PART 1: Taking Care of Your Team During & After an Acquisition

With an insurance agency acquisition, a significant portion of the value is in the team. How do you ensure your teammates feel good about their new company and employers post-acquisition? Here are the four factors to speak to your teammates about as you consider transitioning your organization into the hands of another company.?

1) Inform teammates of continued employment?

The acquiring business will want to retain all of your A and B+ players, so make sure your team understands they will continue to have a job after the purchase. If that’s not the case, communicate that information clearly and honestly. Inform the employees why they are being let go at the time of the acquisition.?

At Brown & Brown, we typically hire 99% of a company’s teammates after we acquire the company. It is very rare that we do not welcome all of them to our team.?

2) Note any changes in the reporting structure?

Make sure you understand the reporting structure of your organization after the acquisition is complete, and determine whether or not your team will continue to report to you. Convey who you will report to and who your teammates will report to as soon as you know.?

At Brown & Brown, we typically don’t change the reporting structure. After an acquisition, teammates continue to report through their existing local leadership.?

3) Advise about their continuing benefits?

Your team values their health and retirement benefits. Soon after you announce the acquisition, you need to be able to clearly communicate any changes to their benefits plan — positive or negative.?

At Brown & Brown, we work hard to make the acquisition a positive move regarding employee benefits and compensation and perform a detailed benefits comparison by teammate.?

4) Be clear about working hours and expectations?

In today’s flex environment, businesses work a variety of hours, so teammates will be especially curious about any changes to their current hours. Are there new start times? Do they have to take a mandatory lunch? Can they work 37.5 hours, or do they have to work 40 hours? Is overtime allowed??

After an acquisition, we try to be flexible about working hours. We work with the seller, assess what works best and agree upon working hours based on the culture and history of the team. While hours of operation are handled at the local level, all our offices remain consistent with state, local and federal regulations.

The Takeaway?

If you want to sell your agency and ensure your team’s best interest, take the time to get to know your potential buyer and learn about their culture and people philosophy — make sure that you have a level of comfort about how they will treat your team going forward. Consider joining the Brown & Brown team — prioritizing people is a must for us.

Click here to check out PART 2: Taking Care of Your Team During & After an Acquisition.

This article was co-authored by Mark Prampero, Regional Director of Acquisitions.

Interested in speaking with our Mergers & Acquisitions team? Email [email protected] or contact us directly.