How much do I tell my staff about my future plans?

Dear Aunty B,

I have two great employees, who realise times are a little hard now and they are willing to reduce their hours to see us through.

My problem is that over the Christmas break, which was three days for my husband and I, we decided to put the café on the market. I have a real estate agency advertising it on the internet for now.

I don’t want to tell my staff until I have a buyer in place. My question is, do I have to tell them before hand?

Café owner,
Bondi

Dear café owner,

You have obviously been doing it tough and I feel for you. It is also a testament that your two employees are willing to reduce their hours for you.

No. You don’t have to tell your staff you are putting the café up for sale. I don’t want to dampen your enthusiasm, but it might be a while before you find a buyer. Things might also change for you. Business might pick up with the zillions of dollars being thrown at the economy, or you might get a new lease of energy and take it off the market.

There is no use unsettling your employees when you don’t know about the future. But having said that, you must be very respectful of them and make sure they don’t hear snippets of gossip from others or overhear you sharing your future plans with friends.

Do all you can to ensure they are working as much as possible. I am sure that if they are as good as you say, a new buyer will want to keep them on and it will work out well for them.

Good luck!

Your Aunty B.

I am a small café owner, and January just about sent me broke.