subject: Meaningfully Managing Mergers [print this page] Mergers have become the necessary evil for countless businesses since the beginning of the recession. Companies have had to make difficult decisions in order to stay afloat, and merging is often the best scenario to save a decent amount of jobs. Mergers are stressful; they often induce anxiety, and they almost always start the rumor mill.
Despite the anxiety they cause, it is often the post-merger stage that causes the most detriment to companies. In order to have a successful merger, business leaders must communicate thoroughly with employees, recreate teams effectively, and reconstruct job descriptions as needed.
Attempting to mesh together two companies is a daunting endeavor. Work cultures, personalities, and attitudes must be combined to form a new work-life structure. Employee engagement is also crucial at this time. After the merger, morale will be low. Employees need encouragement to be productive in their new roles.
First, managers should focus on evaluating their existing teams. Employee assessments can reveal in-depth information about each employee that can help managers in the merging process. Once an employee has taken an assessment, managers from the companies involved in the merger can compare and contrast the results to create new and productive teams.
Assessments will reveal information about an employee's work ethic, motivation, work style, behavior tendencies, and attitude. All of these components directly affect how a person interacts with team members, their productivity, and their compatibility with the company or team.
The next step is to evaluate what a new team could look like. Managers should be mindful that it is natural to want to hire people that possess similar personality traits, but this is not always what is best for the team. Balance is crucial to have a team that will produce the best quality work. The best teams are composed of people who think differently.
This prevents group think and overlooked details.
Mergers cause anxiety within employees that can last for months after the deal has been made. If managers had access to what makes a person behave the way they do, it would be easier for them to resolve any fears that employee might have, and to match them to a new team. Employees will naturally be skeptical of their new team members at first, but employee and team assessments can answer questions and resolve fears before they develop into full blown conflicts.
Team assessments will demonstrate areas that are strong and weak within a particular group. This will provide the opportunity for the team to grow and develop together. The results can be analyzed in a team meeting so that all members can feel understood and differences can be discussed. If interdependencies exist within teams, assessments can reveal who would work best together and why.
The final step would be to assess the current and potential managers. Leadership assessments will identify where a leader would best fit with a team. It is important that leaders are also open to relocating in order to create the best work environment for the company.
If new employees are being introduced to a team that has been together for a while, a new manager might be a better fit. Leadership styles correlate with work styles. Finding the balance between the two will ensure that the proper leader has been matched with the appropriate team.
The most difficult aspect of the initial post-merger period is employee morale. Managers should equip themselves with tools such as employee assessments to refine the encouragement and "gelling" process. Assessments provide useful information that can help determine what teams stay together, and who needs to be relocated in order to ensure productivity and harmony in the workplace.
Assessments provide information that makes mergers seamless. Knowing who to relocate, and where they would be most effective allows for leaders to focus on the details to ensure the new business will be as productive as possible. Evaluating the existing team, the new team, and the leaders will enable businesses to rest assured that their employees fit their jobs accurately, and that each employee will exceed his potential.
