One company acquiring another can be an excellent business move. An acquisition means increasing the market share that a company has or moving into new areas of industry. A business acquisition can also give your company new facilities, access to new technology and a wealth of talent.
Unfortunately, many companies learned the hard way that “brain drain” often occurs when a company changes ownership. Some of the best and brightest staff at your company and the company you acquire will exit because of the transaction or within a year of the acquisition.
How can you prevent the loss of your skilled staff during a merger or acquisition?
Identify talent for retention efforts
The simplest way to keep crucial workers from leaving your company is to offer them something for staying. You will need to identify top contributors in all areas, from maintenance to customer service, to ensure a smooth transition.
Not only will offering compensation or bonuses help you prevent resignations, but you may also inspire your workers to perform their jobs even better than they currently do.
Communicate effectively about company changes
The reason that people leave your company when you announce a merger or acquisition is because they worry that their jobs will be redundant and that they will end up losing their jobs because of downsizing.
If you let workers know what to expect and communicate upfront about the scale of any downsizing that will occur, you can reduce how many people try to leave their job.
Identifying and proactively addressing issues that will arise during major business transactions can help you make them into profitable moves for your company instead of risky changes.