Announcement Day Suggestions

September 19, 2022

by a searcher from Arizona State University - W. P. Carey School of Business in Redwood City, CA, USA

We are close to closing our deal and are thinking about how to ensure a smooth transition with employees. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to make this day positive and exciting for employees? Any other closing and post close tips would be greatly appreciated.

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Reply by a searcher
from University of Colorado at Boulder in Georgetown, CO 80444, USA

I used a 30 to 45 minute presentation outlining the goals and why you're the best employer in town is the way to go. I onboarded 500 team members using this process. We called this our new employee onboarding and would do this in groups of 15 to 25 people. They got to keep a 2 hour "bonus" for attending and we sniffed out the bad employees pretty quickly. We gave out spot prizes to employees who were enthusiastic about the new owners. We identified the leaders who were open to change. I learned this from my mentor as it sets an example for your leadership on day one. I personally try to avoid alcohol events as they just promote the wrong message when you first arrive. It also turns off the non-drinkers or those with drinking issues. It should be about growth, respect and what to expect from your new leaders. In most cases they will appreciate the professionalism and if you explain how employees can make more money working for you, it will be a success.

Reply by a searcher
from IE Business School in Munich, Germany

Every situation is unique. In our case we were lucky enough to have everyone gathered in the same room to make the announcement. I can give you 3 learnings:

1. Leave the first word to the founder/owner to explain their reasoning and to give you credibility in explaining why he chose you as his successor.

2. Keep your intro very short and humble - don’t make this moment about yourself! Only about how big of a step this is for you as well and give reassurance about which things will stay the same (if you can).

3. You will have to introduce yourself at least once more to everyone at a later stage again, because they will be shocked in the moment and may not even listen to you once you start your introduction.

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