Top Strategies To Retain Employees During Merger Or Acquisition

Companies opt for mergers and acquisitions, as it’s an effective solution to access new resources, acquire a competitive edge, tap into the latest markets, minimize risks, and add key talent. This is how it is for upper-level management. On the contrary, the employees view it as a threat. The negative feeling bundle up and create difficulty for employee retention.

Therefore, acquisition management professionals are hired to smooth the merger and acquisition process. So, below are the top strategies that are recommended by the specialist to retain your employees during merger and acquisition.

Why Do Employees Leave Post-Acquisition?

Employees leave the company post-acquisition due to the following reasons.

• Employees are hesitant to trust their new manager or CEO. Mostly, resignation happens because they can’t get along with the new leaders.
• The feeling of insecurity rises in employees’ minds as mergers and acquisitions are commonly followed by restructuring & downsizing. So, they switch companies for the sake of self-preservation.
• With the shift in leadership comes a shift in the work culture. Even though there isn’t anything wrong with the revised culture, employees will leave for other job opportunities.
• If layoff has happened post-merger and acquisition, the employees who still have their job will feel that favoritism or politics went into deciding who stayed and who went. So, the employees don’t stick with the company anymore.

Strategies To Retain Employees

Amidst the lingering job insecurity, it’s essential to make the employees have faith in the company. Below are a few strategies acquisition and contract management professionals follow to retain employees.

1. Keep Things Transparent 

The company leadership should be very up-front with the strategies created for communication. It should outline everything that’s happening in revamping the work culture and strategies in front of the employees. Clear communication builds trust among employees and prevents any kind of false speculations.

Take out time and meet the staff frequently to show that you’re concerned about their well-being. Pass down your message through all the channels multiple times to ensure that your message is received by everyone.

2. Build Trust

Since the new leadership is an unknown face to the employees, the acquirer shall share essential news with the employees. From philosophy to company goals, strategies, and policies, everything should be shared with them. It’s highly recommended by the team of acquisition management professionals.

Not only does it help put forward the company’s vision, but it also lets the employees know that you’re planning to achieve the vision with their assistance.

3. Offer An Agreement For Employee Retention 

If possible, don’t hesitate to offer an agreement for employee retention. It’s the most effective strategy that makes employee retention easy. The newly acquired talent and the amalgamation of their skills, experiences, and competencies can greatly benefit the organization.

Add valuable incentives like a bonus or other types of financial assistance to make the offer more lucrative.

4. Train The Employees 

Post-acquisition, you might find employees that need adequate training to mold themselves into your work culture. Investing in their training will send a positive message about you as an acquirer. It’ll show them that your organization is driven by the professional development of all the employees.

Seasoned acquisition and contract management professionals believe in this move. Apart from employee retention, it also helps improve the organization’s performance and productivity.

5. Workload Monitoring 

After a merger or acquisition, the burden of additional workloads falls on the shoulder of certain employees. The acquisition management team should be well aware of this happening and should interact with the staff about their experience in this new role.

The management should be ever-ready to extend training, support, knowledge, and tools to ease this overwhelming process. It’s yet another move that shows employees their value within the company.

6. Draft An Incentive Program

An incentive or a rewards program should be set up to boost the new employees’ morale and help them join the company from their heart. Promotions and performance-based bonuses are a great way to make the best employees feel recognized for the hard work they’ve put in. Also, it’ll further motivate them to keep doing better at their job.

Conclusion 

The above-mentioned strategies are most commonly used to retain employees after a merger and acquisition successfully. Backed by acquisition and contract management professional teams, it’s the least you could do. However, also remember to treat employees as individuals and not as teams. Make sure you pay attention to the individual needs of an organization before adopting an overarching strategy.

Nomadux.com brings you complete solutions for acquisition management and contract management. Our team will take on responsibility from the beginning till the end of the acquisition procedure. We have got expertise in aspects that include project planning & execution, source selection plants, statements of objectives, conducting in-depth market research, performing required tasks, and more. So, if you want to avail of our services, reach out to us via mail at info@nomadux.com or call us at (516) 570-9241/904 414 4825.