It’s crucial that leadership help employees during the transition period of a merger/acquisition

Read this in a publication and have to share:

After a merger, how can leaders make sure that new employees quickly adapt and get comfortable with their new company?  

·         A good question a leader should ask himself/herself and the leadership team before communicating with employees is “how is this merger going to be dealt with, with the least amount of disruption?” Leaders have to instill in their employees a level of commitment, engagement, confidence and comfort to work through difficult transitions. They need to inspire a sense of purpose, coherence, community and trust that allows employees to remain focused and highly engaged on the job. A recognized respected leader assuming a prominent, visible role can be a comforting anchor during a turbulent sea of change. These leaders can be instrumental in creating a shared culture that embodies the business strategy of the new combined organization.

·         Transformational change is inevitable and can be disruptive. The acquiring company creates disruptions around boundaries – changes in goals, strategies, ways of doing things and customs of the old cultures.  The acquired company for the most part is living in fear unless the leaders of that company prepare the employees for the upcoming merger. Again a starting point is to ask the question “how is this merger going to be dealt with, with the least amount of disruption? To help calm down the fear, conducting town hall meetings where the  leaders share what they can about what is happening and allow venting, questions, conversations.  The time frame to do this of course is based on where in the process it’s warranted to start the dialog about the upcoming changes.

·         Surprisingly 80%-90% of employee behavior is determined by the way leaders attend to these challenges. Employees look first to leaders for guidance about how to react and behave, for motivation and for focus. Employees want to believe that leadership cares about them. When employees are convinced that leaders genuinely do care about them, they become more open and willing to make necessary changes.

·         Companies that foster a high degree of leadership visibility and involvement during the transition instill a supportive organizational culture with a better than average chance of success. What leaders say and how they act can inspire a shared sense of purpose, coherence, community and trust, which enables the employees to focus and to remain highly engaged during the M&A and post-merger integration. Working on this alignment during the first 90 to 100 days is crucial.