How to plan your internal communication strategy when faced with a merger or acquisition
Six issues you will have to consider and clarify when developing your internal communication plans.
The current economic climate has been favourable for organisations whose growths plans are based on acquisitions, while it has forced others to investigate merger opportunities, consolidate subsidiaries and/or divest assets. In every instance internal communication practitioners are facing huge challenges. You need to support the organisation’s strategic objectives and build engagement and productivity at a time when people are concerned about their futures and job security.
Here are six issues you will have to consider and clarify when developing your internal communication plans.
During challenging times you need to support the organization’s strategic objectives and build engagement and productivity.
1. What is the context for your planning?
Understanding the strategic and political landscape is the first thing to address.
There is a tendency to use M&A as a generic heading; rarely distinguishing between the M and the A.
In reality, organizations can find themselves in a variety of scenarios. You might be a partner in a merger, an acquired or acquiring party, or you could be divested from a parent group or be the parent company itself. These differing circumstances are far from academic; they will shape both the nature and tone of the communication.
Understanding the background which led to the change is also key. Was the move hostile or welcomed? Was it voluntarily or was it enforced by a regulatory body?
It will also be relevant to assess the level of surprise about the merger or acquisition. Did it follow in the wake of long-standing industry speculation or was it an unexpected tactical response to a financial crisis or change in commercial circumstances?
The more you understand the circumstances that have shaped the merger or acquisition, the more it will help you segment your audience and make sure the communication is tailored to their needs.
2. Who are your audiences?
As always, segmenting your audience is the cornerstone of an effective communication plan. For every piece of communication you produce, it's vital to determine when in the process it is being released, what you want to achieve and how you want your audience behaviors to change.
In the beginning, your audience might be easily defined as:
- One or both audiences of the two merging companies
- The audience of the acquired company and/or
- The audience of the acquiring company
Almost every change process will involve communication with multiple and single audiences. Understanding all the segments and their perceptions makes this easier, not least because some communication channels such as group intranets and mass meetings might be open to all audiences.
It is essential to develop strong relationships with communication professionals in all the organisations involved. This can help facilitate communication across groups and give you a crucial insight into perceptions and behaviors of your audiences as they move along the change curve.
3. What are the implications for the 'deal' you have with your current and future employees?
Part of planning communications in a merger and acquisition situation is about managing expectations and driving behaviors. It's vital to be aware of the shifting perceptions of individual audiences as change progresses. You should also recognise that levels of engagement potentially reflect an individual’s sphere of influence in the process.
It is easy for organizations to forget to ask themselves how the ‘deal’ they have with their current and merged/acquired employees is potentially changing as part of the process. There are some key questions to consider.
- Is the new company more attractive as an employer?
- Do people feel that the company has lost something because of the merger or acquisition?
Finding the answers to these questions is vital not just for short-term engagement and attractiveness but also for the longer term success of the business.
4. What is your timeframe?
Your communication plan should cover the ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ elements of the change process. This can be easier said than done. External factors such as industry regulations and stock market listings will potentially influence your timescales and shape how and when you can start communicating.
Think of your communications plan as taking your audience on a journey. The end point should be active acceptance and welcoming change, or full engagement.
Key to this is not to see the communication as a one off. All your efforts shouldn’t be concentrated either upfront or on day one when the merger or acquisition is a reality.
Think of your communications plan as taking your audience on a journey. Your communication efforts should be constant. The end point should be active acceptance and welcoming change, or full engagement with the process. Achieving this aim is highly dependent on the leadership team(s).
5. What role does the leadership team have in a successful communication process?
In times of change, people look to their leaders and managers for guidance, insight and reassurance. They need to know that those in authority have a strong understanding of the issues, a clear sense of direction and are making progress towards those ends.
A common challenge for leadership teams in mergers and acquisitions is to understand that they are differently engaged than their audience. It’s helpful to remember the following transition model about how receptive people are to messages around change.
Broadly speaking, people go through three phases:
- The Closure Zone - where you start to deal with and accept the fact that things are changing and you start to say goodbye to how things were.
- The Neutral Zone - where you accept that things have changed but you haven’t yet committed to the new reality.
- The New Beginning Zone - where you are committed and engaged with the prospect of the future, and actively want to get involved.
In behavioural terms, how quickly people become engaged with the change depends on how long they retain the sense of loss in phase one.
One of the classic challenges that leaders face when communicating change is that they are further along the engagement curve than their people. In all probability, their sense of excitement might not be shared by employees, who will still be enveloped by a sense of loss and uncertainty about the future.
As a communicator it is important to bridge this gap by reminding leaders and managers about their own journey.
6. What one factor will make the difference?
It’s impossible to reduce effective communications in a merger and acquisition situation to a single factor. Success is about taking all the above circumstances into account when developing your plans. That said, there are two best practice elements which should be integrated into your plans:
- It is important to build social interaction into a communications plan. Creating situations where people are allowed time to get to know each other takes away the fear of the unknown and builds trust.
- Communication shouldn’t only come from the top down. For it to be effective, it should also come from the bottom up, giving people the opportunity and channels to voice their thoughts, hopes and concerns throughout the process.
Bernard Hodes Group has been commissioned by the CIPD (Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development) to research the potential impact on the employee 'deal' when organisations go through an M&A. It will produce a report and web-based best practice toolkit on the subject later this year. For more information on the research project go to www.cipd.co.uk
Have your say
Have you managed the internal communications that supported a merger or acquisition? What element did you find most challenging? And how did you overcome these challenges?
Recommended resources:
Three brands become one: How Santander managed communication and integration
Using strengths to engage employees in turbulent times
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