One of the most common ways for a business to restructure is through merger and acquisition. While this is an opportunity for companies to achieve tremendous growth, it is also a period of significant uncertainty, particularly for employees. People such as Boris Blanche have developed a number of key methods to help companies keep their employees motivated and secure during such a business restructure.
Boris Blanche on Motivation in Restructure
The most important thing is to have open and clear communication. Communication is always key to the success of any business but during mergers and acquisitions, it becomes even more important. It is very important to speak to employees about any merger or acquisition considerations. In fact, if an organization has over 50 employees, it is legally obliged to speak to it staff about this.
Secondly, it is important to create a fully cohesive team. Management must show real leadership and build a strong team that is capable of Performing properly. The greatest difficulty in this is bringing together the people from the two different companies, not in the least because both sides are likely to have lost friends and coworkers during the merger or acquisition. This means that there is often some bad blood and tension that has to be addressed properly.
It flows from this that the organization must focus on the psychological well being of the employee. Everybody must feel positive about the new direction of the business. Hence, positivity should be fostered at every opportunity and new work environment should be as fresh as possible.
At the same time, there should be full clarity about the goals and milestones of the new organization. Management should be able to set key milestones for the business as a whole, while teams should work together to set the individual goals and milestones. In so doing, there is full clarity for everybody in terms of where the business is going and what everybody should be working towards.
Last but not least, people such as Boris Blanche always emphasize the importance of being realistic. Any business that believes a merger or acquisition can go by without any glitches or hiccups will be sorely disappointed. Being open and honest about the fact that things are likely to go wrong and that this is ok because contingency plans are in place is hugely important. Without that, staff will continuously feel on edge and will rather than be productive, be preoccupied with their own future. That is not conducive to a properly running organization.
An important lesson to be learnt during mergers and acquisitions is just how vital it is to have property engaged employees. When staff is giving a voice, made to feel that their opinions matter, and that what they say is listened to, they will feel far more secure and more like part of the business. This, in turn, will make them more productive as well. It is vital to leave the lines of communication open and to take every idea and suggestion seriously.
Leave a Reply