Operational Due Diligence: Workforce Insights for Risk Mitigation and Value Creation

Ever wonder if traditional due diligence is really catching everything when it comes to operational risks and growth opportunities?

In the fiercely competitive private equity sector, operational due diligence (ODD) has become a cornerstone of informed investment decisions. As private equity funds seek to identify growth opportunities and mitigate potential operational risks, the ODD process offers a detailed analysis of a target company's operational aspects, helping to assess its viability and alignment with investment objectives.

And it's important. We've all heard of high-profile M&A deals that didn't work as planned, but failure is not an anomaly. An analysis of 2,500 deals showed that 60% of them actually destroy shareholder value, leading Lewis and McKone of L.E.K. Consulting to aptly state, “Acquisitions can result in serious damage to your corporate health, up to and including death.”

Can you afford to overlook operational inefficiencies that could impact the success of your investments? Here’s a comprehensive look at how operational due diligence helps private equity firms and other investors ensure their acquisitions and investments align with their goals, and how to enhance ODD with next-generation human capital data.

Operational Due Diligence: A Key to Private Equity Success

Operational due diligence is a structured process that carefully evaluates a target company’s operational processes, management team, supply chain, information technology systems, and regulatory compliance. Think of ODD as your secret weapon for uncovering what’s really going on behind the scenes. From operational processes to management strengths, it’s all about finding those hidden gems—or red flags—before you invest.

This approach "turns over rocks" and helps identify risks and opportunities often overlooked during traditional financial due diligence processes. By examining operational aspects, investors can uncover inefficiencies, operational risks, and potential growth opportunities, aligning the company’s operations with broader investment objectives.

Operational vs. Investment Due Diligence: Understanding the Differences

Operational due diligence (ODD) focuses exclusively on assessing a company's operational risks, such as management quality, technology infrastructure, and compliance with regulations.

In contrast, Investment Due Diligence (IDD) evaluates a company's financial performance and investment strategy. Both are crucial, but ODD ensures that a company's operational risks do not undermine financial success.

While financial due diligence tells you what happened, operational due diligence reveals why it happened and how to improve it.

Why Operational Due Diligence is Essential for Private Equity and Hedge Funds

ODD is particularly valuable in private equity and hedge fund investments, where long-term operational improvements are a key lever for value creation. Conducting a thorough operational due diligence process helps private equity funds assess a target company’s operational risks and provides insights into the acquisition and management team’s ability to execute a business plan. This ensures that potential operational risks are mitigated and operational value is maximized post-acquisition.

In private equity, ODD focuses on validating a company’s business plan and identifying areas for operational improvement. However, ODD is more focused on minimizing risks such as fraud and operational inefficiencies in hedge funds, which could cause losses despite strong investment strategies.

How Operational Due Diligence Prevents Scandals and Protects Investments

After some high-profile hedge fund and advisory services disasters like Madoff, the industry realized how critical it is to dig deeper. But here’s the good news: when you do it right, ODD can turn potential risks into opportunities for serious value creation.

Cases like Madoff highlighted how operational risks, such as poor internal controls and fraudulent activities, contributed to significant losses. ODD helps prevent such failures by identifying and mitigating these risks before they cause harm.

The Operational Due Diligence Process: Steps for Private Equity Success

Initial Assessment: Identifying Key Risk Factors

In the initial phase, investors often start with an operational due diligence checklist that covers critical operational processes, including supply chain management, financial performance, and data management practices.

This standardized process of having a checklist helps investment managers identify risks across various operational aspects, from systems and processes to compliance with regulatory frameworks. An initial assessment often reviews the company’s past performance and operational track record, highlighting potential risks that could affect future growth projections.

ODD is forward-looking, unlike financial due diligence, which focuses on historical data. It evaluates whether a target company's operational aspects, such as supply chain management and IT systems, are sustainable and scalable for future growth.

Detailed Analysis and Risk Mitigation

Once the initial risks are identified, a more detailed analysis follows. The ODD process digs into technology infrastructure, operational processes, and management capabilities.

At this stage, investment managers often collaborate with the management team to review past performance and growth strategies, evaluate financial performance metrics, and explore how well the target company’s operational systems can support the target company’s strategic goals.

ODD isn’t just about ticking boxes—it's about making sure everything’s above board and ready for growth, so you can invest with confidence. This review ensures the target company adheres to all applicable regulations and minimizes potential legal and operational risks.

Essential Components of Operational Due Diligence for Investors

1. Operational Processes: A deep dive into the operational systems, from supply chain to internal workflows, helps investors understand how well the company manages its day-to-day operations.

2. Data Management Practices: Data management and security are critical. ODD evaluates the target’s data management systems, identifying potential vulnerabilities and ensuring the company’s ability to scale.

3. Management Team: It is essential to assess the management team’s ability to lead and implement strategic initiatives. Investors examine the team’s track record, leadership skills, and compatibility with the investment's objectives.

   Broader human capital and intellectual property (IP) are critical assets to evaluate in the ODD process. Investors assess the value of key employees and IP assets to determine whether they can drive innovation and support long-term growth. These evaluations help investors understand how well the target company leverages its human and intellectual resources​​.

4. Technology and IT Infrastructure: With growing reliance on digital systems, reviewing the company’s information technology infrastructure and its ability to support future growth is an integral part of the diligence process.

5. Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations minimizes legal risks, preventing costly disruptions post-acquisition. Compliance has become a critical part of ODD with the growing complexity of global regulations. Private equity firms now prioritize reviewing a company’s adherence to regulations, such as Dodd-Frank, ensuring they meet legal and compliance requirements. This focus helps prevent future fines or legal disputes.

6. Human Capital Analytics: Offers detailed workforce data, from demographics to attrition analysis, enabling investors to gauge talent efficiency and risk.

Operational Due Diligence as a Strategic Risk Management Tool

Operational due diligence plays a vital role in investment risk mitigation. By conducting thorough diligence processes, private equity funds can uncover potential operational risks that might otherwise be missed.

Whether assessing a target company’s supply chain vulnerabilities or examining inefficiencies in the management team, the ODD process allows investors to identify risks and proactively implement operational risk and mitigation strategies. For example, an in-depth evaluation of operational risks may highlight the need for leadership changes or an overhaul of outdated systems post-acquisition.

The "Madoff Effect" refers to how large frauds, like the one carried out by Bernard Madoff, have reshaped ODD processes. Investors now scrutinize operational practices more rigorously to avoid potential fraud or misconduct. This heightened risk awareness has magnified ODD’s role in protecting investments.

Driving Value Creation with Operational Due Diligence

Operational due diligence in private equity transcends traditional risk management, serving as a strategic lever for value creation. It enables investors and managers to identify critical areas for operational improvements—ranging from cost savings and enhanced efficiency to accelerated growth—thus positioning the target company for long-term success.

ODD empowers private equity firms to formulate actionable, data-driven strategies that optimize a company’s operations, ultimately improving financial performance and maximizing returns on investment. By honing in on key drivers like stand-alone performance enhancements, synergies between the acquirer and target, and previously untapped opportunities, ODD provides a comprehensive framework for boosting both short-term gains and sustained long-term value creation.

Workforce analytics enhances ODD by revealing key insights into employee demographics, attrition, and talent distribution. This helps private equity firms identify efficiencies and optimize labor costs, driving value through smarter resource use and cost savings. By integrating workforce insights, investors can ensure the right talent is in place to fuel growth and maximize returns.

Leveraging Workforce Data for Smarter Operational Due Diligence

Why settle for traditional data collection methods when you can leverage advanced analytics to gain a competitive edge? In the era of big data, ODD processes are becoming more data-driven. Advanced platforms such as Aura's workforce analytics tool enable investors to use data to make more informed operational decisions.

Examining Multiple Companies Hiring by Function with Aura Workforce Analytics

By analyzing trends in workforce management, regional talent availability, and operational efficiencies across sectors, investors can benchmark target companies against competitors and industry standards. This data-driven approach allows for more accurate assessments of operational risks and opportunities, driving better-informed decisions for investment managers throughout the due diligence process.

How Workforce Data Enhances Operational Due Diligence

Operational due diligence (ODD) is an essential part of the private equity investment process. It equips investors with laser-focused insights, allowing them to make data-driven decisions that minimize risk and maximize returns. ODD involves the initial assessment of operational and business risk factors as well as the detailed analysis of operational processes, data management practices, and compliance.

A thorough ODD process identifies potential operational risks for private equity firms and hedge funds and uncovers value-creation opportunities, ultimately supporting successful investment outcomes.

Unlock the Power of Data-Driven Decisions with Aura

Operational due diligence is evolving from tedious, manual processes to more efficient, technology-driven practices that better suit the complexities of today's investment landscape. By embracing advanced automation tools and analytics, investors and managers can streamline ODD workflows, reduce redundancies, and focus more on assessing and managing risks effectively.

Take your due diligence process to the next level with Aura’s advanced operations and workforce analytics platform. You can gain a competitive edge in identifying growth opportunities and mitigating risks by leveraging alternative data on operational processes, such as headcount benchmarking, skill mapping, and talent flows.

Whether you're a private equity firm, hedge fund, or investor, you gain not just insights—but foresight, allowing you to anticipate operational hurdles and capitalize on growth opportunities long before others do.

Ready to elevate your operational due diligence? Discover Aura’s advanced workforce analytics to uncover risks, drive value creation, and make smarter investments. Schedule your demo today!