A merger is a major change that can affect the morale, productivity, and loyalty of your employees. How can you keep them engaged and motivated during this challenging transition? Here are some tips to help you maintain employee engagement during a merger.
One of the main sources of anxiety and frustration for employees during a merger is the lack of information and transparency. You need to communicate clearly and frequently with your staff about the rationale, goals, and progress of the merger, as well as how it will affect their roles, responsibilities, and benefits. You also need to listen to their feedback, concerns, and suggestions, and address them promptly and respectfully. By communicating openly and honestly, you can build trust, reduce uncertainty, and foster a positive culture.
A merger can create confusion and conflict among employees who have different visions and values from the other organization. You need to align your vision and values with the new entity, and communicate them clearly and consistently to your employees. You need to explain how the merger will help you achieve your mission, vision, and values, and how your employees can contribute to them. You also need to recognize and celebrate the diversity and strengths of both organizations, and encourage collaboration and learning across teams and departments.
Carve out an EIP, get them on a performance/time vesting schedule and watch the revenue run! Nothing creates alignment like everyone having skin in the game!
A merger can make employees feel powerless and disconnected from the decision-making process. You need to involve and empower your employees in the merger process, and give them a sense of ownership and control over their work. You can do this by creating cross-functional teams, committees, or task forces that can provide input, feedback, and solutions for the merger challenges. You can also delegate authority and responsibility to your employees, and give them autonomy and flexibility to perform their tasks. By involving and empowering your employees, you can increase their engagement, commitment, and satisfaction.
A merger can create stress and anxiety for employees who have to cope with new expectations, systems, and cultures. You need to support and develop your employees during the merger process, and help them adapt and grow. You can do this by providing training, coaching, mentoring, and counseling for your employees, and helping them acquire new skills, knowledge, and competencies. You can also provide recognition, appreciation, and rewards for your employees, and acknowledge their achievements, efforts, and contributions. By supporting and developing your employees, you can enhance their performance, confidence, and well-being.
A merger can affect the engagement level of your employees, and impact your organizational performance and outcomes. You need to monitor and measure your employee engagement during the merger process, and identify the areas of improvement and action. You can do this by conducting surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observations to assess the engagement level of your employees, and gather their feedback, opinions, and suggestions. You can also use metrics, indicators, or dashboards to track the engagement level of your employees, and evaluate the impact of your engagement strategies. By monitoring and measuring your employee engagement, you can adjust your actions, communicate your results, and demonstrate your accountability.
My advice is to engage an experienced Change Manager who is able to support you and your organisation in the change and provide effective progress reports that will allow for interventions (if required). If you are a project manager or a business manager, please, hire an experienced change manager.
An employee's biggest fear of a merger in their company is losing their job. Consequently, if you want them to remain committed and 100%, what you have to do is protect them and ensure a promising future for those who deserve it due to their merits, responsibility, results and commitment. If this happens, the rest is just change management like any other transformation process that may have been carried out in the company before the merger. Finally, it is advisable not to make differentiations or comparisons between the professionals of both companies, but to address them as if they had always been part of the same team.