Mergers are a common occurrence in the business world – especially in certain industries. However, transition processes can be difficult for a lot of people, including the employees involved.
One of the most critical tasks a company’s leaders may have is identifying and keeping key employees – those individuals who have unique skills, knowledge and relationships that are integral to the continuity of the business and its long-term success.
What happens if you don’t work on retaining key players?
Losing certain employees in a merger can have a ripple effect on your business that makes the merger a lot less beneficial than it might otherwise be. You need to keep key employees to:
- Ensure operational continuity: Key employees often know more about the day-to-day operations of a business than their bosses.
- Keep the transition process smooth: Your key employees know what projects need to remain on track across both organizations and how to keep disruptions from affecting operational efficiency or the customer experience.
- Preserve the company culture: Hopefully, the cultures of both organizations can blend easily, but your key employees often play an essential role in communicating the values and norms that are expected of new team members.
- Maintain morale and stability: If too many key employees “jump ship” when the merger happens, you can end up with a string of others following them because the whole team may lose its sense of security.
- Retain customer relationships and trust: Your key employees often have long-standing relationships with some of the customers or clients that are important to your business. If they disappear, so might those customers or clients.
Ultimately, keeping certain employees in place during a merger is the key to the stability and success of the new organization. It’s also the best way to avoid the cost and time associated with finding, onboarding and training new talent. Legal guidance can help you draft proposals and take the necessary steps to update contracts, provide the proper incentives and do whatever else might be necessary to make your merger a positive experience.