Scorched Earth – What Really Happens to People in Mergers and Acquisitions

I had a huge knot in my stomach. It was “hatchet day”. The merger was just complete, and that meant one thing...company wide layoffs were coming.?

No one was safe.?

Even if you had a certain level of “immunity”, would you want to survive the layoffs? It was like winning the “hunger games” and for your efforts being dropped on a deserted island with limited resources, limited food, and a band of strangers...none of which you trusted or that trusted you.?

Even if you could survive, it wasn’t going to be a picnic.?

Anyone who has worked in the pharmaceutical industry long enough has probably experienced the sensation of “looking over their shoulder” because of office-wide rumors of impending lay-offs. It could be due to an announced merger or acquisition. Sometimes it’s a startup that launched a new drug that didn’t do well and they’re at risk to fail.?

Other times it’s a small company that also didn’t do well with a recent launch but has potential winners in the pipeline, which makes them an attractive takeover candidate.

In other scenarios, it could be one of the big companies acquiring the innovation from smaller companies, thus “buying” their way to success.?

In any situation, the prospect of being laid off probably leads to several nights of tossing and turning for many employees.

I know. I went through six M&As in my 30 years in pharmaceuticals. The problem is companies only look at job descriptions in the organization chart and compare them to the employees’ resumes. They never consider the behavior traits of individual employees and whether that person is suited for the role the company assigns him/her.?

For instance, salespeople for larger, established brands tend to be “farmers.” They want to take an account, manage it, nurture it and watch it grow.?

Conversely, at startups and small drug companies, the salespeople have more of a maverick mentality; they want to target their prize, conquer it and move on to the next target.?

In a merger of those companies, do you see the potential for clashes between the mavericks and the farmers and their supervisors??

For those mavericks who survive the merger, they most likely will not stay at the company for very long as they will be bored nurturing the same account for long periods of time.?

For other employees, HR simply compares headcount with job descriptions, decides who is redundant and makes layoff decisions on that basis.?

The surviving employees are in a new structure with new hierarchies and new supervisors and management expects them to be happy to keep their jobs.

But many are now in a role that they are not best suited for. So, of course, they are not happy. And they spend time thinking of how unhappy they are – which means they’re not thinking of their work.??

Companies Can Do Better

There is software out there that enables managers to look beyond resumes to examine current and prospective employees’ suitability for the position for which they are being considered. They can determine if a particular employee is right for a particular job.

If layoffs, employee assessments can help management identify employees who would fit in the merged company.?

Companies rely on data to help them in other areas of their business, now they can use data to make decisions about people.?

Ronda Robinson, who is in the Silicon Valley area, provides organizations with software and consulting services to “fix people problems.” She helps leaders hire the right people for the right role, inspire employees to do their best and align the talent strategy with the business strategy to meet or exceed business goals.

You can call Ronda at 303 902 3616 or email her here. You can also get on her calendar here.