Whether your company is buying another of roughly the same size, or you’re a roll-up brand consolidating many small businesses, retaining employees of those acquisitions is likely a strategic priority.
Here are five suggestions for engaging them in the new entity.
Even the smoothest integration processes bring a level of stress and cumbersome transition, so help employees understand why it will all be worth it in the end. What’s the vision of the company they’re joining? What does the CEO stand for? What’s special about this company? Let them know what the company is hoping to achieve in the industry — or how it makes the world better.
The end goal is to integrate them into your culture — but start that process from a place of respect for the culture of the acquired company. Look for ways the two cultures are similar, and call attention to shared values or brand personalities. If you’re a roll-up company that gives acquisitions the leeway to retain their local culture, be sure to highlight that.
One of the advantages of working for a larger company is that there are usually expanded opportunities for employees to advance their careers. Maybe the acquisition creates opportunities to move up within their original organization, or perhaps it offers a chance to move geographically and take on a larger role. Help them see how a larger org chart gives them room to grow.
One of the primary concerns of employees in an integration is the potential loss of their benefits, particularly their healthcare coverage. Move quickly to give them as many facts as possible about the benefits they’ll enjoy with their new company. And if they’ll have more robust benefits with the new entity than they had before, by all means let them know that.
Employees will want to know the logical reasons why this transition could be a good thing for them but also look for opportunities to appeal to their emotions. Does the new entity allow flexible schedules so that employees can pick up their kids from school? Is there a robust program of DEI groups? Give them ways this acquisition could be meaningful to them emotionally.
