During an M&A: What to Expect and What to Do

An Excerpt from "The Employee Handbook for Navigating Mergers and Acquisitions"
by Mitchell Lee Marks

Editor’s Note:  Several factors figure into the eventual success or failure of mergers and acquisitions—including the depth of due diligence, the financial details of the transaction, the process through which integration decisions are made and implemented, and even the timing of the deal.  Our personal experience—and what we consistently hear from our seminar attendees—also points to the human and cultural dynamics impacting the achievement of a deal’s financial and strategic goals.  That’s why we recently published “The Employee Handbook for Navigating Mergers and Acquisitions.”

Below is the third in a series of brief excerpts from the handbook.  Learn more details about the book HERE.  Request your FREE copy, learn more about pricing, or place your order through the M&A Leadership Council; please call our offices at 214-689-3800.
 

What to Expect When a Proposed Merger Receives Legal Approval

Once the merger or acquisition receives legal approval the two sides can join forces and prepare to combine.  There will be some preliminary planning done between the Announcement and Close to prepare for putting the
two organizations together, but now the real work of integration is just beginning.

In some cases, things move quickly—the logistics of combining may be relatively easy or the integration decisions relatively straightforward (for example, one side might have state-of-the-art technology and the other side’s might be antiquated).  In other cases, things move much more slowly—but that’s not necessarily a bad sign.  Even within one combination, changes may be announced and implemented at different paces in different departments—just as an example, Human Resources practices may integrate more quickly than Sales functions.
Most likely, changes will be announced more quickly in some areas of the organization than others.  Usually, the top layers of leadership are announced first, and then subsequent announcements are made about appointments down the hierarchy.  People in some departments may learn of their futures relatively quickly but in others it will take longer. 

After firms combine, a lot of people do pretty much the same or similar work as they did before the combination.  Some will experience bigger changes in their day-to-day work and a few may even get reassigned to new areas.  You may personally experience changes in how you do your job, the technology you use, the person you report to, the people you work with, the position of your work group in the overall organization, the policies you follow, the fringe benefits you receive—all of the above or none of the above!

After months of waiting for something to happen, hearing rumors about what might be changing, hoping for the best and fearing the worst, the dust begins to settle and employees have to get down to work and bring the new organization’s potential to life.  A focal point of adjustment is the work team.  Even if there is not much change in the line-up of people in your immediate work team, the situation in which it operates and the “rules of the game” may change substantially.  

 

So, What Should You be Doing Now?

• Don’t believe everything you hear from other employees—rumor mills are notorious for conveying information that is much more dire than reality
• Do talk to your boss about what your current work priorities should be
• Don’t try to guess what is being expected of you
• Do ask questions about the merger or acquisition
• Don’t be disappointed if detailed answers are not forthcoming
• Don’t jump ship until you receive clear signals about what your future might be—the grass may look greener elsewhere … but if your industry is consolidating then that organization you jump to may soon also merge or be acquired