The battle between Kraft and Cadbury, with Hershey and Ferrerro watching from the wings, rages on. If Cadbury does get taken over, it will undoubtedly mean a period of change for the whole workforce.
When two different corporate cultures come together, there can be clashes, fear misunderstandings and mistrust. But change can also be a great opportunity to do thing things better and smarter, it’s a matter of managing the message so that the workforce is engaged.
The following are basic ‘must-do’s’ for merger teams:
- Watch where you’re going: Set clear objectives; quantify exactly what you aim to get out of this merger by when; publicise the plan widely and invite ideas on how to execute it
- Snap to it: Act quickly; plan out in advance what has to be done; avoid ‘business as usual’ syndrome - it will make the change all the more difficult to implement; set crisp deadlines for action
- Involve, don’t impose: To win employees over, involve them in the merger process itself; for example, enlist employees of the target firm to set performance goals; avoid the ‘this is how we do it’ approach
- Speak - communicate: Don’t keep staff in the dark; let them know what’s going on, and let them hear it from the horse’s mouth; be seen; be approachable; be ready to talk; focus on the positives and what’s in it for them.
- Speak - the same language: For example, a report that is crystal clear to you may be double Dutch to someone approaching it cold (e.g. target company people). Does your jargon jive with theirs?
- Manage the mechanics: For example, on the technology front, work out how systems will interface. What if your staff are e-mail experts, and those of the target are technophobes!
For more business insights, dip into the Bulletpoint archive or if you would like to register for access to the archive email us
