stages of a merger

• Emotional roller coaster.

• Vacuum of information.

• A feeling of being in a void. There is no point in making new plans.

• Competitors talk negatively about your merger.

• Reduced sales.

• Specialists attempt to get to know their counterparts in the other company, but don’t trust them.

• The ‘threat of the merger’ results in a team bonding within each company. The beginning of an ‘us and them’ mentality.

• Staff and the market want to know "what’s happening."

• Set up a communications committee comprising credible people from both companies.

• Find out what people’s concerns are. Listen.

• Try to stop the rumors by communicating honestly what you know AND what you don’t know.

• Publish a ‘state of the merger’ newsletter.

• Don’t make any rash promises you can’t keep to in the future. E.g. ‘there will be no retrenchments.’

Consultant led interventions

• External consultants could be used to help design the new structures and select people for key positions.

• A feeling of loss as teams are split up and merged into new team.

• Distrust of new team members.

• The new leadership team is not working effectively.

• Unclear roles.

• Resignations of key people.

• Some people who did not get the positions they expected feel resentful.

• Low morale.

• Rumors.

• The market responds negatively to the loss of key people.

Company led interventions

• Clarify structures.

• Clarify roles.

• Continue and intensify your communication program.

Consultant led interventions

• Team building.

• Role clarification exercises.

• Change management – help people to understand what to expect from each stage of the merger, and how to cope with their emotions.

Gather information about each company.

Typical problems

• Lower levels still feel in a vacuum. They begin to jockey for position.

• Them and us feelings intensify.

• Customers begin to ask for combined products and services.

• Competitors exploit the ‘confusion’.

Company led interventions

• Set up project teams to investigate what you have in each company in each functional area with regard to:

Policies
Procedures Products
Services
Systems
Structures
Brands
Staff benefits
IT
Products & services.

• Project teams should also investigate what the' World’s Best' are doing.

• Project teams should develop proposals of what the systems/policies/procedures for the new merged company should look like.

• Develop a program for implementing your new policies, procedures and structures. 

• Keep communicating progress.

Consultant led interventions

• Consult with specialists on what the 'World’s Best' are doing in terms of each project. (A merger is a good opportunity to start afresh.) 

merging the operations

Typical problems

• Stress (operational plus integration tasks have to be done simultaneously.)

• People complain the old was better.

• People long for the past.

• Them and us continues.

Company led interventions

• Project managing the changes.

• Ensure ‘hot button issues are addressed.’ 

• An integrated salary and benefit structure should be implemented as soon as possible

• Internal issues have been resolved. The company is ready to look outwards.

• Lack of a focused strategy.

• Lack of direction.

• Need to build a new culture distinct from the past cultures of both companies.

• Need to build new brands.

Company or consultant led solutions

• Further teambuilding

• Values

• Strategic planning.

• Change management.

• Brand creation
  /management