Human Resources Due Diligence

On behalf of investors, holdings and family offices as well as successors, fortalent examines the people dimension of a transaction: leadership structure, key roles, organisation and human-capital risks. You receive a reliable basis for decisions before closing and for the first months thereafter.

Let’s discuss your requirements

Why HR Due Diligence?

Financial, legal and commercial due diligence answer what a company is worth and which risks lie in its balance sheet and contracts. What often remains open, however, is whether management will still fit under new ownership, whether critical know-how is tied to individuals, and whether the workforce can support the planned growth path. In mid-market companies in particular, there is a further factor: many businesses run extremely well for years because the owner informally covers central functions. What appears to be a stable organisation in the data room can turn out to be a gap after closing.

When does people due diligence make sense?

• Acquisition or investment: review of the leadership team and key roles before signing or closing
• Succession in a family business: how does the HR strategy need to evolve after the change of ownership?
• Buy-and-build: assessing how manageable add-ons are and how well they can be integrated
• Existing portfolio companies: taking stock in the event of underperformance or ahead of structural decisions
• Pre-exit: reducing key-person risks to safeguard enterprise value

HR Due Diligence from fortalent

In an HR Due Diligence commissioned by buyers, shareholders or advisory boards, we analyse the human and organisational substance of a target company or an existing portfolio company. The focus is on the leadership team, key roles and structure – viewed through the lens of your transaction and value-creation goals. As an outcome, you receive a structured summary with a clear risk assessment and pragmatic recommendations for contract design, retention and the appointments roadmap for the first 6 to 12 months.

The key topics we address:

• Leadership team: role mandates, track record, fit with the business case
• Key roles & key-person risks: where does value creation depend on individual people?
• Organisational structure: responsibilities, decision-making paths, scalability
• Governance capability: reporting quality, flow of information, manageability of the asset
• Dependencies: which functions does the previous owner cover informally?
• Remuneration structures & market alignment of compensation levels
• Retention risks: likelihood of departure and retention levers for high performers
• Talent pipeline & succession readiness of critical functions
• Culture & ability to integrate into the new set-up
• Hiring needs: realistic availability, timelines and costs in the candidate market

Working alongside your financial and legal due diligence advisers, we ensure our findings feed directly into the purchase price, the warranty catalogue and management contracts. On request, we supplement the analysis with in-depth management audits of individual executives.

From analysis to appointment

An HR Due Diligence frequently reveals a concrete need for action: a key role to be filled, a missing CFO with investor experience, a necessary succession solution. As proven executive search experts with more than 650 successful placements, we can act on these findings directly – discreetly, with a clear role mandate and no loss of information at the hand-off.

If this service is of interest, we would be happy to discuss your transaction and how we can support you in a confidential, no-obligation initial meeting.

For: Mid-Market Companies · Scale-ups · Family Businesses · Holdings & Private Equity · Institutions