When a private equity (PE) firm is considering acquiring a company, it goes through several stages of evaluation before the transaction. At each stage, different types and depths of people-related reporting are expected.

Here's a set of checklists tailored to each stage of the private equity acquisition process, focused on people-related reporting. These are designed to help you prep clean, investor-ready materials:

Stage 1: Initial Evaluation / Deal Sourcing

• High-level org chart with key leadership roles

• List of key executives (names, titles, tenure, bios)

• Summary headcount (total, by department/function, and by location)

• High-level compensation philosophy

• Informal feedback on leadership reputation (industry chatter, references)

Stage 2: Preliminary Due Diligence (Pre-LOI / IOI)

• Detailed org chart including functional heads and direct reports

• Executive compensation summary (base, bonus, equity/incentives)

• Overview of employee turnover and retention trends (esp. in key roles)

• Any recent or historical employee engagement or culture survey results

• Summary of employment agreements (key terms, change-in-control clauses)

• Key hires and departures in past 12-24 months

• Brief on recruitment pipeline or hard-to-fill roles

• Summary of HR leadership and function structure

Stage 3: Full Due Diligence (Post-LOI)

Deep dive: full access to data rooms and personnel files. Expect lots of requests.

• Full employee roster (role, department, tenure, comp, location)

• Detailed comp structures (base, variable, long-term incentives, equity, etc.)

• Salary bands / compensation philosophy

• Benefits summary (insurance, retirement, equity plans, perks)

• Overtime or shift differential policies (if applicable)

• Bonuses paid in last 3 years (with rationale)

Legal & Compliance

• Employment agreements (incl. execs, IP assignment, severance, non-competes)

• Pending or historical employment litigation or disputes

• Any union activity or CBAs

• HR policy manual/handbook

• Workplace investigations or findings from compliance audits

Talent & Culture

• Key person risk analysis (who is critical? any flight risk?)

• Succession plans for top roles

• Employee performance data or talent reviews (if available)

• DEI strategy and stats

• Engagement or culture metrics (Glassdoor, internal surveys, turnover vs. benchmarks)

Pre-Close / Integration Planning

• Retention plan for key leadership and contributors

• Communication plan for deal announcement to employees

• Integration planning documents (who’s in charge of what, timelines)

• Leadership onboarding plans for any incoming execs

• Planned org structure changes

• Key talent gaps identified and hiring plan developed

• Training and change management resources