When your company is planning a merger, communicate this information with your employees. Keeping major changes like a merger a secret only caters to the impending "rumor mill backlash". Learn what to communicate to your employees to limit the inevitable concerns.
In the ever-changing climate of Corporate America, senior management is attuned to the idea of keeping pace with the competition. Keeping pace often means making strategic changes by merging with another similar company. You can be sure that management teams from each company will pore over the other's financial statements, infrastructure and more. All in an effort to determine the best way to forge companies to become one. Yet, all too often, the humanistic value that is firmly attached to each employee is often overlooked in this process. Rather than attending to this issue last or not at all, the wisdom of sharing merger news with your employees will enable your company to make the transition a smooth and long term success.
The mere mention of "Merger," to a group of employees will most likely take on a negative slant and become the topic of conversation within moments of sharing this news. If you think this is an exaggeration, think again. The best way to combat this knee-jerk reaction is to be proactive instead of reactive. As a general rule, people have difficulty with adapting to changes. The reason for such hesitancy and anxiety is due mostly to a fear of the unknown. Facing an unknown situation causes stress which leads to not being able to focus, which leads to loss of productivity. These issues ultimately lead to one reality and that is a negative impact to your company's bottom line. It only makes sense to address these fears.
Let us assume that as a well-intentioned senior leader, you are planning to keep your employees abreast of the merger that is about to take place. The question that looms before you is how much to divulge to your employees? Certainly, there are some issues that shouldn't be discussed until a later time. But, the idea is to share as much information as possible, in an effort to be forthright and respectful of employees' feelings. For example, share with your employees when you expect the merger to begin and when it will be complete.
Be honest with them and give them a sense of where the company is and what direction it is headed once change is complete. Enforce the positive effects of the merger. Don't delay bad news. If layoffs are impending and a timeline is in place, this information should be conveyed to your employees. If there are plans to offer severance packages, then offer details of who might be affected and what will be offered as part of the severance agreement. If a management change is impending, it is in your company's ultimate best interest to acknowledge this fact and relay the information openly and honestly. The fact that changes won't arise in some fashion isn't true and would be dishonest to imply differently.
Now that you know what to divulge, how do you alleviate the uncertainty, the anxiety and rumor mill backlash? Regular and frequent communication is integral to maintaining order and keeping speculation among employees to a minimum. The core issue is recognize that your employees will face fear regarding possible job loss, change in management, etc. These are the emotional factors that affect their every day life and ultimately will determine how effectively they will perform their job duties.
Final Thought: Communication isn't a cure-all, or fix to every issue. There are some people that are going to make decisions regardless of what you share. Some don't trust, others simply feel they can't 'wait' till the shoe drops. Don't let that stop you from communicating. Simply recognize that people make decisions they feel are best for them, with or without information
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