initial terms look appealing. You like the buyers. A sale could really be happening! So why shouldn’t you tell your office manager that something’s in the works? Wouldn’t that be better, and fairer, than unpleasantly surprising her later?

Here are a few reasons why the answer is probably “no.”

1) First and foremost: it’s more stressful for the employee than you might realize.

If your primary motivation for sharing this private information with a key/long-term employee is because you feel uncomfortable withholding information from them (perhaps even feel guilty about keeping secrets), consider this side of the issue before moving forward.

When highly consequential, confidential information like this is shared with an employee, it puts an incredible burden on their shoulders.

You’ll need to ask them to keep it a secret from other employees, which may require them to be more reserved than they normally would be if anyone asks them a question about a potential sale. They’ll feel pressure to “act” all the time. And all the while this trusted employee is pressured to protect your confidentiality, they’ll also be burdened with stressful questions of their own about what the sale would mean for their future—questions you will not be able to answer.

What’s more, the process of selling your practice will take months. It could even take a year or more. You’ll likely be asking that employee to maintain their cool and keep your secret for a very extended period. It’s an awful lot to ask, especially when the employee is likely to consider the information to be bad news.

Remember, also, that your employee/confidante will feel compelled to keep their own feelings at least somewhat hidden from you. In all likelihood, you’ll perceive this employee to be more comfortable with and less nervous about your secret than they actually are.

2) There’s no guarantee your trusted employee will actually keep the secret.

You may be thinking, “I know my employee, and there’s no reason not to trust her.” And you might be right. But what if she tells (only) her spouse? Your employee will immediately worry about their own future, and so will almost certainly discuss it at least with her partner. Will the spouse keep the information completely confidential?

Note that the spouse may mention something vague about “his wife’s job” to someone else who seemingly has no connection to your practice or even to healthcare. But you never know who knows someone (who knows someone, who knows someone) in the local practice community… and if word gets out on the street, that can even be enough to kill the deal.

Which brings me to….

3) Until a deal is completed, it can be scuttled.

This happens often—probably more often than not. There are all kinds of unpredictable reasons a deal may not conclude, including many things you can’t influence.

Consequently, telling anyone about the possible sale of the practice will cause them anxiety that may not even be necessary (at least not yet).

Consider this scenario: your initially promising talks with a suitor fall apart. You’ve already told your office manager about the deal, and assume that practice life will return to the pre-negotiation norm. But despite the dissolution of negotiations, your manager won’t feel as secure as she previously did in her job. Instead, she’ll be wondering if you’re still shopping the practice around—which may make her feel she has no choice but to do some shopping of her own for a new job. Needless to say, this could significantly impact your near-term business performance, which could even impact your ability to sell your business at an attractive price.

What about due diligence?

You may be wondering how you’ll manage preparing your financial information to present to potential buyers and, if an offer looks likely, how you’ll deal with due diligence. At some point, you may feel you have no choice but to involve at least your trusted office manager in the details of due diligence. But my advice is to ensure that point is as late in the process as possible. (The acquirers of your business will probably feel the same. There may even be restrictions on sharing the potential acquisition with employees in your buyer’s letter of intent.)

Fear not, though: there are other ways you can prepare to keep your deal moving without relying on your manager.

One step we highly recommend is to be sure you have a CPA on your side who is literate in practice sales and acquisitions. (You may have done just fine with a bookkeeper alone up to this point, but now is the time to bring in a more experience financial advisor.)

Another is to immerse yourself fully in your business data long before you’re in the thick of a negotiation. Make sure you have access to all the needed systems, data, and reports so that you can get up to speed.

Note that this can be part of getting your practice into its best financial shape, too—which can help you get the best possible price.

This last bit is something we can help you with. A practice assessment can help you tune your practice business to a higher gear—and move toward a higher sale price. We can even be by your side as you craft your sale strategy, help you negotiate, and even lead your due diligence. Contact us to find out more.