Retaining employees during mergers and acquisitions
Retaining Employees During Mergers and Acquisitions
A merger is an anxious time for many employees. Worries about their jobs, the changes to their working environment and practices, and how incoming employees will fit into an already established dynamic. Retraining employees in times of stress and change can be a challenge, but there are some important points that can make you see the issue differently.
Financial incentives
Money Talks, there’s no doubt about that and more money could well be a legitimate way to keep your staff happy in their work. But money alone won’t do it. The fact is, if your employees are unhappy because they feel vulnerable or unappreciated, or because so much change going around them is confusing and unsettling, throwing money at the problem won’t fix it. You may have to consider offering some employees more a leadership role in order to keep there where they are. But one thing’s for sure, the solutions to the issue of retaining your employees during times of up heaval is never going to be the same for every induvial.
Individual arrangements
If you manage your employee retention with a blanket one-size-fits-all retention package you won’t be appreciatingthe fact that your employees are individuals and they have varying concerns and focus in times of career change. Some employees may be wondering if this isan opportunity to further their career by movingon to newemployers, while others may wantto stay but are struggling with what this means to their wider life. This could meanthathelping employees find childcare or offering them room in their roles to advance, areimportant issues and mightkeep these employeesat yourcompany. But it won’t beonesolution for everyoneand prioritising individual staff’s needs will help you all move forward.
Identifying key employees
One of the most important things managers and employers can do at times of disruption and organisational change is to identify the employees who are your top talent and who are most important when it comes to retention of staff. This won’t always be the most obvious employees and you may have to look a little closer amongst your workforce to find those hidden gems. This could be someone whose career path seems unexceptional at first, but this person could be a key player in your business. Seek out your star employees and make sure you are focussing your attention on them. Understand their needs and concerns.
Cultural integration plans
having solid well thought out plans for cultural integration is vital. As we talked about in the post ‘How to Integrate Employees After an Acquisition’ incoming staff are coming from a different work culture into the one that already exists amongst your current employees. The problems of integration work both ways and a new work culture arriving could make your existing employees feel uncomfortable and misplaced. Having a solid plan for how to deal with this and how to integrate your employees will make things run much smoother.