Merger survival tips
Posted by Diana Needham on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
According to studies done by outplacement firms, more than 44,000 jobs have been lost this year due to corporate merger and acquisition activities. Are you one of the staff affected by this?
I have hands-on, personal experience with mergers and acquisitions, having managed several of them as the bank where I worked acquired smaller banks.
Then we were acquired by a larger bank. There is uncertainty about who the new managers will be, who will report to whom, and how the newly-consolidated company will function. Those within the company that is acquired fear layoffs.
But John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says this is not necessarily true. He notes the acquired company could have been bought to fill a need for specific expertise.
In the case of the latest merger I was involved with, our bank had a stronger branch presence and the larger bank that acquired us was stronger in the investment and commercial sides of the business. The larger bank needed the scale of our branch network and of course, our investment and commercial operations were strengthened by the acquiring bank’s expertise.
So what is a professional to do when the company is acquired?
Here are 4 key tips:
- First ensure that your new boss (if there was a change) knows what you’ve accomplished. Remember they are new to the combined organization too and he/she is likely not aware of the strengths, talents, and accomplishments of the new staff. You know the saying “Toot your own horn. No one else will do it for you”. The new boss may well have new ideas and is looking for the talent to implement them. The sooner he knows who the key talent are, the better.
- Develop relationships with people from the new company. The more people you know in the new organization, the better. Go out of your way to introduce yourself and find out more about those from the new company. Those alliances will serve you well as the consolidation of functions begins.
- Make recommendations regarding how processes can be streamlined, expenses trimmed, sales increased, etc.
- Be prepared to come early and stay late so you are viewed as a key contributor who works hard. Perceptions are very important at this stage of the merger “game”.
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