How to keep employees motivated after acquisition?

May 06, 2021

by a searcher from Universidad Panamericana in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

I wonder what advice you may have in keeping employees motivated after acquiring. In my perspective, even if a search fund will look to keep the essence of the business, it may seem demoralising for employees to know that ownership (and perhaps even management) will change in a few years.

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Reply by a searcher
from University of Queensland in Brisbane QLD, Australia

Yes it certainly can have a significant negative impact on the new staff - and you want to avoid that at all costs. Understandably, their biggest issue will be fear and uncertainty of the new change - especially their jobs. So look to tackle that head on. Critical steps to help mitigate this include 1) Secure key staff which can include equity; 2) Over-communicate the new value your expertise will bring and the exciting new directions that it will now follow; 3) Reassure all staff on the ground that day-to-day operations will not change for them so their jobs are very stable; 4) Immediate and effective integration processes of your systems and new company systems prior to settlement if possible. Best time to do all the above is in the first 3-6mths, second best time to do it is now :)

Reply by a professional
in Calgary, AB, Canada

That's definitely an area I would suggest carefully planning around ahead of time. The name of the game here is Change Management and bringing on an extra pair of eyes can help the acquisition team see "beyond the obvious" and align employee goals with the organization’s goals to generate natural buy-in. Sometimes a single conversation can spark a brand new perspective. It did for my agency. I know someone you may want to have that conversation with. If you'd like an introduction, feel free to reach out.

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