Merger: Make Yours Successful

Q. We’re merging with another department—new boss, new people, products we don’t know much about—in about two weeks. Quite frankly we had no agenda or interest in this move—it was thrust upon us. What's the best way to smooth the ruffled feathers, sooth the bruised egos, and make this other division feel welcome? Right now talking to them is like going to a funeral, with lots of "Why?" questions that we can't answer. We need to helpthem unhook from the merger and move on with business. Not much is being done to help the transition except for a couple of joint coffee-and-doughnut sessions. We need more than this. How can we make this departmental merger productive? —Stephen V.

A. It’s good that you’re being pro-active. One estimate of the number of mergers that don’t work out well is as high as fifty percent. Unless you know there’s a plan in the works, you might develop a plan that makes sense to you, and suggest it to your boss You might even offer to help coordinate the transition from the employees’ viewpoint. Some ideas that can help you get started:

Update The Job Descriptions.

They’re often old or out of touch with what’s really happening. If everyone involved updates his or her job descriptions, they can be shared with the new people joining the department. Try starting with a 25- to 50-word summary of the job, rather than two pages of bulleted action steps. Sometimes the overview is enough; people can read further if they what.

Look for Synergies.

Once everyone knows what everyone else is doing, it might be good for everyone involved to meet in sub-groups and look for ways people can work together to cut down costs, time, reporting, meetings, etc. There was an organizational reason for the merger; find the benefits of the merger, and share it. Use this to focus for the sub-group discussions. Finish each meeting with steps agreed to, and send copies to management.

Keep Management Informed.

Your efforts should be focused on helping management make the move happen, not organizing pockets of complaints and resistance. Ask how management would like to be kept in formed, and how often. Suggest that the managers involved, as well as other managers in the company or department affected by the move, attend some of the key planning meetings you set up to give you their ideas—assuring that everyone has a stake in the process.

Help People Understand Change.

A big problem in any major organization change is that many people are afraid of what may happen with the change. You can help everyone better accept the change by outlining these typical phases of any major change—which everyone can expect to experience:

Denial.

“Things were so good in the past.” “They don’t really mean it.”

“It’s stupid; it won’t work.” People are reluctant to hear new information, so they keep doing things as usual. They minimize the change and its effect.

Resistance.

Look for anger, feelings of loss, hurt, betrayal. There’s often

plenty of finger-pointing, complaining, calling in sick; unfocused work.

Exploration.

At this stage there’s acceptance; exploration of new alternatives; clarification of goals; seeing new resources; learning new skills.

Commitment. Finally, there’s a greater focus, with people knowing where

they’re headed and why. There’s more teamwork and a sense of vision. People cooperate more, and there’s generally a more balanced outlook.

Set up meetings to talk about these phases; encourage people to tell each other what they’re feeling about the move.

Keep It Positive.

It’s easy for the meetings to become gripe sessions, especially when you have some negative people involved. They’ll usually speak first, and try to get everyone else to be negative as well. You might say something like, “We probably all feel some discouragement with this move, but it’s going to happen. Let’s have our meetings focus on what we can do and how we can make it work.” If necessary, speak to the naysayers outside the session and ask them either to focus on the positive, or. Then the managers of both departments downplay their comments.

Keep Everyone Informed.

Work with management to let everyone know what’s happening at each stage of the process. A newsletter or daily or weekly news briefs on bulletin boards or e-mails can be a huge help in lessening people’s fears. It’s usually the lack of correct information that causes rumors or bad information to circulate and stir people up: (“I heard they’re contacting local realtors to put the building up for sale; this is only the first step—they’re going to close the plant.”)